What got you interested in cycling (or interested again)?

[Bromptonaut]

Had the usual bikes as a kid. Dad wouldn't let me have a Chopper. Said it was a toy. Too small at 11 for a drop bar bike I ended up with a Trusty Spacemaster, a step through shopper bike similar to Dawes Kingpin. Rode around district in usual way, to school, swimming , friends etc.

Around 14 in 1974 I got interested in plane spotting. We lived close to Leeds Bradford Airport and as there was no direct bus I started riding there. At first it was a struggle but as I got fitter I could be there in 20mins - quick enough to catch on the ground someting I'd seen on approach. Over a couple of years I explored alternative routes home - over the Chevin , via Scotland Lane & Otley Old road and began to venture out into the edge of the Dales. A part time job at 16 meant I could afford a proper bike in form of a secondhand Yeoman. Bog standard five speed steel sports bike but with mountings for mudguards and a rack which I duly fitted. Also upgraded the huret derailleur to a Sun Tour.

In 79 I moved to London and took the bike down after a few weeks. Commuted occasionally and did some solo YH touring before joining a YHA group in Harrow. Several years touring followed. The Yeoman was further upgraded with alloy wheels, cotterless cranks and a dual chaingring. Met my partner to be through the group and she and I did lots more cycling together until the bike was stolen from outside our flat in Harrow.

Bought a new Dawes out of the insurance which I still have and now ride regularly again.

Arrival of kids in 92 & 94 cramped my style for a bit until 99 when I bought my first Brompton. The sheer elation of riding it away from Evans in The Cut and onto Waterloo bridge will never be forgotten. Used it and its successor everyday from Euston to work until I took redundancy last November. Somewhere along the way I also picked up a Claud Butler Ravanna ATX hybrid which is great for trail rides like the Brampton Valley Way.

 

[sazzaa]

I became interested because I couldn't find a way to fit exercise into my day, so commuting by bike was the only real option. And then I realised I enjoyed it.

 

[alans]

A cancer scare succeeded in frighteneing me into giving up smoking which resulted in a 40% increase in body weight so returned to cycling after nearly 30 years off the bike to shed some of the lard.

 

[Old Plodder]

Want to start up again because I'm kinda in the mental dumps and feel that getting out more would enlighten me abit.

Go ahead & do it - there are others on this forum, as you will find out if you stick with it, & they, & the rest of us will give you the encouragement.

 

[Old Plodder]

Just reading through this thread, I see I don't appear to have added my starting point, so here it is.

I used to ride around the local pavements on an old second/third/fourth hand solid tyred tricycle when I was around 3 or 4 years old, but I don't remember where it went.

Next I had a beaten up old single speed 24" wheel bike I was given to get to secondary school in 1961, used to ride it at the weekends into the countryside.
Somewhere during that time I upgraded to a 26" wheeled wreck with 'cowhorns' & used it to go 'tracking' (what they now call offroad riding). It was also used to get to work until I joined the Army in 1969.

When I left the Army in 1975, I bought my first ever new bike, a Carlton, & started riding further afield. That lead me to joining the CTC, which of course increased my mileage & love of cycling, until I was riding 100 mile plus Sunday rides.

Circumstances at home meant a curtailment of my cycling down to just a 25 mile Saturday morning ride weekly. Lost all my lovely fitness that I had built up, & am still struggling to get more than a fifty mile (occassionally) ride in. It's like being a beginner all over again - so frustrating.

So this is my come back year (I hope).