Jump to content

How many of you have thought about giving up cycling?


Randomguy

Recommended Posts

Roadrunner's temporary madness got me thinking about this...

I have gotten frustrated with the riding out here before and thought about giving it up due to the hassle of riding here.  Horking bike up and down narrow treacherous stairways, awful weather, idiot pedestrians, drivers, stupid children darting in front of you, other riders, lack of suitable places to ride, lots of reasons to stop out here.

It was nice to gain some fitness back last year in CO, and felt like I could have built on that and gotten to a decent level of fitness again, but I am depressed as hell about the realities of being out here again, fitness-wise.  Plus, I don't have a bike again, that might be a problem.   I am working out with weights again, so there is that, but I am despondent about the lack of riding and swimming options.  I am fat, and realizing that that is not likely to change with the lifestyle here.  Bleh.

Anyway, have you ever decided to stop?  Why?  Why didn't you?

Discus.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have had to cut back on exercising in the past few months.  I feel my depression level is inversely proportionate to my exercise level.  I have definitely noticed I feel a lot better when I exercise.

I will try to keep up something for the rest of my life, I can see a day when I don't ride any more.  Maybe run, maybe row.  Something, but with drivers being so distracted these days, being on the road is just not doing it for me.  I really liked riding so many miles on my rollers this winter.

  • Heart 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've pretty much given up road riding completely.  my #1 reason would be cell phones and the resultant inattentive drivers.  You could take every precaution possible and it won't do you a bit of good when some idiot with their face in their phone runs you over from behind.

  • Heart 3
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Square Wheels said:

but with drivers being so distracted these days, being on the road is just not doing it for me.  I really liked riding so many miles on my rollers this winter.

Yes, I'm not worried so much about inadvertent falling as I am the motorists.  And I do have an indoor exercise bike.  Not much fun, but it does allow me to exercise at a very safe level.

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Road Runner said:

Not much fun, but it does allow me to exercise at a very safe level.

Try it on rollers.  I got thrown off (rather violently) a couple of times right after I bought them.  Ever since I built the training wheels for them, it's been soooo much better.  I actually don't mind being on them.  I will never be hit by a car in my basement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

I had a guy buzz me the other day.  Pulled way over while I was riding right next to the curb.  I had no place to go.  If he had moved over another foot toward me, it could have gotten messy.  :angry:

Can you mountain bike a bit?

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Randomguy said:

I need a bike, and if you fuckers ever do decide to give it up or die, I would appreciate being put in your will or somesuch.

Thank you.  (I hope you find a way to ride your bikes, though, it is a shame to give it up)

I have a SS and a 10-speed.  The are both large frames.  (I'm 6' 2")

Can you ride a large frame?  (I forgot the size in cm)

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In 30 years of cycling, I have been hit 4 times by cars.  That does not include being pushed of the side of a 75 foot embankment and falling through blackberry bushes all the way down.  It doesn't involve being bumped on the shoulder by a truck trailer that was tracking a little off but in the bike lane.  It doesn't include having milk shakes thrown at me, empty bottles, an apple, being smacked on the ass climbing a steep hill by a passer by in a car or being buzzed on lonely country roads by rednecks in pickup trucks just to scare you.  

The last accident , caused by a driver on the phone, took forever to recover from as two surgeries were required.  The leg still has circulatory issues as an associated DVT left the vein valves incompetent so I am always fighting adema.  

I am more nervous on the road bike than ever before.  I dislike the sound of traffic approaching from behind. I hate the thought of being hit again or life ending because of someones carelessness or recklessness. I don't fear it for me as death isn't bad for the deceased.  I fear it for the sadness it would cause my family. 

That said, I am back on my bikes but not really full on road riding yet.  I need a new MTB and may consider that next year.  I may move solely to MTB in the future although my heart is in road cycling. I have been really fortunate in having ridden in many countries.  I just don't want it to be the end of my time here. 

So... I don't know RG.  I feel I have very good reasons to quit but the love of road cycling keeps drawing me back.  

