How'd you get into the sport of cycling?

[Eric8-A]

Hi everybody. I was just wondering of how people got into this marvelous sport. I'm gonna say i'm still fairly new to cycling. I got into it last year. And this is how it happened:
My older brother was into the sport for about 2 or 3 years prior to 2009. Laste year, I came home from school and saw him watching the Tour of California. He told me to sit and watch it, having nothing to do I did. I saw and was fascinated by it. This was stage 1 where Paco Mancebo won. It took me til after the Tour de France to really get hooked on it. The I watched the Vuelta and there it is. 2010 was the first time I followed the cycling season from start to finish and loved it. Can't wait for 2011!

 

[The Hitch]

Hi everybody. I was just wondering of how people got into this marvelous sport. I'm gonna say i'm still fairly new to cycling. I got into it last year. And this is how it happened:
My older brother was into the sport for about 2 or 3 years prior to 2009. Laste year, I came home from school and saw him watching the Tour of California. He told me to sit and watch it, having nothing to do I did. I saw and was fascinated by it. This was stage 1 where Paco Mancebo won. It took me til after the Tour de France to really get hooked on it. The I watched the Vuelta and there it is. 2010 was the first time I followed the cycling season from start to finish and loved it. Can't wait for 2011!

You got interested in cycling because of the Tour of California

Trust me your gonna love the rest of the sport then

Congrats on watching the Vuelta from LA, its on quite early there isnt it.

From what i understood, youve watched mainly TOC Tour and Vuelta. The early season is even better though. The spring classics and the Giro d italia, now thats what this thing of ours is about. So you are right to be excited by 2011. This forum intensifies those races as well.

Right now all we are trying to do though is make the off season bearable though.

 

[Eric8-A]

You got interested in cycling because of the Tour of California

Trust me your gonna love the rest of the sport then

Congrats on watching the Vuelta from LA, its on quite early there isnt it.

From what i understood, youve watched mainly TOC Tour and Vuelta. The early season is even better though. The spring classics and the Giro d italia, now thats what this thing of ours is about. So you are right to be excited by 2011. This forum intensifies those races as well.

Right now all we are trying to do though is make the off season bearable though.

Yeah, the Vuelta is on like at 5 in the morning, along with the other GT's. I don't watch them live though. I catch the coverage later in the day. My brother is the one who's up early watching it.

Last year I only say the TOC, The Tour, and The Vuelta. I also followed the Jelly Belly Squads calendar and did the same this year. But this year I followed pretty much the entire season. My favorite race was Pais Vasco.

 

[The Hitch]

My favorite race was Pais Vasco.

Good choice.

 

[ingsve]

I first got into cycling watching the 1997 Tour de France on Eurosport via my grandparents satellite dish. The racing in the mountains is what really hooked me. The Festina team was ripping it up with several riders up there who attacked one after an other and I really immediately loved the combination of individual and team elements that characterizes road cycling.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

TdF Mountains hooked me quite some time ago..
More or less what ingsve said.

 

[compete_clean]

I was 5 when then woman who took care of me (my nanny) took me to the town square to see the stage finish of our national tour. I didn't know what was going on but it was crowded and everyone seemed excited. Suddenly i heard the meshing of gears and rolling of tires and everyone started cheering. I punched a hole between peoples legs and saw a blur of colour go by.

Six years later I saw the movie Breaking Away (I know, it's so cliche). My mother told me that one of her colleagues from work was a cyclist in the 50s in Italy and that I should talk to him about bike racing. Six years after that I was living with his brother and family in Trentino.

 

[Kwibus]

I always watched cycling since 1990 or something, but not as intense as this last half year. From 1990 till now I missed TdFs and lots of spring classics and when I watched them I didn't know most of the riders.
The problem was that I mostly didn't have someone to talk about it and during 2000-2008 my interest in cycling was very low. In 2009 I was excited about the TdF again because Gesink was going to participate. At last a dutch talent for the mountains.
Allthough Gesink had to leave the TdF early due to a crash I watched it till the end and it got my interest in cycling back up.

