Do you know anyone who just quit the sport for no other reason..?

[CMiller]

Originally Posted by Hellgate

Or, sit on the couch and eat bon-bons.

I've been hit 3 times over the years, crashed motorcycles, blown out knees skiing, spun cars on the track, etc. I keep doing the things that I enjoy.

I've never understood the scared of your shadow mentally. Mitigate the risks and drive on. If it's not for you fine, find something else to do, or sit on the couch and eat bon-bons.

What made you feel compelled to write such a condescending reply? There are so many ways you could have said the same thing without sounding rude. The nature of that comment doesn't belong on this forum.



To the OP - I stick to dirt now, I'd rather my falls be from bike handling than a distracted driver. Also way way prefer the riding!

[Dead Man]

Originally Posted by CMiller

What made you feel compelled to write such a condescending reply? There are so many ways you could have said the same thing without sounding rude. The nature of that comment doesn't belong on this forum.



To the OP - I stick to dirt now, I'd rather my falls be from bike handling than a distracted driver. Also way way prefer the riding!

broad spectrum of characters on this board ... actually, not really.. but there are a few who lean heavily in opposite sentiments

for me, i started cycling seriously and got into racing after an alpine climbing accident nearly sent me to hell earlier than i was comfortable with. had a bunch of kids and a wife with no education who'd never worked a day in her life. more than material concerns, i'd grown up without a father and saw how different life was for my kids versus my own upbringing. so i hung up my ice tools and took up the safest thing i could think of that was physical, exciting, and still allowed me to chase a dream.

to me, cycling is about as dangerous as mowing the lawn. little less, maybe - ive had some killer rocks to the ankles over the years. in fact, i quit lawn mowing a few years ago and aint lookin back. lawns are stupid.

same for a lot of guys on here, im sure..

so its kinda mind boggling when riding a bike exceeds someones risk threshold. but were all different folks... this should be a judgment free zone.. but its the internet. the **** happens.

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by Blown Reek

Does this have anything to do with Clean39T deleting everything?

Huh? What is this about? Is Dan Ok???

[Jeff N.]

Deleted.

[barnabyjones]

I heard there was a guy on here who stopped riding road after spending nearly a million dollars on bikes over a 10 year period. A friend of his was hit and killed on a road in California. The forum member switched exclusively to mountain biking and a few years later fell down a flight of stairs and perished. He was in his mid-50's. Wonder if this story is anecdotal.

[gbcoupe]

deleted.

[Gummee]

Originally Posted by Coffee Rider

I started riding in the fall of 1988 and have been at it ever since then except for some time when I really couldn't do it due to school. I've known a number of people who just ended up quitting riding. To me it's really weird how something can be a big part of your life then suddenly not. I expect to be involved with cycling forever even though I'm sure I'll end up in longer periods of not riding with age, but I'm better now at just enjoying it as part of life than when I was younger.

I have noticed a tendency of people who pick up cycling and become really hardcore quickly to do that for a few years and then lose interest. I've seen it happen both to people who were racing and also who mere more mileage junkies.

I've ridden bikes since we got back from GER in 1978. Best way to get around my neighborhood and fastest way to deliver papers.

Got my first 'real' mtn bike in 1987. There were a few years off with a back injury, but I was running (well... hashing anyways) so it wasn't like I wasn't active.

They cancelled Hilly Billy this year and cancelled my motivation to train. Still love riding the bike. Training hurts. It isn't nearly as much fun.

Remind me to tell y'all about the guy in the national champion's jersey on the coast one of these days. Don't feel like typing it out right now.

M

[54ny77]

I would stop riding for some really good bon bons. Especially during the summer. But then I'd hop back on and ride home.

[benb]

I've had 3 incidents in the past 20 years riding alone on the road. 2 of them were falling over not getting unclipped in time in the first year or two riding. One was getting hit by a truck that had a stop sign and pulled out and hit me.

I can't even begin to count the # of group ride incidents and race incidents I saw.

I Pretty much saw someone going to the hospital pretty much every race weekend. I had to go 2x in racing incidents, both of which were more severe than when I got hit by a truck. A very large # of the incidents I've seen even outside of races were more severe injuries than when I was hit by a truck. Actually I had two motorcycle accidents as well... one on the street when I was a brand new rider and one at high speed at the racetrack. In both cases I was wearing full protective gear and was essentially uninjured compared to going down at 10mph on a bicycle in lycra.

I never even saw anyone get hurt as bad in my motorcycling days, including track days as I saw in bike races & group rides. You had to step up to actual motorcycle racing to see injuries as common and severe as bike racing. I've also definitely *never* been on any group ride where the entire group got through the entire ride without breaking the law and behaving dangerously in intersections, and intersections are where all the danger is! I never entered a single race where there weren't riders breaking the rules in dangerous ways as well. The officials were like broken records trying to stop that!

I don't think anyone has any good stats but from my personal experience no one is ever going to convince me group riding and especially racing are safer than riding alone. I'm thankful I've never seen someone killed or paralyzed in a group ride or race.