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have never considered giving it up.  I do get frustrated with my progress at times.  I want to be faster, more courageous and stronger than I am.  There is a section of black diamond trail that is beating me down lately.  I want to own those scary drops and rock slides.  <sigh>

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Prolly not going to happen. I have an MUT entrance literally across the street. The trail is only about 8 miles now but with a little road ride I can connect with one that goes another 13. Both are expanding. We have bike lanes and several roads with wide shoulders. 

  • Heart 1
  • Awesome 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hardly rode at all from my late 20s till I was 50, then I decided to go on a cycling holiday in France and since then have never considered giving it up. Apart from the day rides and touring it's just the best way to get round this city.

Every time I cycle across a cycle bridge over a motorway I stop midway, look down and smile. 

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Wilbur said:

In 30 years of cycling, I have been hit 4 times by cars.  That does not include being pushed of the side of a 75 foot embankment and falling through blackberry bushes all the way down.  It doesn't involve being bumped on the shoulder by a truck trailer that was tracking a little off but in the bike lane.  It doesn't include having milk shakes thrown at me, empty bottles, an apple, being smacked on the ass climbing a steep hill by a passer by in a car or being buzzed on lonely country roads by rednecks in pickup trucks just to scare you.  

The last accident , caused by a driver on the phone, took forever to recover from as two surgeries were required.  The leg still has circulatory issues as an associated DVT left the vein valves incompetent so I am always fighting adema.  

I am more nervous on the road bike than ever before.  I dislike the sound of traffic approaching from behind. I hate the thought of being hit again or life ending because of someones carelessness or recklessness. I don't fear it for me as death isn't bad for the deceased.  I fear it for the sadness it would cause my family. 

That said, I am back on my bikes but not really full on road riding yet.  I need a new MTB and may consider that next year.  I may move solely to MTB in the future although my heart is in road cycling. I have been really fortunate in having ridden in many countries.  I just don't want it to be the end of my time here. 

So... I don't know RG.  I feel I have very good reasons to quit but the love of road cycling keeps drawing me back.  

Hell, you are bait out there, just a magnet for destruction!  

I would think about this a bunch if it happened that many times to me, and switch to off-road as much as possible, too.  I haven't been hit by a car, although I dealt with rednecks every now and then, especially in the south and a bit in California for some reason.  Not enough to get me to stop, though, I am not basing much on what could happen.  If you have multiple "did happen" stories, I definitely understand.

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't thought about giving up cycling but when given very little recreational/leisure time something else seems to take priority.  This weekend it was competing in agility with Lindy.  So maybe I have given it up not by thinking about it but by thinking about other things.

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Airehead said:

I haven't thought about giving up cycling but when given very little recreational/leisure time something else seems to take priority.  This weekend it was competing in agility with Lindy.  So maybe I have given it up not by thinking about it but by thinking about other things.

So... You are cheating on cycling?? 

 

:)  

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess I did give it up in the years from when our daughter was born, through their younger years. 

Yes, it does seem like I'm seeing more stories about cyclists suffering severe injuries or worse.  Last summer a guy got mowed down on a road I traveled fairly regularly (and I would say I have used that road less since).  But generally I feel safe on the roads I ride on.  (there's a whole lotta 'knock on wood' in this thread)

My wife is "a worrier".  I know she's sometimes nervous when I go out riding, but she has never asked me to stop.  I give her a whole lot of credit for that.  I am always thinking about getting back home to them; she tracks me on the GPS and I'll send her a few text updates if I'm out a real long time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Wilbur said:

In 30 years of cycling, I have been hit 4 times by cars.

Note to self: stay the hell away from the pig, when riding.

Not a lot of traffic here. Wide open back roads and people are used to farm equipment and other slow moving vehicles. About once a year, I have someone come closer than I'm comfortable with. That's about it.

The worst wrecks I ever had were my own damned fault.

  • Heart 1
  • Awesome 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been hit once and buzzed a few times. I was forced off the road once (still can't believe my tires stayed up after that!) and nearly forced into a curb by an RV in the Black Hills. Still. No. I haven't considered giving it up. I have some rural roads that are reasonably maintained with lighter traffic. There are a few roads I will no longer ride just because they are getting busier and drivers are more agressive, there. Our trail system has expanded a lot in the last couple years. We have a few major expansions that would open up new possibilities down the road. Just need funding. 