From that point I decided to watch more races.... Those races were this years spring classics as imo there wasn't much more to come after the TdF besides the Vuelta which I missed anyways.

This year I watched all the spring classics which I enjoyed very much, allthough Cancellara supremacy wasn't very exciting, but certainly very impressive.
Then the Giro started and during the last week of the Giro I discovered this forum... that's when **** really hit the fan
Talking about cycling every day and most of all getting to know every single race there is. Races I had no idea about like the Tour of Pologne which were also great to watch imo. And all these one day races I've never heard of.. I got hooked badly!

I got friends and family that watch the Tour de France, but nothing else. CN forum is my cycling drug. Sharing my enthusiasm about the sport with other enthusiastic people that know sooo much about cycling intensified watching all these races.
I love all the different opinions and nationalities here. Good for some drama too which is always fun to read

I can't wait for next year... I'm gonna watch every single race that's being broadcasted or streamed. I'm gonna buy a bike and ride myself which is a good thing since I didn't do any sports since my 15th and I'm now 29...

 

[S2Sturges]

I got intrigued by cycling, eeek, maybe 1973.. this cycle shop opened up near my house that was a disused auto garage, I remember going in there and seeing pictures of Eddy on the walls and watching the mechanic gluing a tyre onto a rim.. like science fiction to me, I was maybe 14.. soon a mate of mine bought a Roger Riviere bike and I couldn't keep up on the old Stingray so I bought a Apollo something road bike and that was that.. we rode everywhere and I remember riding off up to Gibson's Landing ( this is B.C.) and struggling away up the hills to the ferry in North Vancouver when this guy floated past us on his road bike, effortless, skinny and brown.. I decided then I wanted to ride and to race, though it took me almost ten years before I entered my first road race.. I suffered like a dog, got lapped and finished seeing double. All I remembered was people clapping despite the fact I was crap and wanted to crawl under a rock. Then I met this eccentric Irish geezer, who was ex Irish national champ when he was younger, and he taught me how to race, how to suffer and be graceful in victory.
From there, I continued to race up to a few years ago, now I just go training, but my sport has taken me all over Europe and America, plus Australia, and at 58, still have another 15 years before I'm thinking about hanging up the wheels.

 

[Arnout]

I loosely started following cycling in 2001, with most notably the victory of Laiseka in the Tour. Then in June 2003 I heard of Iban Mayo and my nephew and I made a bet about who was going to beat Lance Armstrong: Beloki or Mayo. Unfortunately we will never know if Beloki was able to beat Armstrong (and Mayo for that matter), but during that Tour I really got interested. Still, it was casual (watching Tour, classics and not caring about many other races that much) as I (and my nephew) were the only ones in the family interested, but then a few years later a friend started cycling himself and I decided to follow. That was the time I really got into it, must be 2005 or 2006 or something.

 

[El Pistolero]

I was born in Belgium.

 

[Tibber]

I went to Indiana University where the Little 500 bike race is a huge deal. Went riding with some fraternity brothers, saw Breaking Away, followed the '86 TDF and took out a license and started racing. CBS televised a one hour Paris-Roubaix show back then that also captured my imagination. 25 years later I am still hooked!

 

[skidmark]

When I was 21 (in 2001) I bought a cruiser bike to go to work, which was a little too far to walk and too close to borrow a car to drive every day (and public transit is horrible in central Canada)... I soon started to love it, and rode it half an hour each way to university. That was step 1.

In 2004, I had finished some contract work out in the bush and was staying at my parents' place for a month. They had cable. Setting up downstairs on their pull-out bed, I'd wake up leisurely every day around 9am, and one day I flipped through to OLN, which was showing the Tour live, and stages ended about 11am. I watched/'watched' (ie. had the TV on while I did other stuff) every stage, fascinated by the tactics, cumulative time, and athleticism. I cheered against Lance, because I don't like predictable dominance, and he seemed like a jerk that day he chased down Simeoni. But he still gave me my most 'OMG' moment when he beat Kloden on the line that stage where Landis blew everyone off the wheel. That was step 2.

