baron von trail 

Recreational rider even when "commuting." THe commute is an excuse to get exercise and an easy way to put a lot of miles on my legs. Of course the goal is to get to work, but its also a chance to ride, often. ANd, time is always a factor, That's mostly why I take the faster commuter trail into work and the longer recreation trail to get home. I still have to hurry though. So both rides are competitive by nature.

I used to tour a lot. But, time is short on my days off. So, I now find myself running errands by bike more than just riding in a long circle. Although, I do try to get in at least one three hour ride every weekend.

quicktrigger

Other.

Whatever I feel like on that day. Why I have three styles of bikes. I enjoy riding. Dont care bout races, country wide tours, or advanced Mt biking. But Indo like fast sometimes, do like a longer ride, and I like a good trail.

QT

dagray

I'm the fat kind of rider who is taking control of his health by riding. I don't care if I get better times on a route, but I always try to go farther, and usually I end up being faster as well.

I am down 40 pounds since September of 2014, have cut my insulin from 78 units to 42 units a night, have quit taking my cholesterol medication, and just finished the 25 mile Tour de Cure in Airway Heights, WA in two hours flat.

Mark Stone

D. Other. Old man just riding around the neighborhood for fun and fitness. Former commuter, however . . .

BugDude

13 years ago when I was running 23 miles per week and lifting weights every day the lowest weight I could physically get down to was 190 lbs and I looked unhealthily thin. 200 was a very comfortable weight for me. From a muscular standpoint I'm much larger now than I was then, so those weights may not be attainable at this point. Even at those weights, I doubt I'll ever be Mr. Whizbang on a bike...but I'm going to do what I can do the way I can do it and be happy with how I progress. The trails I ride it seems those guys get annoyed at the people on the trail that are going under 20 mph...like why are we getting in their way, we're not REAL cyclists. Oh well, that's their problem.

intransit1217

Undecided. But randonneur sounds pretty cool.

Willbird

Urban Multi use trails are some of the most dangerous riding I ever did.

My biggest peeve was no lane discipline (there is a center line just like the highway)....and morons walking dogs with the leash all the way across both lanes of the path.

Agreed the 150 lb model may not fit you....but who knows where a love of cycling will take you otherwise :-).

marimorimo

I ride for fitness and fun. Mostly for fun. What does that make me? (I would like to clarify that I am not an Athena-I hope I can still participate in the discussion?)

indyfabz

B, C & D. If A doesn't include actually racing, then A, B, C & D.

Why do you ask?

1242Vintage

I'm a Cat 6 Commuter Racer https://vimeo.com/71122767

Commute M-F for training/fitness and race mountain and CX on the weekends.

MikeRides

You're right, Fitness riding was actually what I was thinking of for choice A when I wrote the OP. Guess Racing could fit in that category as well but then after reading all the comments in this thread I realize it deserves it's own category altogether

I actually took up cycling again after a long hiatus (gave it up when I got my license 20 years ago) when I saw a poster for the CTEC (Cycling the Erie Canal) tour and thought to myself, a bike ride across my home state of NY actually seemed interesting - unfortunately I was 235# and growing and could barely bike to the end of my 1/2 mile driveway not to mention the 50 miles a day they do. I've worked my way on a hybrid to be able to comfortably ride 40-50 miles a day (20 miles one way commute) and now aim to commute to work at least 3 out of 6 days a week, plus a couple short tours (bike camping trips) on the weekends. Still haven't made it to the CTEC as my work schedule and single parenting responsibilities won't permit it, but I hope to some day (maybe this summer...maybe not) take up touring even if I have to do it self supported, it's a bucket list thing.

Exercise is the best medicine money can buy. So long as you are safety conscious (read: Don't do anything stupid like dehydrate or push yourself too fast) there's no side effects to worry about. My diet isn't the best, and I have family history of diabetes AND heart disease so when my MD saw my BP was slightly high he was about to pull out his prescription pad, before I told him not to waste his ink - that I wouldn't take it. Replaced my old mountain bike and have had a clean bill of health ever since. Some days I wonder if doctors get a cut from drug companies, because every doctor I've ever had has always been quick to write out a prescription even for the smallest things. Not to say drugs are helpful, for instance, for infections I have no problem taking antibiotics despite possible negative side effects but taking regular meds in lieu of simple exercise sounds like a waste of time and money to me (and frankly I'm sick of insurance companies advertising how most "life support" meds are covered).

