What makes you want to ride?

[Grease_Monkey]

It's really fun.... simple as that.

[NotSoBigBen]

I ride because I love bikes, any bike!

 

Road, mountain, singlespeed, fixed gear, rigid, mechanical, electronic, one by, two by, track, TT you name it!

 

Am also a 'tinkerer', try different things as often as I can, some work some don't.

 

My wife tells people I ride because 'that's just what he does'...

[Chris_]

So my question is, for the weekend warriors and the more serious guys, what makes you want to ride?

 

I've never been near the sharp end of any sport, I only race myself - sounds cliche but thats really it. Its just me vs a made up time or goal. I also, perhaps more than the act of cycling itself like bicycles. The look, the engineering, I really love the machine itself. So its a fairly easy sell to head out on it (very much fair-weather though), and at the same time getting to check out other bikes on the road.  I don't have strava or bike computers and that, its just fun smoking random people up a hill but thats as competitive as it gets.

 

Why is cycling better than going to the gym, taking a jog or any other fitness hobby.

 

I still go to gym for the weights, and running is actually my main focus now. So a road cycle is actually a bit of a treat when it comes around.

 

And lastly, what keeps you motivated?

 

I love fitness. I see your profile pic and I reckon you are similar wrt crossfit. I like being able to pick up any activity and do it reasonably well. I also go through phases with sports. So for a couple years I'll be totally besotted with one, get fully invested, and then probably eventually branch off into another. So the motivation is usually easy to find. Cycling though I've always been close to since childhood and am happy to keep rediscovering it.

[PSYCHOsmurfZA]

I sold my baby back in 2012 and since then riding was bothering me. Every time i saw someone on a bike i wanted to peddle. Being on a Motorbike for a few years kinda gave me that freedom feeling i yearned for. I bought a MTB again in July because i just couldnt be without riding. My wife is pregnant with our 3rd at the moment so "family" has never stopped me riding as the wife knows i need a hobby at home but i also need one that gets me out of the house. If you cant justify riding or have any drive in you to ride i would say its not worth it. Maybe if one of your mates has a spare go do some rides on the weekends, but if its all about being competitive ro you and you dont feel that then its a waste.

[Spinnekop]

If I DON'T ride, I kill someone.  Either at work of in traffic or in a mall.

Bodies pile up.  Rot.  Stink.  Effort.

 

It's just messy.

 

So I ride my bike.

Often.

[ChrisF]

Jurgens clearly everybody has their own reasons for riding, and their own reasons staying active.

 

 

My 2c to this topis as follows.

 

In the 80's I did 50km per day, to school and back.  Nice old OK Bazaars bike and a back pack ...

 

90's we did the odd "fun ride".

 

1999 Live threw me a curveball ... severe arthritis, by 2006 I was part of a medical trial for new meds ...  Sucks all the fun out of it when you are in constant pain when trying to exercise .... so the bikes were sold, and life continued with SuperSport and the couch ....

 

Does not take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened .... from a size M to XXXL .... and being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes .....

 

After losing about 20kg I borrowed a friends bike .... each time I pushed the limits it would take a week or two of meds to calm down the knees .....  by January this year my knees had enough, and I ended up getting an ebike.

 

Yesterday I managed a nice 49km with about 940m elevation.  JIP, the ebike helps a LOT in getting up those hills with buggered knees .... BUT, I still managed a good hart rate for almost 3 hours.  

 

 

Looking past the buggered knees, I am now in better condition than I was since the 90's.

 

 

 

 

I am NOT saying you should cycle.  But may I urge to stay active, as much as your life allows.

 

And I can add that the busier you get at work, the more important it is to stay fit.  Making time to stay fit really should be priority ONE.

 

 

 

So why do I ride now:

1) I ENJOY being out in nature !! 

2) Every so often I want a lazy afternoon, then my godson wants to go for a ride ... 

3) I DONT cycle "for my health" ,,, fear is probably one of the worst motivators.  Good health is just a bonus after enjoying a ride out on the trails.

 

 

PS - On Saturday afternoon I did 24km ride around the neighbourhood .... dodging cars at robots aint no fun .... MUCH prefer being out on the trails.

 

 

Wishing all the best in finding your own way of staying active, and the motivation to stay in shape 

Edited October 12, 2020 by ChrisF

[Vetseun]

I HATE cycling!

But I hate sitting at home talking to my wife more.

So cycling it is.

[TyronLab]

If the DOMS and racing is what gets you going then maybe consider Zwift racing? Its pretty brutal and you have Zwifts endless barrage of leg-destroying intervals to fall back on.

 

Personally, I started riding because I missed that specific blend of adrenaline, tangible progression, and getting really dirty (as a full-time OCD handwasher its as much of a rush as nailing a double) that wheeled off-road vehicles give you. So much so that the self-competition and sense of progression I get out of riding has made me lose interest in video games mostly.

 

That feeling at the end of a section that you've ridden on the borderline of your skillset, faster than you thought you could, with a few "F@KF@KF@KF@K" moments interspersed... Not caring about the mud getting slinged into your grinning mug, shoulders and forearms burning, not being sure if your heart's pumping from the rush or from the workout... man there's just nothing better.