Then I became a bike messenger, and appreciated a lot more biking in my life... followed the tour on live text updates the next year as I was taking a french program in Quebec, but in 2006 I taped it every day and brought it to my friends' house to show them. Then in winter 2006 I read this online year-by-year history of the tour that this guy had written, and I was awestruck by the history behind the race. And races - I heard so many names mentioned in passing - Het Volk, Ronde, Vuelta, etc... so I started looking for cycling news, and found this place. That was step 3.

Then I followed it every day, incorporated a visit to the Tour into a European bike trip in 2007, found live streams in 2008, and then this forum when it opened in 2009. And here we are.

 

[Ibanez]

My dad agreed to ride a Gran Fondo on a drunken bet. He buys himself a road bike and I get jealous seeing him coming home from weekend rides, overweight and looking awful on the bike, but happy as anything.

I buy a second hand Scott at the age of 16 from ebay to go out riding with him and I'm hooked. Getting into the professional sport just came naturally - I wanted to see what high level racing was like. Now I can recognise most of the riders in bigger races just from their position on the bike and am as obsessive about the sport as my friends are about football. None of them understand

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

Father had a heart attack and died in front of me after a bike ride in the neighborhood when I was just 7 years old. A guy that he was going to hire at his company and my dentist took me under their wings to keep me out of trouble, became my mentors I guess. I called them "the Robs". FFWD 7 years to 14 years old, the Robs suggested that I start riding my Dad's old Raleigh, which I grew into quickly. They trained me through that spring slowly building up my mileage, 20, 30, 40 miles. That summer one of the Robs took me to the LBS, and live on the tv was LeMond wrapping up his 1st TDF win in '86. I was hooked, and shortly thereafter I did my fist Century, and I haven't looked back since.

 

[Dettol]

Cycling to work and the watching eurosport coverage at work.

 

[Trunnions]

A non-cyclist four years ago, I got tired of waiting for buses, and having to stand during the journeys, so bought a cheap 1970's style ten-speed road bike with down-tube gear-levers, just to get around.

I found that I was arriving ahead of the buses I used to catch (they stop a lot).

One day, a Swiss roadie stopped his BMC next to me at the lights, smiled, waved, and as we set off, he changed gear in the drops.

I was stunned.

"Did he just change gear by moving the brake lever?!"

Soon after that revelation, I visited a proper bike shop, bought a modern bike (Jamis Ventura), and couldn't believe how wonderful it felt, like flying. (I have a PPL).

I entered the next UCI race on the calendar, and was immediately accepted by the peloton despite being twice their age, and using toe-clips! One of the chaps I knocked shoulders with that day was a former Pro.

It was then I realised how good the pros are, and began to follow the Pro-Tour via websites on dial-up, (no TV).

Biggest thrill was turning up for a local Criterium this March to find myself lined up against a +current+ Pro-Tour rider, Bbox's Yukiya Arashiro. He was on holiday here in Asia, and unannounced, brought his Colnago bike, Bbox kit, and Japanese friends along for a training race!

Top Bloke btw, humble, and a thrilling rider.

He came 9th in the 2010 World Championship at Geelong... the same year he raced against a bloke using toe-clips on his first road-bike.

That kind of experience gives the sport huge accessibility.

By which I mean; pop round to your local garage, buy a car and see if you're allowed to race; Vettel, Alonso, Webber, and Hamilton.

This punter bought a bicycle from his local bike-shop, and soon after, found himself racing the Ninth best rider in the WORLD.

You know who won, but who do you think had the most FUN?

 

[ozerulz]

decided to do a triathlon to get into shape. showed up at the local group ride to learn how to ride a bike. took me 3 months to where I could stay with them without getting dropped. did my tri and then did a bike race to see what it was like. never do another tri. triathlon is **** compared to bike racing.

