What made you start cycling ?..and how long for now ?

Gpfanuk

Apologies for the shallow answer.... Wiggo, Froome and the TDF last year, closely followed by the Olympics. Just gutted that I never started this ten years earlier (I'm 43)... :oops:

elbowloh

Had a mtb for years, but found that whenever i rode, it was only ever on the road, so tool the plunge in October last year to buy a road bike and been loving it ever since! I'm 36 and still struggling badly on hills, my fault as i've sort of been avoiding them when i've been out on my own....

kieranb

I really started when I moved over to Scotland from Ireland about 18 years ago (in my 20s) and got a bike to cycle to and from work. I had a bike in Ireland but rarely used it. Cycled in all weathers all year from the beginning, once I moved down south I joined a club and started doing cycling just for the sake of it rather than just commuting/shopping. Got into racing later for a few years (bought a good bike, a track bike and a hard tail MTB) but currently not racing as my cycling has reduced whilst I have started some other hobbies such as running, wall climbing and swimming, still commuting every day though.

TheSmithers

I started cycling two years ago when I decided to commute to work by bike to save some money. I initially bought a Giant hybrid, which I still use to commute with today.

My first taste of a road bike was a year ago when I bought a Cannondale CAAD 400R Warrior. I remember it being so smooth and fast that I just instantly got hooked on the speed, the skinny tyres and the whole 'Roadie' package. When that got stolen whilst on a day out riding in London, I knew the only thing worthy of replacing it was a full on carbon road bike. So about 6 months ago through the ride to work scheme, I bought a Cannondale SuperSix.

6 months on and I'm loving it. I'm out every weekend with this chap who is a triathlete, so he's really making me fitter and a better cyclist. I just can't wait for good weather to come along because I've only ever ridden this bike in cold, windy or wet weather so far. Also, being an ADHD sufferer, I've also recently learned that cycling is very good at controlling the symptoms, so it's like another very good reason to continue.

My average speed is currently around 17.5mph, but being a smoker, I know there's potential to be much better if I quit. Up to now, I've never had the motivation to quit, but maybe cycling will give me the push I need to sort it out!

thegreatdivide

I used to cycle with the local Uni team while still at school in the late 80’s and I loved my bike. Then I got into wine woman and song and I loved them more. Then I moved to Canada and left the bike. Then I came back home and got unfit. Then I decided to get fit again.

thegodplato

I blame my mate and too many beers at a wedding! You can read about it following the links below.
Having said that, I am totally enjoying cycling and enjoy feeling better with the fitness it has brought me. I just wish I could have re-started 10 years ago....

southdownswolf

I've been MTB'ing socially for a few years, but 2 years ago my mate challenged me to do a LEJOG with him the following year. After he did an Eastbourne-Paris ride with another friend, he decided that he didn't want to do another long ride, so the LEJOG plan fell apart.
However, by this time I had built up an old Raleigh from the 80's and was staring to really enjoy it. Along with a few other friends, I have done a couple of Duathlons (Always more of a runner in the past) and enjoyed them.
At the end of May this year, I will be doing a solo JOGLE, the idea just stuck in my head and I decided at the end of last year that I was going to carry on and train hard for it. So a winter on the turbo trainer and now out in the open air, I am putting in the miles ready for 9 days of torture :-)

specialized_nick

My Girlfriends parents love road cycling and watched the highlights of the Tour De France every evening whilst it was on.
I began to quite enjoy it and learnt more about the sport and I went to watch the Devon Stage of the Tour of Britain.
I bought myself a road bike soon after and i've been hooked since with the Dartmoor Demon Sportive to look forward to in May.

Pantani98

A typically savage tackle in a Sunday football match put my leg in a brace for 5 months. During the rehabilitation process I bought a second-hand Bianchi Gold Race to build up my twiglet-like left leg, and immediately realised that cycling was infinitely better than amateur football. 10 years on I'm not convinced its any safer than going up against the still-drunk-from-the night-before hammers throwers but its a damn sight more fulfilling. And I'm a better cyclist than I was left-back.

willow71uk

Been cycling since July last year. I done it because i was a runner but it was killing my legs so decided to cycle instead and i'm glad i did, wished i started at a younger age.

motd2k

Being overweight and looking in the mirror last summer made me decide that I needed something more than 5-a-side once a week to stay healthy. 6-months, 200 miles a week, 25kg, and some great new friends later and i'm getting to a state where I feel a bit more like that b*st*rd that went up the hills like they were effortless. Still hurts just as much each time you go up that hill, but for half as long!