YOU MIGHT BE A CYCLIST IF... 1. You tell a family of 5 in a crowded mall to "hold their line and signal for obstacles." 2. Your spouse says, "If you buy another bike I'm going to leave you" and you think "I guess I'm going to miss him/her." 3. You have more water bottles than you have drinking glasses. 4. You have more cycling jerseys than work shirts. 5. Your cycling jersey IS your work shirt. 6. Your legs are smoother than your wife’s. 7. The most expensive pair of shoes you own have cleats in the soles. 8. You have defined the 8 stages of road kill decomposition through daily observation. 9. You are walking along a street and you signal left. 10.You go to your local store on a bike. 11.You sulk when in cars, on hot days. 12.You sulk when in cars, on cold, windy, snowy days. 13.You get withdrawal symptoms if off the bike for more than a day. 14.When anybody mentions distance you immediately think of how long it would take to cycle it. 15.You point at potholes, but you are driving in your car alone. 16.While driving your car you yell at your passenger "Car back" as a vehicle approaches from behind. 17.Your bike is worth more than your car. 18.You put more miles on your bike than your car. 19.Your hands have a strange tan that looks remarkably similar to the pattern on your cycling gloves. 20.Weather forecasts can be broken down into 2 categories: good biking weather, bad biking weather. 21.You put your bicycle in your car, and the value of the total package increases by a factor of 4 (or better). 22.You find out you are going to have a child and the first thing you think about is how you will schedule your rides to avoid divorce and still be a parent. 23.You spend 2X the money on cycling wear that you do work clothes. 24. You can tell your spouse with a straight face that it's too hot to mow the lawn, and then bike off for a century. 25.You dream of winning the lottery and the first thing you think of is how many/which bikes can I buy? 26.You buy a car based on whether or not a bike will fit in the trunk/back, with the rear seat folded down. 27.You open your car window and yell out "On your left" when passing cars on the freeway. 28.You have not one, not two, but three permanent chain ring scars on your right calf. 29.Your bike sleeps with you in the living or bedroom. 30.You wear a heart rate monitor during ***. 31.You check out all other guys/girls legs to see if they are better than yours. 32.Your spouse can't take it anymore and takes up cycling. 33.You wonder why a $500 bike has 24 gear ratios, while a $20,000 car or truck only has 4. 34.You crash...and insist on getting to the bike shop to have your bike checked out BEFORE going to the hospital. 35.You can't seem to get to work before 8:30am, but you don't have a problem meeting your buddies at 5:30am for a ride.
You Are A Hardcore Cyclist You are a Hardcore (ten-speed) Cyclist when you know you will never ever get a flat tire again because you have more patches on your tires than inner-tube! (gee sounds like Bill Gate's operating system! ) Cheers!
That's a great list! I've got some personal ones to add: When you crash, you make sure you hit the pavement first and your bike lands safely on top of you. When your buddy crashes, you ask him/her whether their bike is okay. Then you ask whether they can ride. If the answer is "no", then you ask if they're hurt. You provoke the dogs in your neighbourhood to help train for sprints. The neighbourhood dogs eventually all stop chasing you. You curse at slow drivers (of cars) for "obstructing traffic". You always buy baby powder to help with chaffing, although you don't have a baby. If you have a baby, you go through more powder than the baby. Taxi drivers are your mortal enemy. The song "Tour de France" by Kraftwerk is the best song ever. Your legs look and feel like they were forged with wrought iron. When not on your bike, you can still "feel" your bike seat. Anything lower than 100RPM feels painfully sluggish. The surprised look on a drivers face as you keep up to them traffic light after traffic light is always satisfying. Leaving them behind in your dust as you kick it up a gear... priceless.
Ten-speed, pbfft! I spit on your ten speed, you're only hard core if you ride single speed, like me. "But what's with the other 20 gears on your bike" you may ask, nah I only use 21st gear ... NOT!!! I suck as a cyclist, little old grannies on their Huffy's (insert name of whatever the Kmart brand bike is in your area) pass me going up hills
one that my biking buddies and i still giggle at is: a cute girl passes by on a bicycle and your first response is: "OOoo..... nice Colnago!"
Sorry for bumping an old thread, but I have to say, this thread is epic. I just bought a Pinarello and I'm getting addicted to it. I wonder how many of those symptoms I might be getting in the future.
How much does it cost to buy a Pinarello in New Zealand? . How much does it cost to buy a Pinarello in New Zealand? .
Quite expensive for those top-range ones like the Prince, Dogma, etc.. 10grand-ish. I bought a Pinarello Angliru (low-end) from a sponsored cyclist for only 450nzd.. Carbon/Alloy frame with carbon forks. It came with: Blizzard Schwalbe and Durano Plus tyres, Mavic Aksium wheels, Campaglono Mirage set, Shimano pedals, and a Cateye Astrale 8 cycle computer. The frame is 3years old. I figured, that the wheels alone (brand-new) cost more than how much I paid for the whole bike O_O.. I desperately need cycling shoes and cleats right now. I'm still a beginner, and I obviously haven't reached the "17.Your bike is worth more than your car."-level yet. I'm often looking at cycling-related websites these days and I feel like wanting to ride on one of those really expensive bikes, and this feeling reminds me of the "Why not start with the best racquet for Beginner?" thread. Perhaps, I could apply some general badminton equipment-knowledge to cycling to stop dreaming about those expensive bikes .. for now.
I realised, cycling has some thing similar with badminton.. one of them is that shoes are important! So I got a pair of Exustar road shoes, Shimano SPD SL road cleats, 2x bibs and 2x jerseys (as extras.. I usually wore my yonex shirts and jacket for cycling lol). All that on a Christmas bargain deal, only 150nzd!
