Phil (ascentale)@uxmark asks about returning after a break:
Q6. Did you or someone you know get back into cycling after being away from it? What was your/their motivation? And how has it been going for you/them?
@uxmark A6. One of my fellow cycling instructors never really learned much as a kid, and decided to come back to cycling a couple of years ago as a middle-aged adult. They found that it opened up a lot of opportunities, and they decided to start teaching as well. They've now met their partner through all of their work in cycling and continue to be a strong advocate.
Solarbird 
@ascentale @uxmark A6: I did! I was off bike for some _years_ after getting hit and run that worst time, after being a bike commuter to grad school. eBikes got me back in and fixed that in my head for reals and now I’m a bike evangelist.
JF 
@ascentale
A6: I got back in cycling 8 years ago after a long hiatus.
First it was saving £ (morning transport) and make the bike a good investment
Then counting the km and taking it to new highs
Then a way to avoid the rush hour public transport hell
Then a way to improve health and control weight
Then audaxing and pushing a bit my limits
All those previous motivation are still here (I still run my money saving spreadsheet)
@uxmark
#BikeNite
Eat This PodcastA6. TIL Audax, which sounds like a blast, and which I wish I'd learned about a lot sooner.
@etp
I contemplated Audaxing for a while, thinking "what a weird thing to do". Cannot remember what tipped it over for me
@ascentale @uxmark
I contemplated Audaxing for a while, thinking "what a weird thing to do". Cannot remember what tipped it over for me
@ascentale @uxmark
I’m not sure anything will ever tip it over for me. Possibly were an established group to invite me …
AI6YR Ben@ascentale @uxmark #BikeNite A6. YES, #BikeNite was DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE for my getting back into cycling after a hiatus of 20+ some years. (well, with some help from my city putting in some cycling lanes in the last five or six years). THANK YOU for everyone who answered my really stupid bicycling questions. (although, SOMEONE should have told me to replace the 37 year old tires on my road bike first 😬 ... luckily did not blow up as I was speeding rapidly downhill...)
Led By Gilded Fools@moira @ai6yr @ascentale @uxmark
A6: Until I started driving to my current job 5 years ago, 28 miles one way, I commuted, averaging ~5000 miles/year, averaging about 14mph loaded.
I took a couple year break during the height of the ongoing Covid19 pandemic. Now I'm down to maybe 200 miles/year and my knees complain, but I have all the gear for cold & wet weather and am cycling short rides around the north end of Lake WA, Seattle.
I think what I, and your friend really need is to connect with a cycling club, team, group, or a couple people who can do regular miles to build back up, and lose some weight. Please DM Seattle area suggestions.
djuber@ascentale @uxmark A6. I did, after a break of 20+ years (from 20 to maybe 40 years old). I started using it as a way to bridge gaps in bus schedules, riding a bike share for about 18 months before I bought my own.
Oddly, it was immediately liberating to move on my own power, where I wanted, when I wanted. I would never have done this if I hadn't got a free membership to the city bike share from work, but the zero cost experiment was immediately rewarded.
I think it's going great
lopta
Weldon Bradstreet@ascentale @uxmark A6. I spent a long time off bikes completely in the late 90s to early 2000s. I started riding occasionally again around 2010, and riding regularly around 2015.
When my son got into dirt riding, I was ecstatic! That was all I needed to jump back into MTB riding with both feet.
These days, I ride almost daily, multiple fun rides each week in between rides to the grocery store.
nothingfuture@ascentale @uxmark A6: After riding nearly every day for 15 years or so, I took about 8 years off when I had kids. We eventually moved someplace more conducive to riding, the kids got older, and I got back on a bike. I’ve been back for almost 10 years now.
It’s been fantastic for my mental health (and, increasingly, my physical health too). #bikenite
It’s been fantastic for my mental health (and, increasingly, my physical health too). #bikenite
S. NewberyA6. I hadn’t biked regularly for some time when I decided to get an e-bike (from SF’s New Wheel) in 2013. Then I rode regularly for about 6 yrs: 10 miles/day commuting from home to studio & extra for errands. My riding tends to be necessity-driven and since I no longer have the studio I don’t ride as much now. But I still do frequent shorter rides around town on the same e-bike (which still works great). It made a big difference for me in getting around more easily.
Gemma ⭐️🔰🇺🇸 🇵🇭 🎐@ascentale @uxmark #BikeNite 20241115 A6. I was never really “away” from cycling, but this year, I started serious riding for fitness, something I’ve never done before. Since June, I’ve lost over 10 lbs, and I want to lose another 20-25.
Mx. Eddie R@ascentale @uxmark
A6.
Yes. My partner and j have been picking up fitness and activity stuff, taking care of ourselves into our middle ages. We both enjoyed biking when younger, so we've eased back into it, first with semi-recumbent and this summer with mountain bikes as well.
It's going well! We have some very nice and well maintained trail systems around town and we've been exploring more and more.
#BikeNite
A6.
Yes. My partner and j have been picking up fitness and activity stuff, taking care of ourselves into our middle ages. We both enjoyed biking when younger, so we've eased back into it, first with semi-recumbent and this summer with mountain bikes as well.
