big john

I started riding as an adult to get in better shape for dirt bikes. Eventually discovered the adventure of long rides in the mountains. Gave up dirt bikes a couple years after I joined a road club. Joined that club in 1989 and I rode with them yesterday.
Never raced, commuted, or did a double century. Done hundreds of centuries and thousands of group rides. Done some touring and a lot of mountain biking.

No idea of average speeds or watts or most of the other things people keep track of. The main reason to try and stay in shape and keep the weight off is so I can do the rides I want to do.

So my attitude hasn't changed with regard to the reason I ride. I always loved the difficult rides. Got a piece of that yesterday with 3500 feet of climbing in the first 23 miles, then a cold, windy descent. Definitely the slowest in the group but they waited for me. I don't have the endurance I once did but these rides are rewarding to me.

rsbob 

So very interesting. Really appreciate people taking the time to tell their stories. Many parallels and not so parallels. When people talk about themselves and their biking journey, pain and accomplishments, I feel as if I am getting to know posters better than just a quick answer to chain lube, golf club holder, or chamois cream. But even those answers can be illuminating. One more personal detail - will be hitting 68 in Dec.

Hope more people chime in. Thanks to all, even the grammar police, Nice catch.

RandomlyWest

Learned to ride a bike at 12 when Dad decided he wanted to get fit, and me, dad and little brother would hit the then-bleak-and-dusty Santa Ana River Trail.
Dad and little brother got bored and quit and I kept cycling.
For me at 12 and even now four decades later, cycling is mostly about experiences - good experiences, peak experiences.
Generally speaking:

• Good experience: fascinating day ride
• Peak experience: fascinating overnights and short tours (don't have a career where I can take 2-3 weeks off at once)

Have never raced, never gone on a club ride.
Riding SD County Route S2 from Ocotillo to Lake Henshaw (and back) in 1991 ... the first peak experience.
That told me that great cycling is about seeing places, seeing the West, experiencing nature, people, and culture, and self-reliance.
Just my experience.

Attilio

I rode bike as kid for exercise due to diabetes and a bit for independence. I had a cheap junk that wasn't even the right size half the time, too big for a couple years, just right for a year, and too small thereafter. It was a piece of junk and I know because I rehabbed it in recent years and gifted it to the husband of a friend who thinks riding more than down their 200 yard long street is a big deal.

I ride a bike today for diabetes and exercise. Got into MTB and group riding. It's much more of a way of life now and WAY more fun that I have more money to buy something good. I do it way more. For me back in the day going to a friend's house 8 miles away was a big deal. Now I do centuries in the mountains on a regular basis sometimes including light trails. I have become more and less judgemental. I was afraid that *ANY* cyclist would swerve into my way when I was passing them and honk/high beam from half a mile leaving HUGE berth with horn blaring all the way in case they didn't know I was there. Now that is ZERO for people with fancy bikes and good clothing who look like they're serious because I know they are in control if they spring for that kind of bike; call me a snob but if they're not in the middle of the road swerving around out of control then it's OK. I save the hoking treatment for the fat people with obviously cheap Walmart bikes swerving around half out of control jumping off the side walk obviously not knowing what they are doing, without helmet, without lights and inadvertently cutting you off because they don't know the bike speeds up and veers away when you drop height from sidewalk to street. So my honking and attitude towards cyclists is the same overall but the negative side just shifted to the Walmart bike riding fat people only.

Chuck Naill

Bikes have always meant a form of freedom and transportation. My grandfather and I built several bikes before he got my three speed Western Flyer. Later it was Schwinn Stingrays and even later a 10 speed. After marriage my bicycling stopped until the children got their first bikes, and we started camping often. In the mid '80's we got a Specialized Rock Hopper and two more of the same brand for the children.

In 2009 I was unemployed for several months and started riding an old Trek road bike that a friend had gifted me. I rode it until I damaged the frame. Then I used my son's road bike for a year or two. In 2017 I was again wanting a bike that fit me and gave the son's bike back to him. After looking, I settled on the Kona Sutra. It will be my forever bike. I love it and now can use it for grocery runs and mild trial use. I call it my Subaru (go anywhere do anything) bike.

