Why Do You Ride?
#51
Senior Member

Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,340
Likes: 781
From: Saint Paul, Minnesota
Bikes: '08 Look 585, '07 Kuota Kebel, '80s Alan Peitsch
I am 68. I ride for the exercise. My usual ride is 20 miles and ride about 4 days a week for about 6-7 months since I live in Minnesota and there is snow the rest of the year. I own about 15 bikes. All are vintage steel except a 2008ish Look 585 plastic bike. All my bikes get ridden the same amount. I just hop on the next one that is in line.
#52
Klaatu..Verata..Necktie?




Joined: May 2007
Posts: 23,771
Likes: 17,226
From: SF Bay Area
Bikes: Litespeed Ultimate, Ultegra; Canyon Endurace, 105; Battaglin MAX, Chorus; Bianchi 928 Veloce; Ritchey Road Logic, Dura Ace; Cannondale R500 RX100; Schwinn Circuit, Sante; Lotus Supreme, Dura Ace
Just turned 65 last month.
I "still" ride because it feels good and the scenery changes at the right rate. Also, many times I have started a ride feeling anxious, or angry, or upset, or depressed, but I almost never feel that way at the end of the ride - even playing dodge-em with a Tesla at 25 mph this afternoon didn't spoil my mood.
I ride C&V bikes because I like old stuff. Not just any old stuff, though. It has to be old stuff built for a purpose, and still capable of fulfilling it. I like that I can take a basketcase bike and make it functional and fast again.
I don't ride C&V bikes exclusively, though my main bike is a 1995 Litespeed with 2021 components. Mostly I ride my modern bikes for any real distance, but every bike in my garage has to be good enough to do a 55 mile Sunday ride without me hating it by the end.
I "still" ride because it feels good and the scenery changes at the right rate. Also, many times I have started a ride feeling anxious, or angry, or upset, or depressed, but I almost never feel that way at the end of the ride - even playing dodge-em with a Tesla at 25 mph this afternoon didn't spoil my mood.
I ride C&V bikes because I like old stuff. Not just any old stuff, though. It has to be old stuff built for a purpose, and still capable of fulfilling it. I like that I can take a basketcase bike and make it functional and fast again.
I don't ride C&V bikes exclusively, though my main bike is a 1995 Litespeed with 2021 components. Mostly I ride my modern bikes for any real distance, but every bike in my garage has to be good enough to do a 55 mile Sunday ride without me hating it by the end.
__________________
"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."
"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."
"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
#55
Senior Member




Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 16,174
Likes: 9,549
From: PDX
Bikes: Merz x 5 + Specialized Merz Allez x 2, Strawberry/Newlands/DiNucci/Ti x3, Gordon, Fuso/Moulton x2, Bornstein, Paisley,1958-74 Paramounts x3, 3rensho, 74 Moto TC, 73-78 Raleigh Pro's x5, Marinoni x2, 1960 Cinelli SC, 1980 Bianchi SC, PX-10 X 2
Yep, left knee blown out long ago and toast, no new one for it as the crooked ankle makes it a no go, right knee has taken the brunt of the work load as the left couldn't be trusted.
Right one took a couple of serious falls/blows a couple of years ago and became the "bad" one, ef me.
Realized it wasn't going to self correct as it normally does so started collagen, calcium, magnesium, vitamins, etc. and snake oil g*d awful expensive Instaflex.
It all made a big difference and has helped keep me riding, working on the cars, house, yard and all else, also retired a year ago which of course helped but wasn't really what I wanted.
So here I am, could be a lot worse and probably will be down the road.
Right one took a couple of serious falls/blows a couple of years ago and became the "bad" one, ef me.
Realized it wasn't going to self correct as it normally does so started collagen, calcium, magnesium, vitamins, etc. and snake oil g*d awful expensive Instaflex.
It all made a big difference and has helped keep me riding, working on the cars, house, yard and all else, also retired a year ago which of course helped but wasn't really what I wanted.
So here I am, could be a lot worse and probably will be down the road.
#56
Thread Starter
Senior Member

Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 2,611
Likes: 919
From: So Cal, for now
Bikes: 1974 Bob Jackson - Nuovo Record, Brooks Pro, Clips & Straps
Today it is only 60 degrees, overcast and damp. Nonetheless. I am going for a ride. I find the exertion to be healthy, healthful and helpful. See ya when I get back. ;-)
Last edited by Bad Lag; 12-30-22 at 05:07 PM.
#58
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 4,217
Likes: 1,400
From: Pico Rivera, CA
Bikes: 1983 Basso Gap...2013 Colnago CX-1...2015 Bianchi Intenso
Years of track & field plus marathons took a toll on my knee joints. Doctor advised to do swimming or cycling. Guess which one I chose.
I find being in the gym really boring too.
I find being in the gym really boring too.
#59
Thread Starter
Senior Member

Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 2,611
Likes: 919
From: So Cal, for now
Bikes: 1974 Bob Jackson - Nuovo Record, Brooks Pro, Clips & Straps
No tongue in cheek intended with that phrase. It is the beginning of winter but is unlikely to ever get much colder than that during daylight hours. January can be down right bizarre - as high as 90-something degrees. Still, unless it rains, I can ride year-round. I rode in the rain enough when I was on the east coast.
The sun just came out and dried off the roadways. It's time for that ride I mentioned.
The sun just came out and dried off the roadways. It's time for that ride I mentioned.
Last edited by Bad Lag; 12-30-22 at 05:09 PM.
#60
Partially Sane.

Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 3,564
Likes: 647
From: Sunny Sacramento.
Bikes: Soma Saga, pre-disc
Different outlooks on the weather are often hard to fully grasp. 60F looks great, if there's a blizzard outside your house, but compared to 118F from last summer, it's pretty nippy. 😉
It's 55 here in Sac town, but raining cats & dogs, for at least a week. But it's better than the drought we had here. I think. 🤔😉
It's 55 here in Sac town, but raining cats & dogs, for at least a week. But it's better than the drought we had here. I think. 🤔😉
#61
Senior Member



Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 18,822
Likes: 11,674
No tongue in cheek intended with that phrase. It is the beginning of winter but is unlikely to ever get much colder than that during daylight hours. January can be down right bizarre - as high as 90-something degrees.
The sun just came out and dried off the roadways. It's time for that ride I mentioned.
Being able to ride year-round is one reason I love LA.
The sun just came out and dried off the roadways. It's time for that ride I mentioned.
Being able to ride year-round is one reason I love LA.
Different outlooks on the weather are often hard to fully grasp. 60F looks great, if there's a blizzard outside your house, but compared to 118F from last summer, it's pretty nippy. 😉
It's 55 here in Sac town, but raining cats & dogs, for at least a week. But it's better than the drought we had here. I think. 🤔😉
It's 55 here in Sac town, but raining cats & dogs, for at least a week. But it's better than the drought we had here. I think. 🤔😉
#62
Thread Starter
Senior Member

Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 2,611
Likes: 919
From: So Cal, for now
Bikes: 1974 Bob Jackson - Nuovo Record, Brooks Pro, Clips & Straps
Oh, I lived in the SF Bay area for eight years, so I know how nice the weather can be (and how cold it can feel in the winter in the poorly insulated houses I lived in). But it’s been over 30 years for me in the Boston area, and I’ve adjusted. I rode on Monday; the high was 20F. I rode today; the high was 58F. In fact, I rode four out of five days this week because I’m off from work for the holidays. I won’t spend as much time on an individual ride in the cold, but I still ride outside year round. Lots of people do.
I'd ride from home to school and back - Queens, thru Brooklyn then to lower Manhattan and take the ferry and then on thru Staten Island. I'd ride to Central Park and do laps around the Park just because it was closed to autos on the weekends and it was a non-stop circuit.
I'm older now but I still enjoy the riding, quite possibly for all the same old reasons. The Bob Jackson is still with me as my main ride.
#63
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 133
Likes: 40
This region is very bike friendly with city and town roads often having dedicated bike lanes along with many miles of formerly railroad rail trails, but no, the rail trails are not kept clear of snow in winter yet most cah drivers around here are watchful about pedestrians, occasional joggers and cyclists. In the City of Northampton, population of about 20,000, pedestrians can walk across main street crossovers at any time of day or night and cahs must, can and do stop for them.
Let me add that nobody in western Massachusetts speaks with a Bostonian accent.
Last edited by reroll; 12-31-22 at 12:46 AM.




