coasting 

now that's interesting. i think over this side of the pond hobby is very much inclusive of sports.

thanks for the tip on how to passive agressively irritate an american.

aham23

call it what you want. its just what i do. later.

carpediemracing 

My wife is an accountant.

"Hobby" implies activities that have costs and don't make money. You cannot write off hobby expenses.

"Business" implies activities that have costs but make money (3 out of every 5 years? Or 4 out of 5? I don't know but my wife said something to that effect). You can write off expenses.

The big thing that distinguishes the two is that you can write off business expenses from a tax point of view. You cannot write off hobby expenses. Since we all know how much money cycling can absorb, we all know that it'd be nice if we could write off cycling. But we can't because, frankly, most of us don't make the $1000 to $5000+ (conservative, I know, but let's play nice) that we spend annually on our hobby. Imagine a car racing fanatic who lays out that amount of money every weekend for fuel, tires, travel, etc.

It has nothing to do with the percentage of income you earn. You can earn $20 year after year on a business, although the IRS will probably check up on you if you claim $100k in expenses for those same years.

I have a full time job (paycheck). I also have a business (technically/legally) of promoting bike races. I make much less money at promoting races but I still have to pay income taxes on the money I earn through promoting races because it's a business.

Now just how much money I make at promoting is a different story. It's possible that I didn't claim all my travel expenses at full IRS value because it's possible that not doing so would drive my business into a hobby.

I have a cycling hobby. I don't write off my bike equipment or other less-than-kosher things like that.

I have a race promotion business. I do write off state fees, hosting fees, equipment I buy for promoting the races, sponsorship costs, advertising, and consumables (stuff like race numbers, pins, salt for melting ice, gasoline for generators, etc).

cdr

urbanknight

That's what makes this thread so interesting.


I think cycling starts to get into a gray area because it has so much (cool and fun) equipment that you can get into the machines themselves as much (or more) as you do riding them. I've heard people place the hobby label on other amateur athletic endeavors - skiing, snowboarding, sailing, archery - but rarely on ones that don't deal with as much technology - basketball, running, etc.

Bottom line, if you think it's a hobby, it's a hobby; If you think of it as exercise, it's exercise; etc.

jdon

I have always heard very clear difference between sport and hobbies. For example in job interviews, " What sports do you participate in? What hobbies, activities or interests do you enjoy". So for me, its not a hobby, its a sport. Now, when my 80 year old father rides, its more of an activity. In my simple little world anyways.

slothlike

Are all other forms of exercise and keeping fit considered a "hobby"??
I think there are aspects that are hobby-like (caring for equipment, acquiring gear etc), but the act of riding a bike is a form of exercise/fitness for me first and foremost, a hobby second.

halfspeed

Exactly four angels can dance on the head of a pin.

coasting 

since when is hobby an insult?

Paul Y.

expensive form of exercise.

urbanknight

Got me. I've always been proud to have found a "hobby" that keeps me in shape.

caloso

Someone, somewhere on BF has a sig line that says it's not a sport, it's an expensive eating disorder.

noise boy

+1

surgeonstone

I like making square rigged ships from scratch- it's a hobby, it fills time when I am not engaged in work or other activities. What separates a hobby for me from activities like cycling is this- I NEED to cycle. Not for money, but for sanity. When at work, getting out of my car , at home my brain is constantly thinking of how the environment relates to my ride that day, it's 23 degrees F one layer, 2, 3? The winds 20 MPH from the southwest- start into the wind or do I want it at my back. It is an obsession. Maybe thats my own unique pathology at work but I see a lot of similar posts here so I think I am not alone.

surgeonstone

Can't or can?, You can buy scratch book, knitting and cross-stitch supplies there.

billydonn

For most folks here I suspect that cycling is best viewed as serious leisure.

surgeonstone

You say po-tay-toe, I say Po-tah-toe
You say to-may-toe, I say tom- ah-toe
Po-tay-toe, Po-tah-toe, Tom-ay-toe, Tom-ah-toe, let's call the whole thing off.
Sheesh!

urbanknight

Tell me about it. I've gained 30 lb since my riding has greatly decreased about a year ago.

urbanknight

Oops, I meant can't. I don't see any such items on their website, and I know none of the hobby stores (including Hobby People) around here sell them. You get those things at Joann's Fabrics or Michaels Arts and Crafts Supplies.

doctor j

It's my avocation.

twobadfish

I don't know of any condition that results in death from not exercising.

That said, I can see how referring to something your are so passionate about and spend so much money on as a hobby can be a little insulting. But on the other hand we aren't just cyclists. We don't just commute. We spend A LOT of time discussing every aspect of cycling. Looking for the next best thing to "improve" our ride. Learning everything there is about it. Joining clubs. All important aspects of what I consider to be a hobby.

I also mountaineer, canyoneer, rock climb, and swim. On no application, profile, etc would I list those things as a hobby. I also keep very expensive saltwater aquariums and am more obsessed with that than any "activity" and while I would be a little reluctant to call it a hobby it really is just that. I could call all these things by other names but I think how much attention I give them with no other reward or gain other than personal, they would all probably technically fall under the definition of hobby.

But none of them are just "hobbies". They are a lifestyle, a passion, an addiction.

Randochap

It could be a hobby. It could be a job. It could be a calling. It could be a duty or a devotion. It could be a burden or a meditation. It could be a mystery or it could be zen.

canam73

You are not alone needing to realize your life and emotions are no more important than the next person's, who may be a stamp collector or a bird watcher. They can be obsessed with their hobbies, too. They may feel their hobbies keep them sane, too. A bird watcher probably needs to think more about the weather and the environment than you. And do I really need to make any analogies between collectors and obsession?

halfspeed

Maybe only three if one of the angels is fat.

urbanknight

Maybe not directly, but I assume you are aware of the leading cause of death in the USA and how exercise plays a role in avoiding it?

twobadfish

*thinks carefully*

Touche. Sort of.