What got you interested in cycling (or interested again)?
- Thread starter Shaun
- Start date
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Piemanpaul
Regular
Living in Sheffield in the mid 70s I can remember having a red Raleigh racer, what type of Raleigh I have no idea, I can remember in the 6 weeks holidays being on it constantly. There is a road in Sheffield called bishops court, every town has one steepest hill I could find, I can remember smashing it and feeling like Miguel indurain when I got to the top.
Then I found girls and beer, the bike I think rusted in a shed, I started running a few years later and competed in a few fell runs (tough) I carried on running until about 2 years ago when I felt something pop in my knee. I realised that I wasn't getting out enough so started cycling, I am now hooked and am now in the process of buying my first road bike
Then I found girls and beer, the bike I think rusted in a shed, I started running a few years later and competed in a few fell runs (tough) I carried on running until about 2 years ago when I felt something pop in my knee. I realised that I wasn't getting out enough so started cycling, I am now hooked and am now in the process of buying my first road bike
Sheffield_Tiger
Legendary Member
Packing up the fags.
Used to cycle a lot from the age of 13 to 24. Then got a bike 6 years ago after a 10 year gap, as I gave up smoking.
Now I'm not sure how I used to afford petrol and fags......
Used to cycle a lot from the age of 13 to 24. Then got a bike 6 years ago after a 10 year gap, as I gave up smoking.
Now I'm not sure how I used to afford petrol and fags......
Gravity Aided
Legendary Member
- Location
- Land of Lincoln
That is a truly good question. I have no idea how I afforded gas, University, and cigarettes on what I made at summer jobs and part-time during school.
subaqua
What’s the point
- Location
- Leytonstone
Caughall road towards Chorlton . thats about 5 mins from what was my Grans house.
What an inspirational story
Credit to you for getting out there after something so devastating.
ttcycle
Cycling Excusiast
Well, I used to cycle about a lot up and down the pavement in the grey, little town that I used to live in back in the Midlands as a nipper in the 80s. That and rollerblading were ways to be alone and free at the same time through my own pedal power. I can't remember the bikes I had, just that my favourite one was an orange mountain bike, graduated up to a shimano geared mountain bike when I was a bit older and then eventually stopped riding in my teens and for a strange unknown reason, took to public transport and the rubbish network of buses.
Moved down to London for Uni and never thought to cycle as a student but then had dreams of buying a little folding bike to take me on the overground trains to work as travel costs got higher and higher in the capital. When I left Uni and started working, the closest train station was probably about a mile away. Bought this little clunky red bike (Dylan) from Ebay and that was the start of commuting. Eventually, moved and needed a bike that was better going up hills, got my first Specialized Hybrid. Changed jobs which gave me a substantial commute, about 8 miles one way and I got my first carbon road bike courtesy of the Cycle to Work Scheme. That was the start of a couple of years of hardcore cycling and training, living, eating and dreaming for a TT/triathlon as a team that didn't materialise due to illness unfortunately.
Riding has been a bit on and off for me since then as life stuff or health has got in the way but hoping to pick up the reigns again properly when it's possible.
Oh yes, and if anyone tries to tell you that you can save money through commuting on bike instead of public transport...it's all lies! You end up acquiring more bikes/components and clothing/kit. You know it makes sense!
Moved down to London for Uni and never thought to cycle as a student but then had dreams of buying a little folding bike to take me on the overground trains to work as travel costs got higher and higher in the capital. When I left Uni and started working, the closest train station was probably about a mile away. Bought this little clunky red bike (Dylan) from Ebay and that was the start of commuting. Eventually, moved and needed a bike that was better going up hills, got my first Specialized Hybrid. Changed jobs which gave me a substantial commute, about 8 miles one way and I got my first carbon road bike courtesy of the Cycle to Work Scheme. That was the start of a couple of years of hardcore cycling and training, living, eating and dreaming for a TT/triathlon as a team that didn't materialise due to illness unfortunately.
Riding has been a bit on and off for me since then as life stuff or health has got in the way but hoping to pick up the reigns again properly when it's possible.
Oh yes, and if anyone tries to tell you that you can save money through commuting on bike instead of public transport...it's all lies! You end up acquiring more bikes/components and clothing/kit. You know it makes sense!
SatNavSaysStraightOn
Changed hemispheres!
