Cycling (so Hassan doesn't have to start a thread ;))

[torifile]

I've been recently riding my bike to campus. It's kicking my ass but that's ok because I don't need to be pretty for anyone these days. How do you guys who cycle to work/other places do it? I can't imagine doing this in the dead of summer.

[Wrao]

get a motorcycle :p

[autodata]

I ride every day, even in winter. I just moved within two blocks of lake michigan, so now I can just ride along the lake to work (also on the lake). The wind makes it a bit rougher than I'm used to, though.

Unless circumstances force me to drive, I try to bike everywhere I go. Then again, where I live is extremely pedestrian friendly.

I'd get a motorcycle, but my father (longtime motorcycle rider) keeps talking me out of it. He's right. People in the city just drive too dangerously. I've already had one friend die in an accident with a van.

[stevegong]

I bike everywhere I go when I'm at school in Charlottesville.

Ever since I got a road bike, I feel like I could never go back to a mountain bike or anything else. The road bike is just so awesome, and you really can get it to much higher speeds. Absolutely love it.

Though I must say I did have an accident 3 weeks ago where I got hit by the front of a car and I was speeding down a slope and my bikes locked up and it skidded. I flew and landed on my knee, and my knee is a bit bad but not broken. It was pretty dangerous and I'm quite lucky since I didn't have a helmet.



Are any of you road bike fans?

[thegelding]

seven miles to work at 7 am...usually a little chilly--60ish....mostly flat to down hill so i go fast and my ears are cold

seven miles to home at 6 pm...usually hot--80's...mostly flat to up hill, so i peddle hard and work up a sweat...but i'm heading home so no biggie...

plus
a) i don't sweat too much
b) we have no humidity here so most of my sweat evaporates on the ride

g

[Idris]

Ever since I got a road bike, I feel like I could never go back to a mountain bike or anything else. The road bike is just so awesome, and you really can get it to much higher speeds. Absolutely love it.

Are any of you road bike fans?
Dude.

THIS WAS GOING TO BE MY THREAD.

I had my hybrid stolen last week and I bought my first road bike on Sunday. I'm never going back to anything else. I got another Cannondale, because I love them. Far and away the best machine I've ever owned, even if my last was a tough act to follow.

I'd write more but I'm not really here.

[stoo]

I haven't cycled much I grounded a pedal last September. I was lucky I didn't get run over or break my knees. I used to cycle to work but 1) they don't have showers and I sweat like a HAWG when I've been cycling and 2) I moved within ten minutes' walk.

[Scott]

Moving to my road bike from my mountain bike is like having 30 pounds taken off the bike.

Since I moved from Chicago to Ann Arbor I haven't ridden much. The cycling is just not that great here. As far as I can tell there are no long bike trials in the area and most of the roads are narrow and fast. I can ride on those roads but it's not as enjoyable.

[othello]

been a mountain bike owner since the late eighties (first kona cinder cone indeed, with the jackson pollock paint scheme!!), but just about to get a road bike. its my age i think...

[kraig911]

I'm interested in biking, I see a lot of people do it around here, but whats unrealistic in distance? I'm about 7-12 miles from work? is that too far? I'd have to cross 2 big highways? Oh and I havn't really bicycled since Junior High... I'm really wanting to try it out for health reasons as now all I do at my job is sit at a computer, I'm growing a pot belly :o so thinking of steps I could take.

[torifile]

I'm interested in biking, I see a lot of people do it around here, but whats unrealistic in distance? I'm about 7-12 miles from work? is that too far? I'd have to cross 2 big highways? Oh and I havn't really bicycled since Junior High... I'm really wanting to try it out for health reasons as now all I do at my job is sit at a computer, I'm growing a pot belly :o so thinking of steps I could take.

I think that 7 miles would be too much. I've got a hard (long hills, bad road conditions) 2.5 miles to campus and like I said above, it kicks my ass. I'd start out small and then move up to dealing with a long ride like that and having to work afterwards.

[Jonas]

Dude.

THIS WAS GOING TO BE MY THREAD.

I had my hybrid stolen last week and I bought my first road bike on Sunday. I'm never going back to anything else. I got another Cannondale, because I love them. Far and away the best machine I've ever owned, even if my last was a tough act to follow.

I'd write more but I'm not really here.

I've got a cannondale too. It's a really old wrech, but I still love it. :D

[DMBand0026]

I do both mountain and road biking.
I have an old steel frame road bike, so I don't ride that one as much as the mountain bike. It's heavy, brakes aren't great, and I need to replace the derailleurs. It's a work in progress.
Last fall I bought a Haro V2 mountain bike. It's awesome. I love every minute I'm on it. It's light, got double wall rims for those harder trails, great springs on the front (it's a hardtail), awesome derailleurs. A great all around bike. I try to ride at least 4 times a week. But with my drive to school being 30 minutes as it is, biking there is kind of out of the question most of the time.

[billybobsky]

i was very into biking until late middle school... so its been roughly ten years since i had muscles or inclination to brave the roads again... back then i didn't even think about the possibility of having my head knocked off... now, during the few times i have biked, i get yelled at to use the sidewalk (illegal btw) by large suv drivers unable to find a quick route around my often slow moving bicycle (unlike the small car group...)...

I actually would ride more often if the us had any number of designated bike lanes... as such, i prefer to walk the mile rather than run the risk of having my body crushed by an overzealous car driver...

i own an aluminum frame mountain bike...
nothing however beats the earth cruiser i had up until late high school... large comfortable seat and suffiently balanced such that at a dead stop it would still be upright... no gears though...

[stoo]

7 to 12 miles is not unrealistic if the roads are cyclist friendly. Cycling on fast or highly congested roads isn't recommended and can be quite dangerous. I would start off cycling twice per week.

[_Ω_]

I have a quick 3km jaunt into uni. Good thing is that it takes me about 7 minutes. By car 15-30 minutes, depending on traffic.

With petrol prices going to hell (or is upwards heaven?) pedal power is teh way to go. Though getting to work all hot and sweaty = not good.

:)

[stevegong]

7 miles aint that bad if it's mostly flat road. 12 might be a bit much if you haven't biked in a while.

and again, I must stress the difference here with mountain/road bike.


I would once in a while bike 8 miles to walmart from my uni and then another 8 miles back on route 29 (which was quite dangerous). I always felt so exhausted when I had my mountain bike and could never seem to make it back without getting really tired. Now with my road bike 1 it doesn't seem that far anymore and 2 it's a pretty fast ride.

8 miles takes me around 25-30 minutes but i have to cross dangerous roads, so if your way to work is good then it would take shorter. 8 miles on my mountain bike probably took 45+ minutes. I'm not kidding! The difference is really great, and I also seem to be driven by positive feedback, the faster I go gives me incentive to pedal even faster.

I'd definitely give it a shot, biking is a great way to be in shape.


good luck, and get a road bike!!!