Finally got out for a ride today. I usually go out about 5x/week but with all the work on the new forums and my usual workload, i just didn’t have much time for it this week! Any other avid cyclists on here? @ancientfifer and I have done about much riding together as we have playing tunes! Just crossed 3k miles for the year today! Woo! cycling
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Yes! I ride road, mountain bike and gravel, and do some bike packing. Where I live (in Hood River, Oregon) has some great riding in all categories. Let me know next time you are out this way and we can do some nice rides and geek out over flutes and ITM!
I’m old and slow now, and mostly just potter around enjoying the scenery, but I used to be very serious about my bike racing. I raced for 23 years, with 15 years at the elite level before stopping due to injury. Way back in 1998 I was the best all around rider in the state of Oregon, in the Pro/1/2 category, winning races on the road and track. Even further back, in 1985, I was the regional road racing champion for the NW part of Britain. I also raced for teams in France for a couple of summers back in the early 1980s, including spending a summer living and racing in Brittany. Unfortunately, that was before I developed my current passion for Breton music. Missed opportunity there!
In addition to riding over 1000 races in my career, I spent many years coaching cycling and have run a couple of successful bike racing teams, one in the UK and one in the US.
I’m in my mid 60s now though and don’t ride competitively, but I still do some long rides occasionally. My preference is to do what most people would consider hard rides, but at a relatively easy pace.
I ride regularly, but wouldn’t call my self a cyclist… a lifetime of BMX and MTB riding and now I ride a Bmx cruiser (except for groceries!) Just street riding/cruising in an urban area for me nowadays.
I’m out several times a week mountain biking round the High Peak of Derbyshire. I’m not sure I qualify as an avid cyclist though, because I only own the one bike 
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I had to give up cycling a few years ago due to an arthritic knee. Then a year later had to give up running. Now three months out from a new knee, I’m gonna start on the trainer, and with any luck will be out on the road/path early next spring.
I was never serious about cycling; I only did it to allow me to run more. But my running days are over, so I’ll try to get out for 20 miles a few times a week. Unfortunately the DC-area roads are hostile to bikes, so I need to drive half an hour to a road that’s set up for cyclists.
This is how I wind up on a cruiser - in a bike-unfriendly area, it makes my neighborhood feel big again. All my pedaling is done standing, and in sprint bursts due to gearing. I assume any single speed could be the same, but I still have a lot of Goonies in my blood.
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I did a bit of cycle racing, but was slow and couldn’t get any of the coaching advice to work until late on when I heard about and copied Obree’s method, but I was then hit by an illness that put an end to it all. I did a lot of cycling with the CTC though, which was better than racing in that you could stop in all the interesting places instead of having to barge through them without seeing them properly. I haven’t done much cycling in recent years as there’s too big a risk of forming blood clots from all that sitting on the saddle, so I’m now trying to switch to inline skating before I’m too old to be able to learn to balance well enough for that - currently recovering from a fractured bone in a finger from a fall, which illustrates the need to get on with it because things break more easily now than they used to.
Wow! I had no idea. Would love to make it our your way to do some riding. These days I do a mix of road & gravel (on the same bike). Was riding a Specialized Crux but just switched over to a Ventum GS1 and loving Sram’s new 13 speed 1x drivetrain!
Not proper bikepacking but it might be fun at some point to get a number of us tradhead cyclists for “credit card” bike “camping” and go from AirBNB to AirBNB but bring our instrument and play tunes in the eve!
I’m just amazed at what you pros can do in terms of power/weight. Crazy stuff.
I had a cruiser for a bit - super fun! I did a bit of bmx racing as well!
Hahahah. Well, I guess I’m not one now either 
Good on you for getting the knee sorted. You an @ancientfifer could commiserate. He’s had his share of setbacks as well but keeps after it still. He’s currently coming back from a foot surgery - looking forward to getting back out there with him soonish.
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Yes - for as long as we’re able, it’s best to figure out how to keep moving! Inline skating is super fun - did a bunch of that when I lived in Boston.
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Nice!!! Hey, check it out, the related topics below is starting to show actual related topics!!! (I’m seeing more cycling related chat from the past).
Yup! Cannondale Synergy and a Fuji 1.0
Well, I’m definitely not at a pro level nowadays, and haven’t been anywhere near that for many years!
Getting injured and old and taking a lot of years off is kryptonite for any super powers you may have had. Now its just a case of “the older I get, the better I was”.
As for numbers, my power data isn’t going to impress anyone any more. Age and weight are the only numbers that are still going up!
I have managed to wean myself down to a bare minimum of 5 bikes though. Road, gravel, mountain, off-road touring, and fat. I doubt I’ll get much sympathy from anyone here, but I can tell you, it is a real shock to the finances when you have to buy a bike with your own money, after having exclusively ridden bikes provided by team sponsors since being a teenager.
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I am a cyclist too. Road and mountain. My style of mountain biking might be more accurately described as enduro. More-so in the past when I lived in California where the weather is just about always perfect for cycling. Now in Tennessee it’s more of a gamble with the weather, between heat & humidity, rain and wind I just don’t get out as much as I’d like to. Each September I do a ride called the Great Cycle Challenge to raise money to fight childhood cancer. Excellent incentive to ride! Here’s a link to my strava account.
This sounds fun! I’ve done some bike camping on the C&O canal (one of those rides near DC). It would be even better with tunes!
I’m the same way - ride quite a bit, but I don’t usually think of myself as a cyclist since I mostly ride for transportation.
That said I do enjoy the time on my bike much more than time in a car or on the bus. And I’m lucky enough to live in a mild climate where it’s pleasant to ride year round (except during downpours).
I rode for “practical reasons” for about 2 years (sidewalks + roads).
Then, had a crash and broke some bones (ugh!). Being an old guy, healing is slow.
Tried an adult trike. Very different experience. Klunky, in fact.
Hope to return to 2 wheels eventually.
sigh. . .