- Location
- ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀ 'ɐɹɹǝquɐƆ
Started cycling when I was a very young child. Got given a bike to take home with me on one of my maintenance visits to my father (so before the age of 7) and cycled all the time, but never really had my own bike until I was 14/15 when my mum and (now ex) step-father gave me a BSA road bike. Bike went to uni with me and was used daily until I had an accident at work when I was 20 which left me slightly paralysed down the left side of my body and my left wrist dislocating 20-30 times a day. Made most things difficult and cycling impossible. Took 7 years to get back on a bike with much help from an old friend in the RAF and his assistance with a knowing someone who ran a bike shop: one thing led to another and they both helped me find a bike (mountain bike) that I could ride again and made the necessary modifications free of charge. Getting back out again was hard, even 1 mile with a 10m climb was a killer at first!
After 4 years as a company car driver, barely seeing the daylight, I was made redundant, took a low paid job close to home and cycled to work - and literally saw day light! 5 miles each way was a killer initially with the last 2.5 miles all being uphill. Talked my work place into the cycle to work scheme, bought a newer, much lighter mtb with disc brakes (yeh - can now actually use the rear brake) and changed my route to be 8.5 miles each way cross-country.
11 ops and 15 years after the original accident and my wrist no longer dislocates and I can ride without pain, so quit my job 2 years later and went off to cycle around the world instead. The rest is history as they say....
And the best bit, I have recently been able to return to riding a road bike (though doubt I will ever be able to use the drops due to restricted movement in my wrist and won't ever be able to use 'clipless' due to not being able to rotate my lower left leg) and suspect at some point in the future I will have to accept defeat and move to a trike (balance issues from the slight paralysis and other such health problems) but I don't have access to a car during the week and use cycling as my main form of transport and live rurally so get plenty of cycling in normally. Walking is still a problem though (which has been the love of my life for most of my life ) from the dog bite though but I have a target for getting out hiking/mountaineering again for the end of this year: still feels a long way off yet, but will keep trying.
After 4 years as a company car driver, barely seeing the daylight, I was made redundant, took a low paid job close to home and cycled to work - and literally saw day light! 5 miles each way was a killer initially with the last 2.5 miles all being uphill. Talked my work place into the cycle to work scheme, bought a newer, much lighter mtb with disc brakes (yeh - can now actually use the rear brake) and changed my route to be 8.5 miles each way cross-country.
11 ops and 15 years after the original accident and my wrist no longer dislocates and I can ride without pain, so quit my job 2 years later and went off to cycle around the world instead. The rest is history as they say....
And the best bit, I have recently been able to return to riding a road bike (though doubt I will ever be able to use the drops due to restricted movement in my wrist and won't ever be able to use 'clipless' due to not being able to rotate my lower left leg) and suspect at some point in the future I will have to accept defeat and move to a trike (balance issues from the slight paralysis and other such health problems) but I don't have access to a car during the week and use cycling as my main form of transport and live rurally so get plenty of cycling in normally. Walking is still a problem though (which has been the love of my life for most of my life
) from the dog bite though but I have a target for getting out hiking/mountaineering again for the end of this year: still feels a long way off yet, but will keep trying.
Boon 51
Veteran
- Location
- Deal. Kent.
As most of the posters have said I started at the age of three or four with a little bike with stabilizers, I got my first road bike at about 5 yrs and my bikes got bigger as I got older and taller.
My first bike bike was a Raleigh 5 speed which I thought was the dogs danglies and by the age of 12/13 I was cycling from Canterbury to Margate and back with my mate Fred ( wonder where he is now?)
By age 14 a chance of an old BSA Bantam 175 ( ex GPO telegram bike) came along and, after stripping it all down, I started riding that on a farmer's field, so I sort of lost interest in my old push bike.
Having got through my bike career without too much mishap, a couple of years ago whilst riding my 450 motocrosser I had an arguement on my 450 motocrosser with a big boulder/rock and damaged my neck so decided it was time to retire from motorbiking altogether.
A year passed and my neck had got a lot better I decided to take up cycling again. Now after a year and a bit and a few hicups on the way I've got back into it with a passion and love every minute of it.
My next move is to get rid of one of my hybrids and get a road bike to go with the endurance one I have now.
Its funny how one door shuts and another opens.. I suppose I do have a one regret and thats not carring on with the cycling in my middle years of life.
