To stay in shape...>>>the ladies....and getting away from my parents

at the beginning - bleep bleep bleep damn hrm must speed up...

in the middle - 22kph not bad nice weather water's o...bleep bleep bleep damn hrm must speed up...she's cute that looks cool don't even think about pulling ou...bleep bleep bleep damn hrm must speed up...and repeat

at the end - bleep bleep bleep bleep damn hrm must spee whatchu mean slow down if I went any slower I'd fall over bleep bleep bleep damn hrm...

Only 45 more minutes till the next rest stop, must keep up the pace (already riden 2 hours non stop)

Only 10 more miles until my metric

One more interval and maybe just maybe I will win, hang, not get dropped, etc at my next race, races.

But most importantly...

One more interval out of CATEGORY 5... !

I just like it. I like riding so it's fun to go farther and farther or faster and faster. The only motivation I need to get home is that if I don't ride I'll have to walk.

Wind in my face

Going really fast

How it feels after a good workout when you arrive back home.

What I always think about is my Mom. Three years ago, I did a ride here in Illinois to benefit the American Cancer Society. My Mom had just finished 6 months of chemo and was proud to gather sponsors for me, telling everyone that she was a cancer survivor. 4 months later she died of complications from her colon cancer. I am always thinking of my Mom whenever I get on the bike, whether it's for a local trip to the vidoe store, or a nice long ride out to the west end of Lake County.

To look good naked.

Motivation? I don't need no stinkin motivation for doing what I enjoy? I need motivation to do chores...

To support my wife who is exercising to lose about 70 pounds. To get my flexibility and stamina back. To see my two year old graduate from college.

I vent my daily stress into my legs for a bit and then just enjoy the scenary and love the burn I get up a hill or into a headwind. Also, I need to keep up with my wife, she smokes me on flats and downhills (gravity helps)

Did I mention that my wife thinks my calves are sexy

1) Something my wife and I can both enjoy together.

2) I can still fill my competitive nature on solo rides.

3) Its probably the best stress buster I've ever found.

4) I was never gonna be a threat on the football field at 5'11" and 145#'s

5) And there is something about fit women in lycra that motivates me...wierd.

Reasons I got back into cycling:

Combat that thing called the 'Programmer's Spread' Gained 20lbs in my first year of a desk job after quitting retail that kept me on my feet 8 hours a day.

Get back in shape after jaw surgery (5 weeks on liquid diet is one hell of a diet, unless you have nothing but muscle to loose, down 22lbs in those 5 weeks) and my own little bout with cancer 5 years ago. (Malignat Melanoma Clark's level IV on my right forearm, was ~6mo from following in Lance's foot steps and I don't mean to the tour)

And most importantly: being healthy and looking good for my wedding next May to my darling fiancee Margaret.

Great question!

When I'm commuting it's "Gotta make this light"

When I'm riding my 15 mile loop it's "gotta do this faster than last week"

When I'm just putting on miles it's my friend in France who rode 15,000 miles in a year.

I also get a lot of motivation from hanging out on this forum!!!

So I'll be around when my

cats grow up

Gotta admit that does seem like fun. If only you could get them to play fair!

-Thighs will never ever rub again!
-My bike is so cool, see the people admire it!
-I wonder if the suspension will break. Why didn't my BikeForum friends tell me that front suspension is going to be high maintenance,sooner?
-My bike is so cool, those guys are looking at it. Tee Hee. I'm gonna strike a pose. What kind of pose could I do on a bike?
-I am strengthening my IT Band! I think.
-I hope that car doesn't hit me. I've already been through that before and I don't want to be flying up into the air today -NOT TODAY!
-Man, one day I'm gonna get a fast bike. This one is cute, not fast enough though.
-Here comes the hill, Christ!!!! Shift, pedal...pedal...pedal...don't stop....pedal...pedal...almost there...pedal...breathe...not almost there...breathe...pedal...pedal!


However, when I am runninng toward a hill I am very COOL. My though pattern:

A hill! Yes! This is going to make me run a much fast 5K. What kind of hill it this one? Curves = feminine, straight up / steap =masculine. This one is masculine. He wants respect so I had better take it slow and not challenge him...

Basically, I handle the hills as those I am training a wild horse. I love doing that.

I pretend like I'm in a race (which I don't do BTW) and I hear the anouncer in my head saying "Major's in the lead, she looks real good. Improving over last year..." For some reason, that kind of stuff helps me out.