Cycling

[puckalish]

So, Quark's is as good a place as any...

I really like riding a bike... this may be because I was once a hippy and still hold onto having as small an ecological footprint as possible... or because I live in Brooklyn, where a bicycle is at least as fast and reliable as any other mode of transportation... but I've been hooked for a bit.

Anyways, early last year, I picked up a nice entry-level road bike and put several hundred miles on it before it was stolen (dude had a battery-powered angle grinder... I guess he really wanted the bike... too bad the video is really low-res)... so wack. Anyways, fast forward to this spring, when a friend is leaving town and wants to leave her Bianchi San Jose behind for a reasonable price...

And, dang, I'm in love all over again. I thought there would be some kind of adjustment to single speed or something (the other bike was 18 gears, this is, well, one), but I just put 20-plus miles on that little beast yesterday and my knees feel fine. Someone's not paying for any more subway rides for a while...

Anyone else here into cycling? For sport or for commuting? I'm more of a commuter myself, but I do like to go fast...

[Marin]

I love riding my bike too!
I used it for commuting when I lived in England, but now I live in Canada (and work is 60 Km away) I have to drive. I brought my Orange Hard Tail over and the trails near where I live are unreal (Squamish, BC). I also have a '92 Diamond Back Road Bike that I rescued from a dumpster. It doesn't get ridden that much sadly.
My wife isn't into riding at all, but at least now I get to rip around the kids bike park with my little girl. She's now 3 and a half and has just transitioned from a run-bike to a pedal bike. Those run-bikes are great, make the transition so easy - no need for training wheels!
Do you get much off-roading done in the city?
Marin.

[puckalish]

Sweet! I thought it was gonna be crickets in here, lol

Shoot, 60km... yeah, not sure I'd be game for more than two hours of cycling before work every day... that said, I have heard of folks with similar commutes staggering it (only once or twice a week or driving in, biking home, biking in, driving home, etc.), but not on mountain bikes. As a NYer, that kind of commute does sound ridiculous, though... my parents live two counties away and they're closer than that!

That's awesome that you're getting your 3-year-old into riding already... One of my high school buddies actually runs a family-oriented bike shop just over the border from you (Seattle)... among other things, he loves those run-bikes for kids (as well as those family-oriented cargo bikes and so on)... and is something of an evangelist for safe, effective, and fun family cycling. (http://familycyclery.com/)

Unfortunately, I don't get too much off-roading done, mostly sticking to the city riding and longer jaunts to see family and stuff... On my old bike, it wasn't really an option, but now, with this cyclocross ride and the weather turning better, maybe I should hit up some local trails (though I'm pretty sure all the terrain out here on the east coast would look pretty flat to someone from BC, lol)...