Cheers
My first bike bike was a Raleigh 5 speed which I thought was the dogs danglies and by the age of 12/13 I was cycling from Canterbury to Margate and back with my mate Fred ( wonder where he is now?)
By age 14 a chance of an old BSA Bantam 175 ( ex GPO telegram bike) came along and, after stripping it all down, I started riding that on a farmer's field, so I sort of lost interest in my old push bike.
Having got through my bike career without too much mishap, a couple of years ago whilst riding my 450 motocrosser I had an arguement on my 450 motocrosser with a big boulder/rock and damaged my neck so decided it was time to retire from motorbiking altogether.
A year passed and my neck had got a lot better I decided to take up cycling again. Now after a year and a bit and a few hicups on the way I've got back into it with a passion and love every minute of it.
My next move is to get rid of one of my hybrids and get a road bike to go with the endurance one I have now.
Its funny how one door shuts and another opens.. I suppose I do have a one regret and thats not carring on with the cycling in my middle years of life.
Cheers
Stonechat
Guru
- Location
- Staines, Middlesex
Always had an interest
Here were the old days
Well cycled as a lad - can't remember much but they had Sturmey Archer Gears.
About age 16 had first road bike, they were called racing bikes then.
Sometimes cycled to school - about 4 miles
About this era remember seeing Tommy Simpson on television - he won sports personality of the year.
Did a tour of Cornwall, managed to bend my forks after hitting a fence post
1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh - saw track cycling at Meadowbank - great fun., For some reason never saw any more track cycling
Did not cycle for some time then
1980 New job very unfit Got a Peugeot road bike. Did a lot of birdwatching so always carrying gear.
About 1985 Got Claud Butler 10 speed road bike. Outing I suppose went up to 60 + miles
1993 company moved and got a car - cycling dropped away
Followed the tour and the resurgent British team at the olympics especially Brad
2012 Nov took early retirement
We decided to use only one car so got a bike - hybrid (mistake) should have got touring type road bike would've covered all my needs.
2014 Got road bike Felt Z95
The interest was always there. Television coverage of cycling events always kept an interest alive
Had a work colleague who cycled a lot did a few races and who did the Etape up Ventoux
Here were the old days
Well cycled as a lad - can't remember much but they had Sturmey Archer Gears.
About age 16 had first road bike, they were called racing bikes then.
Sometimes cycled to school - about 4 miles
About this era remember seeing Tommy Simpson on television - he won sports personality of the year.
Did a tour of Cornwall, managed to bend my forks after hitting a fence post
1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh - saw track cycling at Meadowbank - great fun., For some reason never saw any more track cycling
Did not cycle for some time then
1980 New job very unfit Got a Peugeot road bike. Did a lot of birdwatching so always carrying gear.
About 1985 Got Claud Butler 10 speed road bike. Outing I suppose went up to 60 + miles
1993 company moved and got a car - cycling dropped away
Followed the tour and the resurgent British team at the olympics especially Brad
2012 Nov took early retirement
We decided to use only one car so got a bike - hybrid (mistake) should have got touring type road bike would've covered all my needs.
2014 Got road bike Felt Z95
The interest was always there. Television coverage of cycling events always kept an interest alive
Had a work colleague who cycled a lot did a few races and who did the Etape up Ventoux
Mo1959
Legendary Member
- Location
- Perthshire,Scotland
I think I probably did most of my cycling in my childhood. Can vaguely remember a blue trike when I was really small. First two wheel bike I can barely remember but I know I struggled a bit getting my balance. I always remember Mum telling me I was nearly chucking it away in a fit of temper because I couldn't get the hang of it, so she went back into the house and left me in the garden trying it on my own and when she peeped out the window saw I had finally mastered it and was wobbling round the garden. 
First decent bike was a good secondhand green Rudge with 3 speed gears. I think it must have been bought for me to grow into as Dad had to fit little wooden blocks to the pedals so I could reach! I used that bike a lot but don't remember getting another after that so no real interest in all the intervening years apart from occasionally thinking I would like to cycle again, buying a bike and getting fed up pretty quickly and selling it again.
I think a combination of the Olympics, TDF, etc and a bit of a mid life crisis got me interested again. When I retired early from work I wanted to drop a lot of the weight I had accumulated working shifts and get out into the fresh air during daylight as much as possible after years of night shifts which aren't supposed to be good for you.
