glasgowfgss

my dad used to take us on family rides when i was younger.. i then did the obligatory building mountainbike jumps with friends that we thought were amazing until "bigger boys" came along with proper bikes and showed us some tricks etc. From then on i was completely hooked into downhill mountain biking and drops/jumps till i was 18. Movies like sprung, cranked and anything else i could get on vhs fuelled the fire.

Then i started to ride cross country stuff for fitness and a bmx for fun for a few years... went to uni and in my final year and first few years of working i really didnt ride at all. Then its been the last two-three years i've been riding on the roads as i love the endurance and speed of it.

I used to do the towpaths - glasgo to lochlomond etc with my old man. Then used to cycle back and forward to school.

Hadn't really cycled until last year when I moved to glasgow green. Then got my bike for back and forward to work. Got my fixed after trying my cousins down south and enjoying the feel and the ease of maintainence. Bought a mountain bike a few monthss ago too so starting to do some trails, carron valley etc.

I would say my main reason was to lose weight in the last year. I find cycling a lot more enjoyable than a everyday in the gym. So far managed to lose a stone and a half since Nov/Dec, same again to go!

To get birds

Cheaper and faster than public transport. Well it was cheaper before it became so obsessing anyway.

[quote][cite] islipaway:[/cite]Cheaper and faster than public transport. Well it was cheaper before it became so obsessing anyway.

This.

Why the hell have I not seen Quicksilver???

Ma da, then being a courier sealed the deal. Fixed gear bikes set the fire.

My brother, he was (and still is) into bikes in a big way, working in Dales as a mechanic for a while.
I borrowed a bike from him for a couple of months to train for a 450 mile bike ride in the Army and kept it going after that for over 10 years.
A damaged knee stopped me for a while and I've had some half hearted attempts to get 'back on' but the recent one seems to be
holding out. Fitting it around a commute to or from work makes it easier.

A bicycle was one of the few things in my childhood that I managed to take apart AND put back together again. Various Tv's telephones and remote control cars weren't quite so lucky.

[quote][cite] islipaway:[/cite]Cheaper and faster than public transport. Well it was cheaper before it became so obsessing anyway.
Me too. And it's been a lot more expensive than public transport all in all but then, if I spent money on public transport I'd spend other money on a hobby. this way I'm combining my hobby and transport 'budget' into one.

My folks used to ride (think raleigh hybrids) and we did family days out. I was also the last to be picked for football at school and sucked at most other sports! A mate in school got me into riding cyclocross and the freedom it brought inspired me. Cue long long days in the saddle with my mates and an insatiable hunger for riding. Have never disliked it in nearly 20 years, and probably won't until I kick the bucket.

Aye of all the things I have been into cycling has never got to the stage where I've been pissed off with it to the point of packing it in.

started cycling to school aged 12. lived in london for 10 years where bike is easily the fastest way around.
cycling is simply what I do.

Yup - now I cycle because I like it. It's as simple as that. Nothing deep, meaningful or spiritual. I can't imagine ever not liking it though.

[quote][cite] Johnny Crash:[/cite]I can't imagine ever not liking it though.

Getting back on again was a lot like not liking it. Especially the cheeks of my arse.....

[quote][cite] john.stone:[/cite]

Getting back on again was a lot like not liking it. Especially the cheeks of my arse.....

I don't like saddle sores, cramp or falling off.

There's plenty of pain involved but cycling's a bit like sex - you can tell if it's been good because it hurts a little.

Had kiddies bikes when i was young; but it was probably BMX around 1979/80.

[quote][cite] Johnny Crash:[/cite]
cycling's a bit like sex - you can tell if it's been good because it hurts a little.

Genius

Living in the suburbs of Aberdeen and not having much to do cycling as one of the few funs things me and my mates had. Gives you a nice bit of freedom. Came back to it because SPT pretty much doubled my travel costs. Rest is history.

i've always cycled really since i was a wee guy going along the cycle path with my dad. Butgot serious after moving to the southside and working in the east end and realising that the bike was about 5-10 mins quicker than the bus. Given my timekeeping and sleeping habits that extra 5-10 mins was invaluable.

My parents always cycled, so sunday mornings were usually a 40 miles outing and summer holidays was often in the alps, not walking but doing the cols with a wee 5 gears bike. Which gave my sister a deep hatred of bikes... I rediscovered the pleasure of cycling a couple of years ago when needing to clear my head I cycled across France from east to west for a week with a tent. Great empty roads and landscape in the blazing heat, stopping for lunches in cafes, and ending up at the ocean. Back in Glasgae I got myself a new bike for going to the Highlands but the roads are too busy so it's mostly commuting and the odd excursion to Loch Lomond or the Campsies. Now botching together my first fixed conversion and eager to get started with it.

Same as Lee. Child of the 70's and everyone had a bike back then. Then used a bike to go to school everyday and anywhere else. Had a Ridgeback some years ago but got given to my dad as was only using two gears out of the 24 on it. Love the simplicity of the a fixed gear bike. That's about it...

[quote][cite] NMK:[/cite]Why the hell have I not seen Quicksilver???

Ma da, then being a courier sealed the deal. Fixed gear bikes set the fire.

Mr Crash is very kindly giving me copies of Quicksilver, Breaking Away, A Sunday In Hell and Bicycle Dreams on Saturday. You can borrow to copy at some point.

Can I borrow Breaking Away?

Of course...

no american flyers?