 

[Polyarmour]

Great story Trunnions.

 

[TexPat]

Cycling was (is) a form of escapism. As a kid I used it to get away from a crowded military house, or arguing parents post-Vietnam. Getting uprooted every 18 months, riding a bike enabled me to explore my new surroundings.
I guess with age I began to feel the tug of competition. The lure of speed led me to my first ten speed in 1979 or so.
But, it really wasn't until Greg LeMond won the TdF that all hell broke loose for me, and I started my romantic obsession for road racing.
I ride a bike almost every day, and don't care what type!

 

[simo1733]

A non-cyclist four years ago, I got tired of waiting for buses, and having to stand during the journeys, so bought a cheap 1970's style ten-speed road bike with down-tube gear-levers, just to get around.

I found that I was arriving ahead of the buses I used to catch (they stop a lot).

One day, a Swiss roadie stopped his BMC next to me at the lights, smiled, waved, and as we set off, he changed gear in the drops.

I was stunned.

"Did he just change gear by moving the brake lever?!"

Soon after that revelation, I visited a proper bike shop, bought a modern bike (Jamis Ventura), and couldn't believe how wonderful it felt, like flying. (I have a PPL).

I entered the next UCI race on the calendar, and was immediately accepted by the peloton despite being twice their age, and using toe-clips! One of the chaps I knocked shoulders with that day was a former Pro.

It was then I realised how good the pros are, and began to follow the Pro-Tour via websites on dial-up, (no TV).

Biggest thrill was turning up for a local Criterium this March to find myself lined up against a +current+ Pro-Tour rider, Bbox's Yukiya Arashiro. He was on holiday here in Asia, and unannounced, brought his Colnago bike, Bbox kit, and Japanese friends along for a training race!

Top Bloke btw, humble, and a thrilling rider.

He came 9th in the 2010 World Championship at Geelong... the same year he raced against a bloke using toe-clips on his first road-bike.

That kind of experience gives the sport huge accessibility.

By which I mean; pop round to your local garage, buy a car and see if you're allowed to race; Vettel, Alonso, Webber, and Hamilton.

This punter bought a bicycle from his local bike-shop, and soon after, found himself racing the Ninth best rider in the WORLD.

You know who won, but who do you think had the most FUN?

great story trunnions. I too am an English roadracer in Asia

 

[online-rider]

I wanted big calf muscles.

 

[Trunnions]

great story trunnions. I too am an English roadracer in Asia

First we came in gunboats and built yet another doomed Empire...

Now we're "pedalling" soft-power

 

[AngusW]

In 1981, I read a magazine article about Jack Swart, a four time NZ road champion of the '70s and '80s which got me interested in reading more about cycling. Then early in 1982 I saw Breaking Away on television, which got me interested in cycle racing. It was actually another 11 years before I did my first cycle race, but by that time I'd been following the Tour de France for years and reading everything I could find about cycling, cycle racing and cycling history (cycling coverage on the Telly in NZ was virtually non-existant in the 1980s and 1990s).

 

[_yngve_]

I began doing "long" road rides (10 whole miles!) with a group of friends in the mid/late 80s back in MN. Even bumped into GL on one ride (I'm guessing it was 88, while he was recovering). Eventually, a few of us started seeking out off road trails - river bottoms was particularly fun.

Fast forward to college in Montana, and I began taking riding more seriously. I knew all the skinny on all the big riders at the time: Tomac, Overend, Deaton, Giove, Furtado, etc. I started riding on the road (this time on a road bike) to increase fitness.

Fast forward once again to Vegas, while working in a shop, TdF was on whenever possible. Road replaced MTB as my primary fixation. Again, trying to learn as much as I could, I started watching races. Once I had to settle into a real job, I had less time for riding, and so made up for it with regular telecasts. I worked for an ISP back then, and so had broadband access and plenty of time to immerse myself in all things cycling.