Inusuit

No. I've always been a casual rider. Fitness, recreation, and enjoying the outdoors.

seypat

+1. I competed at a high level in many other sports. Not every sport/endeavor needs to be a competition.

Reflector Guy

I rode a lot when I was a kid, culminating in the three years I lived in Peoria IL in my 20s where I rode daily. Then, not at all for years. Finally, I started riding again in 2017 after my doctor told me "to get some light exercise" whatever that means LOL. I ramped up considerably since then and then even more so starting in 2020 when I started having more free time and also that was when I found the forum and have learned so much in two years!

Never raced or been on a group ride though.

Carbonfiberboy 

Seeing indyfabz post up there reminded me that a big chunk of my cycling history involves tandeming and touring. Good grief. Brain is aging out, too.

The tandeming started as I was easing out of rando, so that was in 2007. At that point, I switched from being a 100% singles rider to a 10% singles rider, at least on the road. I still put a lot of miles on my rollers, but seldom ride my singles outdoors, preferring the tandem. As we got stronger on the tandem, we also knew were both aging. We started touring before it was too late, at first in the US. That was an immensely fun period, culminating in my many decades long dream of doing a cycling and drinking tour of the Czech Republic, now on the tandem.

Long story, but I speak a little Czech and know how good their beer is. I spent a couple months planning and we did a 3 week solo tour on the tandem. That was the most fun I ever had on a bicycle. The Czech people are interesting because they've been conquered so many times they've had to adapt. They have a fabulous sense of humor and the best beer in the world. Our most memorable stop was a couple days we accidentally spent camping in a nudist camp. That was in 2012.

Random scene:

philbob57

First adult biking was in Ann Arbor, where I could get from our home to my part of UM's campus cheaper and faster by bike than by car. I had trouble finding a bike that fit, though, so I didn't ride much recreationally. Later, in the DC area, I got a bike that fit and started riding solo and with the Arlington Bike Club. Another move, to Evanston (IL), put me in touch with a remnant of the Old Town BC and the Evanston BC. More moves (Dallas, Kuala Lumpur) got me off the bike because of work and climate issues.

Now I ride primarily for fun, but I just had a stress test that I sailed through, so at 78, I'm liking the health effects. I've slowed way down, and I no longer enforce my right of way or encroach on drivers' rights of way at stop signs. In general, when I think of my routes, I choose the ones I think will be safer overall instead of competing with cars.

I compete against myself and still have modest goals, but my main goal is to end a ride feeling happy that I rode, but that's always been my goal.

jackb

Actually the OP says "...I could not care less.'' This is correct usage. I could care less is the incorrect usage resulting in the above question about how much less.

Iv'e been cycling ever since I was a child. I'm 74 now. I used to take longer rides but now I am content with 20-30 miles at much slower speeds than formerly. I'm content just to be on the bike cruising along. I continue to enjoy climbs. I rarely pedal as fast as I can and speed is not important to me at all. It never really was though I did go faster as a young man.

zandoval 

For me Cycling used to be one of the things I did. In addition to Hiking, Climbing, Motorcycling, Spelunking, Bow Hunting, Boating, Fishing, Scouting... And lets not forget Partying, Dancing, Drinking... Obviously, I am more beat up than I look... Ha

WOW... It's been a blast...

Now days Cycling is about the only thing I do... Or rather can do... So I continue to...

Eric F

From '92-'04, it was all about racing, and every time on the bike was about suffering to get faster and stronger. I had a lot of fun, and made a lot of friends, and won some races. It all came to an end in '04, after my youngest daughter was born. I couldn't keep riding and racing like that and also be the kind of dad I wanted to be. My motivation to keep pushing my body was also fading. I hung it up.