So, now over 2 stones lighter than I was when working and feeling much more relaxed and stress free I have accumulated two road bikes, a hybrid and an old mountain bike. Like some others, I am currently struggling with the weather and perhaps not enjoying it as much as in the summer but, although some weeks I only manage out two or three times I have still done much more than last January so hopefully a good base for the better days to come.
First decent bike was a good secondhand green Rudge with 3 speed gears. I think it must have been bought for me to grow into as Dad had to fit little wooden blocks to the pedals so I could reach! I used that bike a lot but don't remember getting another after that so no real interest in all the intervening years apart from occasionally thinking I would like to cycle again, buying a bike and getting fed up pretty quickly and selling it again.
I think a combination of the Olympics, TDF, etc and a bit of a mid life crisis got me interested again. When I retired early from work I wanted to drop a lot of the weight I had accumulated working shifts and get out into the fresh air during daylight as much as possible after years of night shifts which aren't supposed to be good for you.
So, now over 2 stones lighter than I was when working and feeling much more relaxed and stress free I have accumulated two road bikes, a hybrid and an old mountain bike. Like some others, I am currently struggling with the weather and perhaps not enjoying it as much as in the summer but, although some weeks I only manage out two or three times I have still done much more than last January so hopefully a good base for the better days to come.
I must hv had a tricycle as a child like most kids do but the earliest I remember of having my very own bicycle was when my parents gave me a raleigh for my 11th birthday. My dad was in the army so growing up within the secure area of the base was great fun. I was free to explore every nook & crany and do lots of crazy stuff (even got away with driving a car when I was 9, eyes barely cresting the top of the steering wheel he3). it all stopped when I was shipped away to boarding school.
I rediscovered cycling end of 2012 due to injury brought about by running, a sudden spike in mileage while training for a marathon was a bit too much for ye ole planta fascia lol. I started off with my son's dusty unused mtb and later a friend who was training for a triathlon helped me get my very own roadie (some of u would know about tizzy my roadbike) and its been go, go, go since then.
Cycling in my 50s and just loving it
I rediscovered cycling end of 2012 due to injury brought about by running, a sudden spike in mileage while training for a marathon was a bit too much for ye ole planta fascia lol. I started off with my son's dusty unused mtb and later a friend who was training for a triathlon helped me get my very own roadie (some of u would know about tizzy my roadbike) and its been go, go, go since then.
Cycling in my 50s and just loving it
uphillstruggler
Guru
- Location
- Half way there
a half cut conversation one evening - my mate said that he was doing the L2B so I said I would do it too and that I would go out on my bike the next day with him. I stayed at the party til 3am, he left at 10pm and turned up at my house at 8am. he waited til I got my sorry backside out of bed and we did a 12 mile ride around the lanes near me. I was breathing out of my backside the whole way round.
it took me about 4 months of fitting rides in as and when possible to get fit enough to do the L2B comfortably and not put a foot down on the beacon.
that was about 5 years ago.
we have done the L2B day and night rides - the first night ride was with the Fridays and would still rank as one of the most enjoyable rides I have ever done.
since then, I have bought 3 bikes and kept the old faithful ridgeback 604 that got me up the beacon the first time.
unfortunately I don't commute by bike as my job takes me round the british isles but I ride to work if there is a possibility.
it still makes me laugh thinking about that first ride out, now it takes about 12 miles to warm into a ride.
and it still costs a fortune.
it took me about 4 months of fitting rides in as and when possible to get fit enough to do the L2B comfortably and not put a foot down on the beacon.
that was about 5 years ago.
we have done the L2B day and night rides - the first night ride was with the Fridays and would still rank as one of the most enjoyable rides I have ever done.
since then, I have bought 3 bikes and kept the old faithful ridgeback 604 that got me up the beacon the first time.
unfortunately I don't commute by bike as my job takes me round the british isles but I ride to work if there is a possibility.
it still makes me laugh thinking about that first ride out, now it takes about 12 miles to warm into a ride.
and it still costs a fortune.
Cycling Dan
Cycle Crazy
One day I remembered how much I liked cycling round the street when I was 12-13 so one day I got out on my bike . Like meth once I tried it again I was hooked. Similarly like meth it has taken all my money too.
