Did driving put an end to your cycling days?
Discussion
Like all kids I had a few bicycles during my childhood. But once I had progressed from a Raleigh Commando to a Raleigh Arena I set my sights firmly on motorized transport. That odd in-between age of 16 was spent on a Yamaha TY50 motorbike and then at 17 it was straight into a car. That was 25 years ago now and I genuinely cannot recall having ever ridden a bicycle or motorbike since. I certainly haven't owned either during that time.
I guess I could be a good example of that old saying that you never forget how to ride a bicycle! However, now that my kids are growing up I fear that this will very soon be put to the test.
Did any other PH'ers hang up their bike pump at 17?
I guess I could be a good example of that old saying that you never forget how to ride a bicycle! However, now that my kids are growing up I fear that this will very soon be put to the test.
Did any other PH'ers hang up their bike pump at 17?
Nope, my 1st car (Audi 80 Avant) was bought to accommodate a downhill mountain bike that I raced most weekends. Roll on 15 years and I still go mountain biking at least once a week, although these days is usually sub 30mile cross country involving a pub or two. Motorbike is also daily transport to work. My cars are only used when practicalities dictate or for outright fun, i.e. track days. I can't imagine commuting by car in the south east now I'm on a motorbike unless its snowing or gales. Going to work in a cars not so much driving just following the queue.
Perhaps a little, but i still cycle regularly and enjoy mountain biking around wales and Scotland. I used to cycle every day to school or college so I'm doing less cycling miles but when I do ride in make it worthwhile and go for 50+ miles on the road bike or 4+ hours on the mountain bike.
Running has always been my main sport and i'm still running over 40 miles / week at the moment.
Running has always been my main sport and i'm still running over 40 miles / week at the moment.
Yup! Pretty much.
I started off ok as I used to stick my bike in the car to go cycling a bit further afield but then I got into smart cars and well, they aren't exactly the best vehicle to use to transport a bike plus I got into going to smart meets rather than going out on my bike with my mate.
Also, I started working weekends all the time so that killed it too.
I started off ok as I used to stick my bike in the car to go cycling a bit further afield but then I got into smart cars and well, they aren't exactly the best vehicle to use to transport a bike plus I got into going to smart meets rather than going out on my bike with my mate.
Also, I started working weekends all the time so that killed it too.
Certainly did, the bikes didn't get a look in for a few years after getting my first car and were in fact sold to help fund it.
Fortunately for the waistline, after a couple of years i started to get back into it, mtb's at first and then road bikes as well, so that i am now back to the same level of addiction that i had in my teenage years!
Fortunately for the waistline, after a couple of years i started to get back into it, mtb's at first and then road bikes as well, so that i am now back to the same level of addiction that i had in my teenage years!
I used to go everywhere on my bicycle, always hated public transport. I put nearly 6,000 miles on my bicycle between June 2005 and February 2007. Have always been a bit overweight because of my tendancy towards unhealthy food and beer, but I was always relatively fit.
Since I got the car in February 2007 I've probably done less than 500 miles, and the bike remains perfectly servicable in the shed. I've probably put on less than a stone but my fitness is through the floor.
I work 7 miles from home so I keep promising that I'll start cycling it, but logistically it's a pain in the arse (how to get fresh ironed shirts to work, showering etc...
Since I got the car in February 2007 I've probably done less than 500 miles, and the bike remains perfectly servicable in the shed. I've probably put on less than a stone but my fitness is through the floor.
I work 7 miles from home so I keep promising that I'll start cycling it, but logistically it's a pain in the arse (how to get fresh ironed shirts to work, showering etc...
LotusOmega375D said:
Did any other PH'ers hang up their bike pump at 17?
Probably. But not this one...I grew up on a farm and actually got into riding scramblers before I was that fussed about bikes with pedals. Endless issues with two stroke engines meant I started spending less time on my DT50 (I was 15 at the time...) and my TS125 and one day, for whatever reason, I picked up my old mountain bike and started riding it again.
I rapidly got hooked and went up through progressively better specced mountain bikes through my late teens and early 20s. I don't go mountain biking anything like as often these, but I've got into commuting lately.
A fair number of keen drivers are also keen cyclists (usually mountain bikers to be specific) and I'm not remotely surprised. In most parts of the UK you're no more than about half an hour's drive from somewhere you can ride a mountain bike in a way you couldn't (safely) drive a car unless you had a race track at your disposal. Sideways round the corners, skittering around under braking, airborne over jumps ... a good bit of downhill singletrack is as thrilling as a track day I reckon.
It is a different sensation (more like skiing or boarding I'd say), but there's the same mix of mental and physical challenge as there is in fast driving: What line do you take? How grippy does the surface look and are there any cambers or bumps you need to set the bike up for? Do you have line of sight to go flat out round that corner?
And that's before the balance and feel for the bike comes in to it. To be honest, I can't see why anyone who gets a kick out of driving a car on the limit of adhesion wouldn't enjoy mountain biking (at least going down the hills).
Partly, I grew up in a fairly small town and cycled everywhere up until I moved to London at 19, I was a fat kid but I could properly shift it on my bike, I remember seeing my PE teacher once and he asked me why I couldn't run like I cycle 
I got another bike when I moved to a small city in the U.S, and still have that one now I'm back in blightly, try and get out on it when the weather's good... I love driving but getting the fresh air and exercise on a bike when you're in the mood for it is still great.