Edited October 12, 2020 by TyronLab

[T_Boss]

Another big factor for me is the social aspect of it. I love getting to meet interesting people through riding.

 

One of the coolest things was a couple of years back, doing the Desert Knights Tour, on the first day, a bike packer from Spain rode into Hobas camp, and was surprised to find 120 cyclists all busy getting ready for the tour. After a brief chat, finding out he had been riding solo for the past 14 months or something, after selling all his earthly possesions (except his MTB), and had made is way all across europe, including eastern europe, before crossing into the middle east, and then on to africa.

 

We convinced him to delay his trip down to cape town for a few days, and he joined the desert knights event. Such intertesting stories and people along the way. 

 

But also, just meeting and making new friends an everyday rides. 

[Hamstring]

Drop the cash we need to kick start (cycle start) the economy   

[Gr3mlin131]

With a family history of obesity, I saw my boep starting to grow and knew I had to do something about it. Going to a gym, or even running can only keep me interested for so long, but outside on a bicycle I can cycle off all the pizzas I keep on eating. So currently I mostly cycle to keep eating whatever I like, and enjoying it as well. 

[T_Boss]

With a family history of obesity, I saw my boep starting to grow and knew I had to do something about it. Going to a gym, or even running can only keep me interested for so long, but outside on a bicycle I can cycle off all the pizzas I keep on eating. So currently I mostly cycle to keep eating whatever I like, and enjoying it as well. 

 

 

haha, This made me laugh. Look at my signature

[The Ouzo]

Long story, but here goes.

 

As a kid riding my bike was life, it was my freedom (even if I just rode up and down the street).

In high school I used to ride my bike to deliver newspapers, then the guys at school were into bikes so I worked towards getting my first proper race bike.

 

My dad had been at the sharp end of the cycling field before he married my mom, so cycling was kind of in my genes.

 

At around 16 or 17 my dad suggested we ride the Argus and we started training for it. The amount of cyclists we would greet on a sunday morning made me feel like I belonged to an exclusive club.

The mileage didnt bother me then, I was young, very strong from water skiing and always on the bike.

Then I broke my arm delivering newspapers one day, bye bye Argus.

I still rode a bit after that but not that much.

 

Then about 5/6 years later a mate of mine heard about the Argus and asked if i wanted to ride with him. I jumped at the opportunity. 

We did 2, then set a goal of doing 10 in a row, at around the 12th one motivation faded and training was only done every other weekend. I still rode, but was not motivated to put the effort in, I thought entering the races would motivate me but it didnt.

Life happened, kids happened, time was not mine. But cycling was the only exercise I did so I kept at it.

The only thing keeping me going back to enter races was I had the goal of getting into Club 21 for CTCT. I then set a goal of getting fit enough to just ride CTCT and enjoy the views, forget about the times. I started enjoying riding again.

But as I got fitter I enjoyed it more and then wanted to ride more.

I then started setting goals to ride more distance every year than the previous year.

 

Then last year I bought a new bike, the joy of riding this bike motivated me to ride more.

All of a sudden I was now back to chasing my times in races.

 

This year lockdown happened, and in order to keep my sanity I setup my old bike on the IDT and surprised myself with the dedication and mileage I was able to achieve, this continued through the various levels of lockdown and I even started riding my bike more often to work. For the first time ever I rode straight through winter. This resulted in more mileage, more fitness and strength and PRs dropping on just about every ride.

 

I'm now the lightest I've weighed in probably 20 years, the strongest and fittest I've been in probably 20 years and raring to go. All I want to do every day is ride my bike, faster, further, longer. I'll get back from a ride and be itching to get back on the bike again.

 

Its my sanity, my stress relief, my fountain of youth, my gym.

 

I guess the conclusion of my post is that you need to set achievable goals. Short term and long term.

You enjoy the thrill and pain of being at the sharp end of the field, but you wont be able to just jump on a bike and be there, so set smaller goals like being first in your start group and work up from there.

[Frosty]

Don’t set unrealistic expectations for yourself otherwise you’re doomed from the start. If you like coffee, find a shop close by and ride there, have coffee and ride home again.

 

Then find another coffee shop further away, plot a route, ride there, enjoy a coffee and ride back home. The same can be said for milkshakes or anything else that you also like.

 

When events become more regular, enter the short distance if you feel the temptation to race is high, but your fitness is not. I’ve done as little as 1900Km in on year, and still did a few races. I started in a group I thought I could finish with, sucked wheel and enjoyed the day. Eventually the racing big bit again and a few years later I was racing age groups again.

 

If you aren’t enjoying it, lighten up and don’t take it too serious. Good luck, and don’t give up... lots of golfers, gym bunnies and the like had to learn to run/ride during lockdown, while we were doing what we normally do... just with a mask on, and within a radius (for a while).

[boxerulez]

When i look down and can't see my pp I know I have to ride!

  I too ride to keep my pp in sight.

[Pikey]

Sanity & fffrrreeedddooommm ✊