15 years later, I got back on my bike, dropped 40 lbs., and got some reasonable fitness back. I'll never be as strong or as fast as I was in my early-30s, but at 54, I'm back riding with the same guys I used to ride with, and I feel good on the bike again. This time around, I learned how to ride for fun. I might ride with some sort of training intent, but there are times I just go ride for the joy of rolling along under my own power. I don't expect to ever race again...probably

rsbob 

You just reminded me of when my wife of 20+ years and I first got together. She loved the same sports as me: cycling, hiking, downhill skiing, running, travel, politics and religon and so we hit it off. The only point we really differed on was cycling strength and that’s where the tandem came in handy. After she learned to trust me and she stopped leaning the opposite way on turns the majority of our cycling was together on that bike. I called it, “the great equalizer” except when it came to long climbs, which would consistently just about kill me. Her favorite thing was chasing down other cyclists, since she also has a competitive bent (thankfully not in the relationship. BTDT). We loved cycling together so much we packed up our bike and shipped it to Milan for a four week bike riding adventure. Our bike got lost for four days by either the airline or incompetent baggage handlers. We missed all our reservations since we only planned on spending two days in Milan to acclimate. We were going to start our cycling adventure at Lake Como (of George Clooney fame) but an early investigative trip to the train depot were told “No bichis” allowed on the train to Como. So we made arrangements with then hotel to hold onto our bike, after a 20 minute shouting argument between the hotel staff. So we rented single bikes where we could and rode that way as the tandem sat in Milan. So we got some good riding in and were so impressed by how the Italian drivers were so good and courteous to cyclists. When we returned to Milan, we packed up the bike, only ridden one kilometer and shipped it home. Still had a good time but were disappointed that the Information desk lied about no bicycles on the train, because we went the next day to catch the train it had a complete car dedicated to bikes - I asked the conductor about bringing a bike and he said with a big grin and motioning to the empty car, “No problemo signore”.

rydabent

I am now 84, so have a life time of cycling experience. From the 3rd grade to the 8th grade I rode my bike a mile and three quarters to school. Then the district provided busses. But I continued to ride till I joined the Navy. Then it was off to work and I was off the bike for several years. I started again when my 2 oldest boys got old enough to ride when I was about 40, and have continued to ride ever since then. I never raced, and always ride for fun and exercise. I have never paid any attention to all the blather by "real cyclist" on what to ride, how fast to ride, what my cadence should be, how far to go on a ride, and what I should wear. Back in 2005 I got my first recumbent, and have been "bent" ever since. I have a recumbent bike and in 2011 added a trike. The bike goes out of town on club rides, and the trike is my in town ride since it is the easiest way to ride in town. No clipping in and out at every stop. Other than going bent in 2011, my style of riding really hasnt changed at all over the years. I ride where when and how I want to ride. I pay NO attention to what others say I should do.

bblair

In my 20's, every group ride was a World Championship. I always got caught in the middle and rode alone for most of it.

Now, 40 years later, I found my group, mainly a bunch of retirees or nearly so. We still stomp it pretty good, but no one gets dropped or left behind. What's the point of getting up early and riding alone? We regroup at the top of a climb or the next turn, even though every has GPS now. So much more fun!

seypat

Different strokes for different folks. Maybe some want to stop and smell the roses when they feel like it. Or hammer until they can't anymore when they feel like it. Not everyone needs or enjoys the pack experience.

Inusuit

I have no experience with group bicycle rides and have no desire to do so. I have logged a lot of miles with a friend but find I really prefer riding alone for the reasons seypat lists. I ride an old Rockhopper with Schwalbe Land Cruiser tires so I can take a dirt road or a two track if the opportunity presents. My buddy doesn't want to go off pavement.

SpeedyBlueBiker

Me too!

SpeedyBlueBiker

I'm already in for RAMROD 2023. Will probably be the same course as 2022 due to announced road construction plans by MRNP.
I really don't want to go electric either.