I'm not saying I'm never doing a group ride again... just that I go in with eyes wide open that I'm engaging in much riskier behavior, and since I don't go very often any more I make a quick assessment of the groups behavior the first few miles and then come up with an excuse if I decide the group is too dangerous to bother riding with. Otherwise I just stick to riding with people I know very well. Obviously there are payoffs, it is really fun to ride in a group when everything is going well.

[mokofoko]

Originally Posted by benb

I've had 3 incidents in the past 20 years riding alone on the road. 2 of them were falling over not getting unclipped in time in the first year or two riding. One was getting hit by a truck that had a stop sign and pulled out and hit me.

I can't even begin to count the # of group ride incidents and race incidents I saw.

I Pretty much saw someone going to the hospital pretty much every race weekend. I had to go 2x in racing incidents, both of which were more severe than when I got hit by a truck. A very large # of the incidents I've seen even outside of races were more severe injuries than when I was hit by a truck. Actually I had two motorcycle accidents as well... one on the street when I was a brand new rider and one at high speed at the racetrack. In both cases I was wearing full protective gear and was essentially uninjured compared to going down at 10mph on a bicycle in lycra.

I never even saw anyone get hurt as bad in my motorcycling days, including track days as I saw in bike races & group rides. You had to step up to actual motorcycle racing to see injuries as common and severe as bike racing. I've also definitely *never* been on any group ride where the entire group got through the entire ride without breaking the law and behaving dangerously in intersections, and intersections are where all the danger is! I never entered a single race where there weren't riders breaking the rules in dangerous ways as well. The officials were like broken records trying to stop that!

I don't think anyone has any good stats but from my personal experience no one is ever going to convince me group riding and especially racing are safer than riding alone. I'm thankful I've never seen someone killed or paralyzed in a group ride or race.

I'm not saying I'm never doing a group ride again... just that I go in with eyes wide open that I'm engaging in much riskier behavior, and since I don't go very often any more I make a quick assessment of the groups behavior the first few miles and then come up with an excuse if I decide the group is too dangerous to bother riding with. Otherwise I just stick to riding with people I know very well. Obviously there are payoffs, it is really fun to ride in a group when everything is going well.

There are certainly pros and cons with group riding I think. On the plus side, I feel like you're less likely to get mowed down by a careless or belligerent driver. Lots of witnesses act as a nice deterrent. On the other hand, I hate following close, and riding in a paceline usually has me feeling nervous. About the only time I nearly had a bad crash was in a group ride where no one ahead of me signaled roadkill on the side (and the person ahead of me barely avoided it). Flew right over the corpse and darn near flew off the road and into a deep ditch lined with plenty of large rocks.

Riding solo, I feel like I've had some very good luck thus far, but it feels like just about every day I've had some jerk blowing past me in a dangerous manner (with less than the appreciated 4ft wide berth).

[m_sasso]

Get your self a track bike and go to the track, only need to put your trust in your abilities, your bike and other cyclists judgment, no cars/trucks and bad drivers to deal with.

[mcteague]

Originally Posted by m_sasso

Get your self a track bike and go to the track, only need to put your trust in your abilities, your bike and other cyclists judgment, no cars/trucks and bad drivers to deal with.

Ha, ha...just ask Phil Gaimon how that went.

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/l...e-crash-445863

Tim

[benb]

Originally Posted by mokofoko

There are certainly pros and cons with group riding I think. On the plus side, I feel like you're less likely to get mowed down by a careless or belligerent driver.

There's perceived safety & actual safety.

I think the "group ride security blanket" is perceived vs actual safety.

There are so few cyclists hit from behind/head on by cars that it only takes one of those headline accidents in Florida where someone mows down a whole paceline to shift the statistic a lot.

The whole "get hit from behind/get hit head on" on a straight road is what everyone seems to be afraid of and where you might think the group confers some safety. I think this is so prevalent in perception that it even drives the weirdness with certain bike lines that make it safer in between intersections but more dangerous at intersections. But those are the most rare incidents, intersection incidents are the more common ones.

Nobody seems to be counting how many riders get hit in groups vs alone.. so I really expect it's perceived but I can't actually know. Almost no one gets taken out by another cyclist when riding alone whereas it clearly happens in group rides.

[djdj]

OP -- ignore the keyboard macho men. If you are not comfortable riding -- for whatever reason -- you should do something different with no qualms or hesitation. Life is much too short to engage in a hobby you don't fully enjoy. My only advice is not to sell your bike(s) just yet, as you may later find you want to get back on the road. Keep us posted on how things go!

[zap]

Riding with a group of competent cyclists is safer v solo.....especially in states like NC where cyclists can take an entire lane.....and groups in NC do ride double paceline not matter how many cars are back. Coming from an area like Washington, D.C. (ride on the far right or pd will pull you over) where seemingly every 5th motorist is an assassin in control of a wmd, taking an entire lane took some getting used too but it works.

I used to race and have seen several wicked crashes. One death. Alas, I know more who have passed while riding solo.

Anyhow, I know a few people who quit road riding completely. Mostly due to life style changes but some who either were hit by a vehicle or had a very close call.