Who started cycling again this year then?

[beachcaster]

Just wondered, as we've gained a lot of new members this year, who took-up cycling in 2009 either for the first time, or for the first time in a long while?

Cheers,
Shaun

I did
Always rode once a month with the missus......a few miles.
We took the bikes to wales this year.and rode most days for a week or so.

When I got back I started doing 10 mile runs a couple of times a week.

Then suddenly got hooked...bought a road going bike...and now try and do
70 to 100 miles a week. Have done my first 50..and looking forward to my 100 miler soon

I feel so much fitter.....and have lost for 2.5 stones.

Im enjoying it ...if I dont go out for a couple of days I really miss it.......now have 3 bikes including my new super galaxy
which I just LOVE

I ride at an average of 12 -14 miles an hour......but I make sure I have time to look around and I also enjoy stopping to to talk to folks...I have met some really interesting people and other cyclists out and about down here in sunny sussex.

barry

 

[Chrisc]

newbie

After a fortnight in Holland in August this year tootling round on hire bikes we came back determined to keep it up. Forgot how much fun bikes are! Bought a Dutch Batavus 7 speed city bike which I love and now plan to get a road bike in spring. I live on the top of a Yorkshire hill and am now managing to climb the 15% gradients back to the house without getting off despite the 50lb bike. Looking forward to trying them on a lightweight machine next year!
Managing about 3 ten mile hilly sessions a week, get crabby if denied access to my bike, look forward to the climbing and will happily set off in the pouring rain for a ride.
Seen great improvements in my general fitness and well-being, got a smaller waist, tip the scales less and feel much happier.
Am 46 now, why did I wait so long to do this?!

Chris

 

[Norm]

Put my name on the list too. I went to buy a new bike for my son in June, ended up getting myself one instead. (He got one too, the next day )

That was an MTB, I picked up a road bike to go with it a few weeks ago.

 

[peejay]

Like most people I picked up a bike at the start of the year on the Cycle to Work Scheme. The best thing I ever did. I now do a 20 mile commute to work every day and feel all the better for it. I've also managed to shift about 2 stone which isn't bad. Just hope I can keep going through the winter months.

 

[Salad Dodger]

I'm a returnee too. Wife and I had "old school" Saracen mountain bikes in the garage, untouched for about 10 years until this Summer...

For the last few years my main outdoor hobby has been canoeing, but the group I paddled with have mostly moved away or now have families. As we no longer paddle together I lacked the motivation to keep going.

Also, my wife and I bought a campervan, so we spent a lot of weekends away in it.

But cycling combines pretty well with the campervan. Take bikes on the back of the van, and sometimes you can leave the van on site and do a bit of gentle site-seeing by bike. And they're a lot easier to park in a town than the campervan...

So the Saracens were cleaned up earlier this year and used on a few weekends. But Lesley and I are both fairly "well padded" (my forum name is Salad Dodger for a reason!) and the Saracens off road were a bit painful for our ageing bones... so now there are 2 full suspension Decathlon Rockriders in our garage....
Some Cree front lights should be arriving in the next few days so maybe I can get some evening riding in.

Roll on the good weather and we can look forward to lots more lovely camping trips, and plenty of exploration by bike!

 

[jeltz]

Another one!

Cycled as a teenager but stopped once I passed my driving test. My old Raleigh Racer went to the tip was left in a damp cellar and rusted to pieces

Bought a Halfords special in May to pop out with the kids and soon realised that it was not good enough. Especially when I started going out with the local club on their Sunday rides. Upgraded to an entry level road bike while I see if cycling continues to hold my interest. So far so good

 

[Wee_G]

And another here, rode as a youngster up till about 14 then on to motorbikes and cars. Stopped smoking over a year ago then Aug this year back to cycling 34 years later

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Sort of ... I cycled a lot right up until a few years ago. Then I started smoking, got a job working 13+ hours a day and sleeping in a truck during the week, and playing guitar in a band at weekends, and I never seemed to find the time to go cycling. Now I've stopped smoking (ten days and counting) and am trying to get back to commuting by bike, but November is not a great time of year to start.

 

[gregster]

Cycled a lot as a teenager, 80+ miles a week with friends from the village,until I went off to Australia and my sister used and didn't look after my bike. Back after a year and was driving, working and more interested in girls so cycling went by the wayside.
Admiring a friends bike at work in May, said I fancied getting back into it and he kindly loaned me a 12+ year old Dawes Giro 400 which did me very well through the summer, leading up to my first ever event - Circuit of Kent 80km sportive. Chuffed to have completed it, even if I did have to walk part of the last hill, but will do it again next year on my Limited Edition Boardman Team Carbon which I pick up in a couple of weeks.
One of my friends I used to cycle with all those years ago, at least 20, has also started again this year and did the sportive with me.
Really, really enjoy it. I needed something to get me fit after a cartilage op on knee last year and various fitness tests this year for work, but more importantly to keep up with my 2 1/2 year old son!!!!

 

[Mike A]

And another...

Working from home at a desk job (digital illustration) and only needing to commute downstairs to the office meant I was approaching 50 in a very unfit state with an expanding waistline. My 'top trumps' sporting prowess rating would probably be a very miserable 'zero'

Having thought about getting a bike for a long time I stumbled across a great condition used Trek 7.2 FX on a local noticeboard and took the plunge. That was at the end of August.

Since then I've probably topped 300 miles or so, done a 22 miler (much easier than I thought it would be) and really enjoyed it. It's definitely a boost to both physical and mental health. I just hope I can keep it up over the winter - and I just wish I could get my speed up a bit; I seem stuck at 12 mph or less.

 

[Banjo]

And another...

Working from home at a desk job (digital illustration) and only needing to commute downstairs to the office meant I was approaching 50 in a very unfit state with an expanding waistline. My 'top trumps' sporting prowess rating would probably be a very miserable 'zero'

Having thought about getting a bike for a long time I stumbled across a great condition used Trek 7.2 FX on a local noticeboard and took the plunge. That was at the end of August.

Since then I've probably topped 300 miles or so, done a 22 miler (much easier than I thought it would be) and really enjoyed it. It's definitely a boost to both physical and mental health. I just hope I can keep it up over the winter - and I just wish I could get my speed up a bit; I seem stuck at 12 mph or less.

12 Average isnt bad ,it took me several weeks to get my average into double figureswhen I started in march,

.I have done a couple of thousand miles since then and unless really pushing it I usually only average 13 or 14 now.

 

[GrasB]

For all of you who talk about low average speeds, don't worry to much it will come if you keep on racking up the miles. The key is to mix things up, put in some faster shorter rides & also go for longer slower rides this will help your body build muscles etc. Also eat properly.

As for me, I joined this year... I never stopped cycling though I just wanted a question answered.

 

[beachcaster]

I dont think that cycling should focus on getting faster.................sure if your ambition is sporting. But just getting out enjoying the ride...the landscape..meeting people and having a natter..and the joy of physical excercise.
I tootle along at and average of 12-14.........sometimes I hold 18 plus on the flat for a good distance and enjoy the thought that at I could keep up with the tour de france peleton for a couple of hundred yards

But for me cycling is just about being out there!

Having said that Im almost an old git !

barry

 

[slowmotion]

But for me cycling is just about being out there!

Having said that Im almost an old git !

barry

Barry, I totally agree. You could have spared my feelings however...

I am an old git.

 

[bauldbairn]

I am an old git.

Me too!