I got another bike when I moved to a small city in the U.S, and still have that one now I'm back in blightly, try and get out on it when the weather's good... I love driving but getting the fresh air and exercise on a bike when you're in the mood for it is still great.
At 18 I passed and my bike got left in the garage, from about 14 to 18 I went through three of these communting to work, used to destroy them £100 and lasted a year and became parts for the next one,
I had bikes int he meantime but they were like most peoples, garage ornament Mountain Bikes, I decided to commute to work on an old racer my brother in law gave me (then took back....) then the cycle to work scheme came along about four years ago and I bought a bike to communte to work, a Cannondale Bad Boy 700 hybrid which was ok but I hankered after a road bike so I bought a Specialized Allez and I love it, done three days to work this week and two working form home, zero fuel cost, apart from some of the stored fuel round my waist
I think when we graduate from bikes to cars we forget that it was actually enjoyable in its own right, so caught up with the whole car thing, I remember charging round as a kid imagining I was in the Lombard RAC Rally, could manage a half decent power slide on a racer
I get stuff from cycling I dont get from driving, it just requires effort to get there, lets face it its a rear wheel drive, open topped lightweight vehicle, whats not to like ?
I think all the anti cyclist rhetoric, the terror of someone not seeing your thrusty status symbol or thinking you, are god forbid not a well built Company director put a few off cycling. Also a lot of peoples commutes dont suit it, too far, evil roads and no facilities at the destination but a lot can and dont, drive three miles and moan about the traffic and fuel cost, a lot are scared and it can be daunting but get some training, proper gear and er on the side of caution you will be fine.
I thinkthe mountain bike did a lot to stop people cycling, they all bought Muntain Bikes thinking thats what they needed (you dont) and they bought cheap ones which are crap, heavy and unpleasant to ride so it put them off, even a decent MTB is rubbish on road even compared to a cheap road or hybrid bike, plus a road biek will go further off road than people would give them credit for, in fact the road surfaces today are worse than some of the bridle paths I use, they just arent that fragile and most people dont do the hardcore Downhill that they like to give the impression they have, a towpath twice a year doesnt need a three grand XC bike. Any MOTB on road is good for getting fit due to the tyres, weight and riding position but if you want to do distance, get a road bike or hybrid.
You dont need to choose a camp, cycling is a bit like American High School where everyone chooses a group to afiliate themselves with, you dont need to be a roadie or an MTB'er, just get a bike and ride it, you can wear MTB gear on a road bike or vice versa, you dont have to wear lycra or fit into a category.
Bikes are useful for lots of things, I go to the shops on mine, in the car it take longer due to traffic, parking (if I can find a space), walking from the car to the shops, with the bike I park nearer than disabled drivers, dont pay and am in and out in no time, its all about the right tool for the job.
Go and dig your bike out, look at the weather, and even when its crap it is ok, rain doesnt kill you and god I feel so much better after a ride, plus you can get into some really big dust ups with other cyclists, proper full on race without getting nicked.
I had bikes int he meantime but they were like most peoples, garage ornament Mountain Bikes, I decided to commute to work on an old racer my brother in law gave me (then took back....) then the cycle to work scheme came along about four years ago and I bought a bike to communte to work, a Cannondale Bad Boy 700 hybrid which was ok but I hankered after a road bike so I bought a Specialized Allez and I love it, done three days to work this week and two working form home, zero fuel cost, apart from some of the stored fuel round my waist
I think when we graduate from bikes to cars we forget that it was actually enjoyable in its own right, so caught up with the whole car thing, I remember charging round as a kid imagining I was in the Lombard RAC Rally, could manage a half decent power slide on a racer
I get stuff from cycling I dont get from driving, it just requires effort to get there, lets face it its a rear wheel drive, open topped lightweight vehicle, whats not to like ?
I think all the anti cyclist rhetoric, the terror of someone not seeing your thrusty status symbol or thinking you, are god forbid not a well built Company director put a few off cycling. Also a lot of peoples commutes dont suit it, too far, evil roads and no facilities at the destination but a lot can and dont, drive three miles and moan about the traffic and fuel cost, a lot are scared and it can be daunting but get some training, proper gear and er on the side of caution you will be fine.
I thinkthe mountain bike did a lot to stop people cycling, they all bought Muntain Bikes thinking thats what they needed (you dont) and they bought cheap ones which are crap, heavy and unpleasant to ride so it put them off, even a decent MTB is rubbish on road even compared to a cheap road or hybrid bike, plus a road biek will go further off road than people would give them credit for, in fact the road surfaces today are worse than some of the bridle paths I use, they just arent that fragile and most people dont do the hardcore Downhill that they like to give the impression they have, a towpath twice a year doesnt need a three grand XC bike. Any MOTB on road is good for getting fit due to the tyres, weight and riding position but if you want to do distance, get a road bike or hybrid.
You dont need to choose a camp, cycling is a bit like American High School where everyone chooses a group to afiliate themselves with, you dont need to be a roadie or an MTB'er, just get a bike and ride it, you can wear MTB gear on a road bike or vice versa, you dont have to wear lycra or fit into a category.
Bikes are useful for lots of things, I go to the shops on mine, in the car it take longer due to traffic, parking (if I can find a space), walking from the car to the shops, with the bike I park nearer than disabled drivers, dont pay and am in and out in no time, its all about the right tool for the job.
Go and dig your bike out, look at the weather, and even when its crap it is ok, rain doesnt kill you and god I feel so much better after a ride, plus you can get into some really big dust ups with other cyclists, proper full on race without getting nicked.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff