Why do you cycle?

ccull123

Hi all,

The last few weekends whilst out on cycles ive asked the above question too myself.

For me its about 4 hours of peace when i go out on the bike. All the day to day ****/problems/worries are forgotten about for those few hours. In fact i think they spur me up that hill and push me on that bit more.

I guess everbody deals with there problems/worries differently but for me the bike is the only answer...

What about you? Is it just another way to keep fit?

Tonyandthewhale

I look really good in cycling shorts, so it'd be a shame not to.

meercat

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

I look really good in cycling shorts, so it'd be a shame not to.

pics or gtfo:D:D:D

ccull123

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

I look really good in cycling shorts, so it'd be a shame not to.

....and your modest as well;)

Mycroft H

For the fun of it. To see places. To freewheel down hills.

Sometimes for stress relief :pac:

Red Neck Hughie

I'm kind of a closet crusty, I secretly hate petrol/diesel.
I save about E25 a week I think. I hate spending money.
It makes me less fat.
Its quicker than the car.
At weekends its a great way to spend time with the kids. A banana/apple and a water bottle was a picnic in the woods last week, great fun, in winter hot soup replaces the water. Those are the times the kids remember, not the popcorn or the films we went to see.
When I was a gosur anywhere within 10 miles of home was fair game, my kids don't have that, cycling gives them some semblance of the freedom I had. Thats a big one for me.
Cycling is exercise without stressing joints, its quiet time, every day is a little race against myself. just for fun.
I can chat to people at the lights.
There's a camraderie with the auld buck on the auld bike, with the lycra warrior and with the beardy socialist looking guy with the panniers.
I'm about 6'6" tall on the bike. Only 5'10" on my feet.
No tax, parking, servicing, NCT, DOE, emissions etc...

funkyjebus

I like spending all my money on bikes and parts and it'd be odd if I didnt cycle at least once in a while

**Timbuk2**

Quicker and cheaper than the bus!

M cebee

less injuries than running as long as i dont have an accident

Handy for getting around

Alanstrainor

Love that cycle home in the evenings after work.Manage to get all the stress out after a quick blast home.

Cookie_Monster

1. Fitness
2. Enjoyment
3. Commute to work
4. Quick and easy alternative to walking
5. Cheaper than car / bus

Beasty

... so I can post about it on Boards ...

(if I didn't cycle I'd probably have been banned from the soccer forum many moons ago - this way I can wind up Liverpool fans by taking their KOMs)

Dubstar07

meercat wrote: »

pics or gtfo:D:D:D

LOL

CardinalJ

Nothing beats the feeling of being out of control and getting it back when mountain biking. Also love been completely relaxed, yet totally focused at the same time.

Im also a huge fan of having the roads to myself early on a sat/sunday morning. Its great in a car, but 10 times better on a bike. I also like the suffering aspect of having your lungs burning on a climb only to tear down the far side. I'm 6'2 and 102kg so I get quite the burn

Chips Lovell

I have nice bikes. They deserve to be ridden within a inch of their lives and, god knows, I enjoy doing it. I love speed. And I love utterly abusing my body with pain.

kumate_champ07

it makes me feel alive

Hmmzis

For the fun of it mostly, I think.

There's also the added benefit of keeping fit and saving time on the commute.

Not sure if I'm actually saving money compared to a yearly bus ticket when I consider all the gear and bits and bobs I've bought over the last year.

When the weather is good in the mornings I also like to just spin up one of the local hills and enjoy the view from above.

And yes, of course, I need to get that KOM!

lennymc

i cycle so i have something to put on strava.

awec

Mostly to try and get fit, and to get my head sorted out after work etc! :pac:

Oh, and it's fun.

cdaly_

For that feeling of flying as you swoop through the traffic...

Seaswimmer

Its cheap, efficient, healthy, enjoyable and its going to become more popular.

Also you can still have a drink or 2 without worrying too much about drink driving limits*

* While being a responsible citizen of course..:)

t'bear

Well I sat a home this evening basking in the glow of my trip home, yet all the above also apply. You see I have a 15k commute home and for 6 weeks or so I have only managed to avg 26k at my best. Today it was 30 avg and it came out of nowhere. I thought I would rest up today after my 70k on Saturday but the lure of the bike got me this am.so add self improvement

ozzy jr

It's the only time women in lycra wave to me

J Madone

Love getting out with my pals on the bike, the chat ,the bit of messing , the suffering and the carefree buzz for a few hours

daragh_

Hills.

colm_gti

Cake!

studiorat

Girls

M cebee

Seaswimmer wrote: »

Its cheap, efficient, healthy, enjoyable and its going to become more popular.

Also you can still have a drink or 2 without worrying too much about drink driving limits*

* While being a responsible citizen of course..:)

I'd say the drink-cycling is on the increase lately

Bigus

To be. A less fat backstard that's a bit fit.

Canis Lupus

I like cycletouring. I got to see a chunk of the world and experience things other normal backpackers that flit from major tourist town to next major town as advised by the Lonely Planet will never see.

I love commuting by bike, tearing up through rush hour traffic and playing commuter races has always given me a buzz.