We have looked at the idea of moving to other cities down the road. Good cycling environments are a high priority wherever we go. 

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I gave up motorcycling after I crashed on a fricken bolt-on speed bump in the bicycle.  I figured if it hurt that much to come off at 10 MPH, I didn't want to think aboot 60.

I haven;t thought much aboot giving up cycling, but now I cycle so little that I have no fitness so it is not as enjoyable as it was in the days when I could take longer trips and see more scenery.

  • Heart 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

36 minutes ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

I gave up motorcycling after I crashed on a fricken bolt-on speed bump in the bicycle.  I figured if it hurt that much to come off at 10 MPH, I didn't want to think aboot 60.

In my two crashes that sent me to the hospital, the nurses on duty would come in my room and ask me how I got hurt.  I would say "cycling".  They invariably thought I meant motorcycling.  One nurse laughed at me and said, "I thought you meant a motorcycle.  I never knew you could hurt yourself this bad on a bicycle!"   :huh:

  • Heart 3
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I mostly stopped riding to take up running. Then I needed knee surgery. Running is evil.

I didn't stop riding after being hit by a car.

I didn't stop riding after a heart attack while riding.

I didn't stop after suffering a concussion and broken rib in a crit crash.

Did I say running is evil? I might have to rethink this one.

  • Heart 1
  • Awesome 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My busy schedule actually makes me appreciate the opportunities to ride.  Had the weekend free only to come down with a cold.  Now Im on travel so Im hoping Ill be well so I can ride next weekend.  I often go 3-4 weeks without riding and its rarely because I dont want to...

When I was racing as a teen I got really fed up with saddle sores, flats and other nagging injuries and took a month off my bike. I litterally  put a blanket over my bike, I didnt want to look at it.  Granted I was riding close to 1,000 miles a month back then.  The break was needed and put me in a great fram of mind and on a nice win streak catapulting me up to a Cat 3 as a.first year 18 YO amateur.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Airehead said:

I haven't thought about giving up cycling but when given very little recreational/leisure time something else seems to take priority.  This weekend it was competing in agility with Lindy.  So maybe I have given it up not by thinking about it but by thinking about other things.

You need to create a new sport where you take Lindy through the agility course while riding your bike.   :nodhead:

  • Heart 2
  • Awesome 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do not like riding in the parts of the city due to traffic...at least not clipped in.  We have lots of streets and bikeways but we still have azzholes who buzz you, yell at you and tell you to get off the street :wacko:  I am not too far from a trail (8 miles if I go further east..but easily 3 or 4 to a trail that meets up with the Gateway)...I could do 40  miles with only 6 to 10 on the road....My biggest challenge is week nights...I have to cross Interstate 35E and the overpass can be kinda busy at 6 pm....and people going home from work are not always polite.

 

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been forced to not ride for a few years by shoulder and hip problems, but I can't wait until I can ride again next fall.

I only got back into riding bikes in 2011 at age 60 and only for exercise, but the way it's healed my Achilles tendons it is so worth it. When I can ride at least a few miles per day my resting pulse drops to around 60 from 80 when I'm out of shape.  It is easier on my joints, muscles, and tendons than any other exercise that gets the heart beating at 3/4 or better its max.

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 11 months later...
On 5/22/2017 at 8:22 PM, Road Runner said:

Walking is good.  It isn't as exciting or glamorous as running and cycling, but it may be the best for you in the long run, so to speak.

Our new car pool person is a big time walker, like 12 miles per weekend, and I am thinking of recommending cycling to him, but then I realised that unfortunately cycling is evil. :(

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

Our new car pool person is a big time walker, like 12 miles per weekend, and I am thinking of recommending cycling to him, but then I realised that unfortunately cycling is evil. :(

 

Cycling has a level of danger that worries me.  I have had a number of accidents and after my son's recent run-in with a car, I would never recommend it to anyone.  If you want to do it knowing the dangers, then fine.  But I would never recommend to someone that they take it up as a hobby.  

  • Heart 1
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...