Unless I'm riding with my kid I refuse to ride on the local MUPs. Either dog walkers without a clue, ipod zombies jogging without a clue, or racers training for an upcoming race buzzing past without a care to others using the path. I often see parents teaching young kids how to ride on these paths and cringe at the thought that one of them could be run down by one of these younger racer guys, or worst discouraged by them hogging the path. I have no issue slowing down and passing with care, usually creating some kind of small talk with the parent and encouraging the kid to pedal faster or if I witness a fall I encourage them to get back on and try again. They usually get a kick out of it.

No reason, I was just reading the lessons learned thread and thought it would be interesting to see what we all were aiming for when we took up cycling and how much progress we have made thus far.

Beachgrad05

I'm an Athena who likes to go faster compared to my previous efforts. I also like to challenge myself and ride long distances. Throw in really challenging myself by doing rides with climbing that push my limits. I like to do things I previously thought impossible for someone like myself.

brawlo

Racer!

When I started out, I was just riding a comfort MTB to try and keep fit, along with going to the gym. I was packing on the kilos after ending my rugby union career after dislocating my shoulder. Running was a great weight loss routine addition, but after only a few months, my knees and ankles said NO! After a while, I transitioned to a road bike and began riding with a local social group, most of whom were club racers. I was out the back before you could say "wait up", but I stuck with it. A little while later, I happened to get my daughter into track racing as we lived across the road from our local track at the time. After sitting and watching her for the last half of the race season, I decided I wanted to try this out for myself and got a track bike. I trained throughout winter with the intention to be a track rider, but the other road riders asked me why not ride both, it's no extra license fee? So once the summer season kicked in and I got my race license, I rode both. That was 6 seasons ago now, and I'm firmly into the racer category. I have found that it is the competition that keeps me going to ride more and to get better at it. I have really struggled to keep myself fit when out of organised sport, be it competition or regular social meetups.

Prior to me getting my track bike, I would have definitely told you that I was a tourer. Most of the regular road riders in the social group I was part of rode long rides of 100km+ on a regular basis, and I was envisaging doing exactly that. But once I tried track, the thrill of the speed had me firmly in it's grip, and my weight didn't matter so much as I had power to go with it, just not long term power.

UberGeek

I commute for a lot of my work days, but on weekends, I go for longer/faster, and try to "race" myself. Not sure where I'd fit.

GravelMN

How many can I pick?

- Recreational / Fitness
- Endurance (charity and recreational centuries+)
- Day Tourer (looking to become a weekend tourer)
- Training to be faster and stronger on group rides
- Gravel Grinder
- Old School Mountain Biker
- Dad and Grandpa trying to encourage the next generations of cyclists
- Ready to try just about anything human powered on two wheels

Troggie

I fall into the other category with adventurer/have fun riding being the main points of my ride. They are for fitness but I alternate between road and XC riding on my bike and like to explore new areas.

MZilliox

I would call myself a "hill climber" first, a commuter second, a tourer third. When I go for a ride I go out and climb hills, ride a couple curvy hilly roads and do it fast but not pushing it racer speeds, just that fun fast. But i like longer rides and replacing the car as well.

indyfabz

I took up cycling again as an adult (in college) as a way to get around quickly and then used it for some weight loss. Then I took up unsupported touring back in '99. Dropped that between '01 and '08 then got back into it. Now I ride for sport, transportation and travel. I think I am somewhat different from many in this forum in that the major goal of cycling is not weight loss/management. Riding a bike in an integral part of my life the way driving a car is to many.

Buffalo Buff

Pretty much all of the above.

I use my Ridley for commutes, for pleasure rides, for fast group rides, for tours etc.

ColaJacket

That's me right now. Just got back into biking to increase my fitness and lose some weight. Right now, I just want to faster and farther, so I can join some group rides without embarassing myself.

GH

TK LP

I would be other, fitness / recreational.

Black wallnut 

None of the above.... Fat and slow however I do race and I do go long. Saturday did an imperial century with 4K feet of climb and averaged 17.1 MPH.

obed7

I am a tinker damn rider, I don't give a tinkers damn about catagories.

Stellar12

Little old lady who rides an Orbea, recently upgraded to Di2, who likes longish rides with hills.

jsigone

I am a sun chaser

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