Oddly enough, I hate cycling for 'fitness'. Nothing bores me more than the thought of going out for a 3+ hour cycle

tomasrojo

As I said on a similar thread:

In no particular order:
You know what time you'll arrive at.
You usually feel very good physically after your commute.
At rush hour it's faster than any other option over distances of 10km or less.
It's very cheap if you stick to utility cycling. Especially if it helps you to avoid owning a car.
Not much trouble parking.
If you make an effort, you can make most of your own repairs, which gives you great independence, which coupled with the physical exercise is very good for your mental balance.

It's a nice side-effect that it doesn't pollute much and makes cities more liveable, but those are not primary reasons why I like cycling.

karltimber

because the wife & kids can't come with me.....for 3-4 hours....

Same with the motorbike.

K

ednwireland

i cycle in out of work and drive to bike events - go figure

daragh_

irishmotorist

I cycle for mornings like today. It nearly makes that last 6 weeks of hail, rain and gales forgettable!

colm_gti

Canis Lupus wrote: »

I like cycletouring. I got to see a chunk of the world and experience things other normal backpackers that flit from major tourist town to next major town as advised by the Lonely Planet will never see.

I love commuting by bike, tearing up through rush hour traffic and playing commuter races has always given me a buzz.

Oddly enough, I hate cycling for 'fitness'. Nothing bores me more than the thought of going out for a 3+ hour cycle

So how long do your cycle tours last? :P

8kvscdpglqnyr4

I love cycle for so many reasons.
I love the buzz from racing. I love cycling to/from work and feeling independent without the need for a car. I love long easy Sunday club spins during the winter and catching up with friends. I love nipping down to the shop for bread or milk and being able to "park" right outside the door.

I especially love the feeling when attacking a climb. If the climb takes 5 minutes or 1 hour, I love the feeling of being on my limit. The only way I can relate it to others is what I imagine some people get from meditation ... complete clarity. There are no thoughts running through my head and it's just the best feeling in the world.

I much prefer going up hills than down.

crusher000

It relaxing the mind. Hot shower when I arrive to work and feeling ready for the day (I do have a showera t home also) . Being able to take in the scenery around me even though I pass it every day it changes with the seasons. And if that' not enough the beneifts of cycling for fitness.

Canis Lupus

colm_gti wrote: »

So how long do your cycle tours last? :P

7 months last one :P

piston

For fun. For fitness. To save petrol money. To explore all the unmarked roads far from the madding crowd that you would rarely drive on unless you really had to.

And what heretic said they like to freewheel? Fixed gear is my weapon of choice.

kincsem

So I can get back in the house, and promise myself I'm never doing that again.

Stollaire

Because its great fun and very relaxing!

And I don't have to sit in traffic burning money.

DePurpereWolf

You don't experience your surroundings in a car as on a bike. There is glass and metal protecting you from the wind, smells, temperature, humidity, sounds.
You can climb a pass with a car, but you wouldn't have a feeling for it unless you've biked up it.

jameverywhere

I cycle to get places. Anything within 30 km is "cycling distance", e.g. appointments, meetings. If I have all day, anything within 100 km is "cycling distance".

I love touring, camping with the bare minimum, the self sufficiency of carrying all you need on a bike and moving under your own physical power. Cycling isn't as slow and laborious as backpacking and hiking, so you cover more distance with the same amount of effort, without being trapped in a steel-and-glass cage, separated from the landscape by an engineered automotive shell. Instead you become a part of the landscape.

I'm also too cheap to take public transport or own a car, but apparently not too cheap to regularly buy expensive kit like bib shorts, a cycling camera, the bike itself...

smacl

I like long days out on the bike, exploring the rural back roads in range of the house. I also find I need daily exercise to stop becoming a grumpy b@stard, like the outdoors, and cycling fits the bill. Not being a driver, I use the bike as a form of transport a fair bit too.

seamus

I experienced a very zen moment on my commute last night.

Power ran out on my earphones so I popped them out. Lovely evening with a gentle breeze, not cold at all but also not warm or stuffy. The day had that lovely atmosphere of a bright sun just dimmed slightly, its light held back by a thin blanket of cloud. Traffic seemed to be a lot lighter than usual.

Every time a car disappeared into the distance, there was just silence. Just me and the breeze and the rustling of the leaves. On the singlespeed, there's no whirr from a derailleur, and a barely audible buzz from the tyres. The most noise I could hear was my shorts moving as I pedalled. It occurred to me that I was moving completely undetectable through the landscape, softer and quieter even than footsteps and with a fraction of the effort.

The peace didn't last long of course, but I think I might make more of an effort - especially on sunny summer days when the traffic is light - to pop out the earphones and bask in the serenity every now and again.

Peetrik

I cycle specifically so that I can break red lights without having paid any road tax

ccull123

Addicted to the pain!!:)

mp31

Rule #6

Bechermann

For the speed and the fitness, powering up a climb...and descending like a maniac!! Also the feeling of achievement and satisfaction after going quicker on a route is hard to beat!

Lawrence1895

I'm going to work on the bike, it's handy and faster than the bus...and I can always have a good laugh at all those, who think, a car gives them independence, yet being stuck in traffic for ages :P