What got you into cycling?

[rugby bloke]

Always had bikes as a kid, a lot of random second hand ones, leading up to my first "racer" when I was 13. Drifted away f om cycling in my 20's but always had a bike gathering dust in the garage which would be taken out for an occasional spin. Was diagnosed with epilepsy in my 40's and had to surrender my driving licence for 4 years, so cycling became my means of transport, wobbling around on an old mtb. Since then have bought a road bike and learnt to love cycling just for the sake of it.

 

[Twizit]

As with most, had a bike since I was a kid. Growing up in a village of 12 only houses with my school mates 6 miles away it was the only way of getting out and about.

Never took it that seriously until about 6 years ago. Got fed up with trains into London and decided to give cycle commuting a proper go. 33,000 miles later and I'm fairly well addicted

 

[Serynia]

My Dad took me cycling every weekend when I was a kid we would just pack the bikes onto the car and pick a pace on the map to go explore, my uncle used to join us every time he would visit from London. Happiest times of my childhood. Recently took it back up after kids and back issues. My Uncle sadly has just had his last bout of Chemo and is considered terminal so that start is even more important to me now, every time I go out I think of him

 

[HarryTheDog]

After a bad motorcycle accident and nearly a year off work I became obese and felt really down about myself . Couldn't run properly as my top half was unbalanced and found I could commute to work on a bike as a sustainable exercise and it saved me shed loads of money ( originally when using a 99 quid BSO) . Been doing it for over 10 years now and it keeps the weight in check. Saved my sanity and body really.

 

[tobykenobi]

Cycled a lot as a kid but then sort of stopped. Started going to gym then realised I lived about 9 miles from work and could cycle it most days. Bought a tourer and off I went.

Have moved and changed jobs since but still cycle regularly.

 

[snorri]

Child size two wheelers were thin on the ground in my locality but I gained access to an adult size ladies model 'Hercules' bike and started out on it before my legs were long enough to allow me to sit on the seat. Around that time some of my friends had bikes with a crossbar and regularly pedalled "under the bar" as they were too short in the leg to cycle astride the 'bar.
I haven't seen any children doing that for a long long time.

 

[stoatsngroats]

IMy first bike was a BSO, used by all thte kids on the estate, then my paperround money got me a Grifter for about 2 years (they were a new kind of bike in those days!), and then a Raliegh racer, which I used for school, a couple of miles each way, and home, donwhill in about 10 seconds!
I began work by cycling too, and this continued on and off for about 20 years, then back on a cheap BSO due to having a family and mortgage....
Communting very frequently became the norm as I had added a few stone, (which I hated) so bought a carrera Virtuoso, which saw me getting regular dies up to 60+ miles, often taking the long, hilly ride home after a 02.30 start. additionally, a BSo mountian bike allowed me to take the dog for 10 mile walks along the river, so I lost the weight, and had a good few years back on bikes.
Back to commuting after I divorced, making a 20 mile round trip really enjoyable, and my partner has taken cycling up too - we've enjoyed tours of Guernsey, and the South Coast for 4 years on a tandem!
My artner got tired of my roadsense (which she feared - but it was about taking 'prime' more frequently than she ever would!), so now back to singles, for crossing the ields, and more limited milage, as it's based around work, so I have just got a commute bike, to have a couple of days of 25 miles round trip a week, or so...
I'm just over 50, and looking forward to my commutes, and it's good to kniw I havae been n bies for 40 years, albeit with some largish gaps due to commitments.

 

[Markymark]

Needed an alternative to get to work during the Olympic's armageddon on London's public transport.

 

[Red17]

Mainly started as rehab after a broken back. Got bored using an indoor exercise bike so bought a road bike. Then n+1, then n+2, now at n+3

Previously I did have an old bike lying around but only used it occasionally.

 

[clid61]

My dad buying me a bike when I was a toddler...

This

 

[numbnuts]

An accident at work

 

[Pat "5mph"]

A job with shifts outwith public transport hours in a location badly served by public transport anyway.
Never had a bike as a child, started cycling at the age of 48!

 

[Foghat]

This specific issue of this magazine alerted me to the worthiness of, and the need for my participation in, cycling as a sport:

While this laid the foundations for my near-total self-sufficiency as a bike mechanic (excluding frame-building and component manufacture) and my adoption of the bike as a mode of transport:

 

[tyred]

I cycled up to my late teens, I even saved up money to buy a new Townsend BX-40 MTB when they were the in thing (best one I could afford) when I was about 15 or 16 but I never had any great love of cycling and gradually stopped doing it.

As a 19 stone, chain smoking unfit lump at around 30, I started doing a lot of walking to try and get fit and I lost a load of weight but gradually grew bored with walking so decided I could go further, faster, on a bike and liberated my Townsend from under a pile of rubbish in the garage at home, a quick spray of oil and pumped the tyres up and off I went.

I now own a ridiculous amount of bikes and I love rescuing old bikes and cycle touring has become one of my favourite hobbies.

 

[classic33]

Being told that I'd never be able, medical reasons, to either actually cycle or if I managed it, I'd never go very far.

That was over forty years ago. In that time I've done more miles than I can remember.