I suppose to each and everyone one of us cycling is something different. Whether one is just a weekend park ride with the family kind of person, a commuter, recreational rider or would be racer. Cycling to each of us would mean something specific, along with ones' goals and ambitions.
To some it could be just for fun, some to loose weight and and gain a bit of extra fitness, some may desire to attack some kind of masochistic randonnee, or lead the peleton in a mad sprint for the finish line. We all have our reasons. But you have to admit, once the bug bites, it bites hard.
I remember when I purchased my first road bike, I picked it up all shiny and metallic red. I had the seat and bars adjusted and away I went, riding home with my daughter still in my work clothes.
Within a week I was being fitted for shoes, SPD SL pedal, some XXL Lycra. That was it, I was off and nothing was stopping me. The motorbike, a rather meticulous Suzuki GSX 1400 was parked in the back of the shed, and I rode the pushy everywhere. I rode to and from work the long way, to the shops, training rides with my daughter, you name it, I rode. These rides gradually became longer and longer, and longer and longer. I was becoming a fully fledged MAMIL.
The love of cycling had bitten, and bitten hard. An old acquainted love had been renewed. As a child I always had a bike, and in my teenage years I trialed a track bike for the first time...WOW. No brakes, fixed hubs, close and scary contact, track had it all. I tried a season of road, but my desire was track. I traveled to a few different places and was gaining experience and ability.
Sadly after a couple of years I moved up from the juniors and, well, my adapted old road frame was no longer legal. My parents, short of cash, were unable to keep me in the sport so it reluctantly went by the wayside. I kept the old bike, and along with the Malvern Star I would ride it from time to time.
Even through my adult years I always had bikes from time to time, riding to and from work etc. The kids growing up took their turns being towed in the kiddies trailer behind. But gradually the bike was used less and less, and it eventually disappeared, being sold off in a garage sale. Something went missing that day. I think I lost a little of my soul.
My oldest daughter from the time she was eight, she is twelve now, hounded me about a race bike, and you wouldn't believe it, a track bike. Me passing it off as a fleeting stage ignored it or made excuses. She had a bike that she could zip around on. But as cycling was shown on TV, and especially at the Olympics, this small child would sit glued watching these elite athletes speeding along in two wheeled glory.
Eventually when she was ten I relented and started to search out some bike stores and prices. I thought it better to get a road bike and get used to that style before tackling a trackie. But still procrastinating and my daughter still harping...lol, we found the bike of choice for her, We decided on a brand new, and new to Australia, Trek KRX. It was perfect but one problem, how was she going to get practice? After all she was only ten and needed an adult to ride with her, and who would that be?
There was really only one choice, me. So at that point, I was looking for an entry level road bike that I could ride along side of her. I opted for a Trek Alpha 1.1, simple, basic and practicable.
We rode together starting off at around fifteen to sixteen kilometers most days and that eventually grew to around twenty. It was only a few weeks and we hooked up with a social club and began riding in a group on Sunday mornings. That was great for my daughter, the experience gained by riding in a bunch was wonderful. It helped and encouraged myself greatly as well. These rides were also longer as well, up around the forty-five kilometer mark.
Not long after, the store where we bought our bikes began their shop rides on Saturday morning. A few of us novices tagged along behind a couple of very patient experienced riders with my daughter in tow. We were learning to ride, yes, but something deeper was forming, friendships. Whilst the rides on a Sundays were good, something was different about our little shop rides. Eventually the stop for coffee and social engagement became longer and longer. Phone numbers were exchanged, Facebook friends were established, but above all that true friendships were forming stronger and stronger.
We talked bikes, we'd meet throughout the week at the local bike store, and we began to grow. The encouragement that I have received from these people is absolutely priceless.
It wasn't long now and the need for N+1 was biting hard. It wasn't so much the need for an extra bike, but a better one. My distances were growing, my daughter was comfortably doing fifty to sixty kilometer rides and I had started doing eighty to one hundred kilometers on a regular basis. As much as I loved, and still love, the Alpha, it was too rigid for long rides. I wanted to progress, I had gotten faster, lighter and fitter.
My new love came in the form of a Trek Domane 5.2 with Shimano Ultegra mechanical group set. It was beautiful, it was light, but most of all it was comfortable, and still is. We've done over thirteen thousand happy kilometers now, with many more planned.
Of course N+1 doesn't stop there, next in line was my Hillbrick Pista track bike
Cycling isn't an option for me anymore, its a given, a must. Its when I ride I feel free, alive, rejuvenated. Even a two hundred kilometer ride when you are absolutely smashed, there is something so exhilarating.
Even though I've grown, I've grown alongside my friends. Yes, we still ride together. Some of us have chosen to take the next step and through our mid life crisis's have decided to give racing a go. Some have fallen to the dark side and tried mountain biking...lol...But we still get together, we still find time to keep in contact and especially find precious time to ride.
Yes I still have my shiny red Alpha, yes it still gets used. At present it is my trainer and commuter. I am planning at present to turn her into a budget tourer. It will do me until I can get the moola together for a purpose built tourer. My Domane is in the process of being kept in the shed and being brought out only on race days, and has had some minor upgrades getting her ready for competition.
All in all I'm happy. No, I don't have the most expensive, I don't have the most modern components, I might not have the lightest. But I love my bikes, I love being on them and I just can't get enough of that. My wife is getting nervous, as I talk constantly about how there is no need for a car...lol. If it was up to me, I wouldn't have one. Between the bike and public transport, well one could survive.
Through all this I think it is more than apparent that I have not lost my love for riding. Things might get daunting, challenges might seem too hard and I can put too much pressure on myself. But that's all honky dory, I have my bikes.
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