Originally Posted by Mark4
I find it funny, but it does make me wonder about other athletes...
Skiers: They stand on two skinny boards, then try to slide down a snow-covered hill on them without falling.
Runners: They try to jog really fast... without tripping.
Baseball players: They primarily stand and sit for hours... and occasionally try to catch, throw or hit a ball (something they fail at with alarming frequency).
Anyway, if cycling isn't athletic, I don't know what is. It obviously involves strength, endurance, balance and coordination... all of which require athletic ability.
The people that diss running are the same lazy people that diss cycling. I'm a long distance runner, and I'd like to see you run 150+ miles a week, like some of the people I know. Running is the HARDEST sport that I have ever tried, because it is purely a training sport. Most sports you are naturally talented at, but in running you can be naturally talented and still suck because you have a horrible work ethic. In running you can't coast, or stop and take a break if you want to be good. Runners hard work also carrys over into their school work, for example our high school cross country teams top 5 guys all have 4.0's except one, who has like a 3.5. So, running is in fact a sport just like cycling.