It's going well! We have some very nice and well maintained trail systems around town and we've been exploring more and more.
#BikeNite
edd@ascentale @uxmark A6. I personally got back into it after a hiatus. I rode for utility in college a lot out of necessity, and after college drove out of necessity. It wasn't until 5 or more years later that I worked close enough to home that biking was an option, and preferable even. And since then it's been an upward spiral 🚲
kimu@ascentale @uxmark A6. I stopped cycling for many years after we moved here - too many random hills, too little time. I’ve mentioned before, got a peloton at the start of the pandemic. Really liked that for a long time but eventually started to feel like it was isolating. Bought my 1st ebike with a lot of encouragement & suggestions from online friends, fell in love with biking again. Got my whole family involved - spouse rides my 1st ebike now & our teen bikes to school many days. #BikeNite
rand@ascentale @uxmark A6. I biked as a kid, then to get around in college (and fitness) at UC Irvine, but then I came back to the Berkeley area, and streets and hills scared me off the bike. After moving to Santa Clara, I tried to get back into it, but it just didn’t work out. Then COVID, I couldn’t do anything else I liked to do, so I dragged out an old bike. Now I only drive if I can’t do it on my bike, so not often.
And now, by early afternoon, if I have gone for a ride, I get all antsy! #BikeNite
nick@ascentale @uxmark #bikenite A6: There's a whole story to this (which I've posted before I think but anyway) https://nick.zoic.org/art/the-cycling-bikepacking-post/
Pamela Schure@ascentale @uxmark A6. I’m not sure I was ever into cycling after middle school. Lots of years living far from work and in rural areas. Finally insisted on a livable life (no 30 min drives no matter what) Then my kids could bike during high school. And finally I started hanging out with someone into biking (now husband) and he taught me the basics of shifting, clothing etc. Now he doesn’t bike much, but it’s my primary mode of travel. And I love it! #bikenite
Chris Henrick@ascentale @uxmark A6: had to take a bit of a hiatus for a health condition, maybe a year or so. Before the pandemic I got really into mountain biking (#mtb) and then subsequently #gravel biking / mixed terrain biking. Really enjoy being on dirt away from cars and out in nature, especially as I’ve gotten older and drivers have gotten more brazen post early pandemic. Luckily the SF Bay Area has some terrific options for off road & mixed terrain cycling. #bikeNite
@ascentale @uxmark tagging @runcible in this one since I know he got back into cycling later in life and has become quite a beast since then
Ron ParsonsA6. I cycled for transportation in college and grad school. Then stopped for various reasons. Got back to cycling for commuting when my daughter needed a car to commute to her work. Cheaper to get a bike and equipment for me to ride to my work and I’ve managed to stay with it through job and work changes.
Marc Hedlund@ascentale @uxmark A6. I had a bad crash (bike vs pavement, my own fault) very late in my senior year of high school and it trashed my bike and my confidence. Until then I rode everywhere, all the time, in Los Angeles of all places. After that I moved for college and did not own a bike again for a long time. Eventually I got a Trek, then a Priority, then a Bullitt, and each of those increased my riding again, and now I ride everywhere all the time. #BikeNite
Kinetix@ascentale @uxmark A6: Me, yes! I cycled a lot in my youth in my home town and Vancouver, and then nearly not at all for years. I went from 15km on my bike in 2021 to 1980 km on my recumbent trike in 2022, 2895km in 2023 and 4092 so far this year. I lost about 30 lbs and I feel like I really need to cycle regularly all the time now. I have a new studded tire and hope I get to keep pushing my records during the winter months (quite dependent on the amount of snow we get).
#BikeNite
#BikeNite
Mark Connolly moved to @@ascentale A6. I’ll answer my own question here! I wasn’t an avid rider by the time I got to high school, and stopped altogether went I went away to university. But I got a new bike in my late 20s to support commuting to a new job. Since then, I’ve always cycled, for varying reasons. These days I do so for regular transportation — running errands like getting groceries. Reasons include health, climate action, and the joy of it 😀🚴♂️
Miz Ell@ascentale @uxmark
A6: If we count the gulf of time between riding as a kid, and as an adult (20 years)!
I'm loving it. 15 years and counting, using a bike as my main mode of transportation and exercise. Wouldn't change it for anything.
#BikeNite
A6: If we count the gulf of time between riding as a kid, and as an adult (20 years)!
I'm loving it. 15 years and counting, using a bike as my main mode of transportation and exercise. Wouldn't change it for anything.
#BikeNite
Trouble@ascentale @uxmark A6- I cycled in my neighborhood as a kid. Nothing during high school (too far) and college (free busses). I cycled some (only in fair weather) to my first job after college (up Central Expressway, Sunnyvale, CA of all places!) Then nothing for another 10 years or so (bike stolen out of my garage). Working with everyday cyclers got me back into it. At first a few times a year, then once a week, then twice a week, and now 5 days/week (ebike; 6 mi away...no rain). #BikeNite
Runcible Wheel Works@clhenrick @uxmark I don't know that it's fair to say I got back into it so much as I got into it for the first time. I rode for transport as a kid, but not that much and never very far. When I moved back to Oakland in 2009 I got a bike for commuting and never looked back.