Yesterday I was talking with a friend that I have not seen in a couple years and he asked me if I was still into my hobby of cycling. Then he stated he needs a new hobby, one to get him in better shape and said he wanted to start riding a bike.

It sounded odd when he used the word hobby and cycling together, I don't consider cycling a hobby, I mean, I do work on my own bikes and I tend to own bikes for different purposes of riding but still, a hobby? I think I felt insulted.

A hobby is an activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure or relaxation, often in one's spare time.

Unless it's your job, it's a hobby.

Its more like an obsession.

It is a hobby to me. Even if you deep into it and ride 7 days a week it is a hobby. You derive satisfaction and happiness from your hobby.

Unless you are getting paid for riding, then it is a job.

hobby 1 |ˈhäbē|
noun ( pl. -bies)
1 an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure : her hobbies are reading and gardening.

for me a passion and a way of life

This.

cycling is a hobby. my porsche is an illness.

It's weird that i never considered it a hobby, I agree it's my passion and way of life, I couldn't imagine life without it. I'm not sure 7 or 8 hours on a bike is a hobby, all the pain, sweat and suffering? I cant say it's in the league of collecting cards, coins or building bird houses.

i would consider the actual event of riding a sport, but as a whole, it is a hobby.

+1

Saying that it is a hobby does not cheapen it.

Photography is a hobby. Collecting stamps is a hobby, racing your car is a hobby, so does racing your bike...

It all depends on your definition of hobby.

Fixed.

You think?

Doesn't anybody here commute? I ride as a hobby, but commute on a much more regular basis.

A few days ago my wife asked me, when I told her I was riding to work one cold morning: "What are you trying to prove?". She just doesn't get it. To her it's a hobby, and no normal person would consider it to be a serious mode of transportation.

Yes, and the purpose of this thread is to state your definition.

Imo all amateur sports are hobbys.

It's more of an addiction.

Do any other "hobbies" entail suffering?

Its a hobby.
Its a lifestyle.

Ride Fast!

Hmmm.....

I work a "real" job, run a wheel company, have dealer and OEM accounts with just about everyone, do a ton of bike service work, run a cycling "club" with 3 "teams" including a past Masters National Champ and a couple of masters national podium finishers and 12+ state championships in Road, track, and cyclocross.....I import bicycle parts from Taiwan and attend trade shows..........

.....but for me I guess it's still just a hobby. I don't get paid to ride.

That's because you're not into those things. But, believe it or not (and I do have a hard time believing it myself), there are plenty of people out there that feel the same way about their stamps, coins and basket weaving as you and I do about riding our bikes.

??

The definition is pretty clear and the word isn't one that really lends itself to debate.

It doesn't have to be a hobby. Lots of people use it as only a form of transpo. Cars are the same. I drive one... pretty much daily. It's not a hobby for me though, since it only serves to get me from point A to point B, I don't just drive for pleasure... not regularly anyway. But car stuff is a hobby for plenty of other people, I'm just not one of them.

Why is this such the discussion?

agreed. i was just distinguishing it from hobbies like stamp collecting and photography.

There are hobbies that make cycling look very, very cheap, and all your 'pain and suffering' look like nothing. The people who do them would consider you in roughly the same league as the stamp collectors. Stop whining and HTFU.