SpeedyBlueBiker

I rode a bike as a young kid like most kids did "back in the day". Even rode my bike to school for a few years until I had to take the bus as jr. high was too far away. Like a lot of kids in the PNW, I got into hiking, climbing, and just generally being outdoors. Started running to stay in shape for climbing. Found out in HS that I was doing pretty well at running and ran D1 in college. Then spent the 80's in a few different cities around the mid-south and mid-west for both grad school and work with my recently acquired wife. Kids started arriving in the mid to late 80's. Left the US for Bangkok in 1990 for a work assignment. Still ran a lot but not nearly as much or as intently like I did in college. Started to mtn bike in the late 90's with other expat friends in Bangkok. The transition from running to mtn biking was very easy and all the cardio from running worked very well. Did a little bit of mtn bike racing there which was fun. Moved back to the US in the 2000's and immediately signed up for the RAMROD before they went to the lottery system. Bought my first road bike, a 2002 LeMond Zurich, in April and did my first road event that July which was RAMROD.
I don't do Strava, HRM's, or any other bike/running related tech. I'm not interested in the watts I produced. About the most tech I use is my wireless (aren't they all now?) bike computer that records my distance and speed. I do check the local bike club and if I see a ride I like and they used Ride With GPS I will make note of that.
I basically just ride for fun and my pace is generally between 18-20mph on the flat with no wind. Almost all of my rides are solo. I am a fair weather rider that doesn't bike in the rain or cold. Will be leaving next month for Bangkok for some warm weather riding for a couple of months.

mstateglfr 

- As a kid, I rode for transportation and fun- always trying to clear bigger tabletop jumps and whatever else we could build in the woods.
- Then I didnt ride for a decade.
- After college I got back into it since we live in an area with a huge paved trail system with a ton of trailside bars. Those rides were party rides so the actual cycling was secondary.
- Once I had kids, I rode almost always with my oldest either towing her or later at her pace and we went on 'adventures' to new parks, ponds, creeks, etc.
- The kids got older and I rode more on my own which allowed to me tap into the competitive side of cycling- ride faster, further, fewer stops, etc.
- 7 years ago I joined a nonprofit mentoring program where we work with teens for 5 months a year and use cycling 3x/week as the basis for meeting. That meant half my season is riding with teens and so some rides are excruciatingly slow while other rides are fast, just depended on the who I was with and how they felt on any given day. The other half of my season was spent solo and riding hard/fast/far along with some gravel events to just have experiences.

Looking forward...
- I just stepped back from the mentor program after this season ended as it was a good stopping point. It will be difficult to be motivated to ride in the early spring now since I had to do it out of obligation before, and now if its cold or windy or wet I no longer have that obligation. I will for sure ride more with my kids this coming year as they are old enough to start pushing themselves and both enjoy cycling. One of the girls from the mentorship program is part of my family now and at college, but I will also ride a lot with her once she is back in town after spring semester. I figure next year will be 60% solo and 40% with family. I plan on entering more gravel races too.
Definitely looking forward to an adjustment in how I approach cycling.

Koyote

My first father-in-law grew up in Plzen and, as a boy, worked in the fields picking the Saaz hops that are used in Pilsner Urquell. On our most memorable trip back there, I toured the brewery -- 10km of underground tunnels and caverns, which facilitated the cold fermentation year-round before they had refrigeration. At one point, they took us into a large room with an original oak barrel in which they always had a batch of beer made the original way. (They had moved to stainless steel fermentation containers over a decade earlier.) They poured each of us a small sample, but most of the other folks in the tour didn't actually want theirs(!), and so they gave them to me. Needless to say, I finished the tour a little tipsy.

tomato coupe

I could care less, but it would take more effort to care less, and I don't care about it enough to put in the extra effort.

Darth Lefty 

It has depended a lot on life situation and where I could ride.

When I was a tween we lived in the exurbs. My parents didn't worry about me much, I think. There was not much trouble to get in. I could go riding in the desert but school seemed too far.

In college riding a bike around was perfectly reasonable. But buying a new bike seemed out of reach when the fork broke. I came back one year with my dad's truck and that was it.

At my first career job, in the desert again. The first three things I got with my paycheck were an apartment, a mattress, and a mountain bike. Once again riding to work was just not reasonable but mountain biking out the front door was great.

At my second career job I moved to a city with lots of bike infrastructure, but in an apartment, and I had a dog. Spent way more time walking dog than riding bikes. Didn't miss it, filled the same niche.

After meeting my future wife and moving into a house, dog could pee in the yard and commuting became reasonable. That's where I've been since. Mountain biking on weekends and camping trips.

There was a really brief period where I was trying to beat my times on my bike around the lake but all that got interrupted by heart problems and now I just go the pace I can manage today. I use Strava mainly for logging and not for striving