Why do we do it?

stevebaby

What other sports/physical pastimes have you amused yourself with?
How has it affected the way you approached cycling?
The enjoyment of cycling is what has bound us together (for better or worse)..but we have approached from different directions.There are obvious political and cultural differences,but how have our previous sporting experiences shaped our attitudes to cycling?
To get the wheel turning...I offer my own experience,to show how it has shaped my cycling experience.
Motorcycles:Fun,expensive,safer and more fun to racethan faff about on the street.
Rugby:Great if you are part of the team,boring if you aren't,but the game played in heaven.Exhilarating when you win,depressing when you lose,but there's always the moment when you made a good run and there's always beer at the end.
Climbing:Putting your life on the line if you are competitive...but it teaches you that the ultimate adversary is yourself.
Fencing:
Mano a Mano You either trained for the event...or you didn't and were beaten.
Go home and train harder.
Drinking:You can handle a boat better,you're nowhere near as good at killing people ...but you can drink the SBS to a 0-0 draw and crawl through the the gates together,avoid the Naval Police and successfully attack the next target..the Woolloomooloo Bay hotel.
Riding:Riding horses.Riding horses over jumps,fast.Riding horses fast on the beach at dawn and then swimming them.
Sometimes,it isn't about the rider ,either.
Cycling:Floating,flying,pounding up hills..then the descent,getting over the bars and the reward...the bike becomes part of me...gravity no longer exists...I'm just sliding through the world...Bliss!
Those Zen people have kinda got a handle on it,ain't they?

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I'm Rooting for Chiara!
Drink!Feck!Arrse!Girls!
bastard

Wurm

Lately, other than cycling it's been just playground time with my daughter. Between that and work, there's been no time (or energy!) left for other sports I like such as Drink! or Feck!

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"Bush is the first President to admit to an impeachable offense."

- John Dean, former Counsel to the President (Nixon)

The aim of big corporations is to separate fools from their money all of the time and ordinary folks from their money most of the time. The rest of us must fend for ourselves.

MountainPro

over the past weekend i have been to the playground 3 times....my daughter even comes somethimes!..

seriously, i am never outta that place, i am knackered afterwords, i just wish i had half the energy she has, she'll be 3 in June.

other sports...street car racing, carpet bowls and underwater extreme ironing.

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HARD
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limerickman

I try to take an interest in all sports.
I'm particularly fascinated by baseball and boxing.

I am well aware of the reasons to ban boxing but at it's best it is a fascinating subject.
I admire all boxers, they're the bravest of the brave in my book.

Baseball has always fascinated me too - can't really say why to be honest.
Given that there is literally no exposure to the sport here, I find I'm in a minority.

But cycling for me encapsulates everything. The physical contest is only part of it.
The mental fortitude to keep going even when all hope of winning is gone, gains my admiration. The tactical and strategy aspect of the sport appeals just as much.

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets" - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.