My favorite rites of passage on the bike.
Not sure where I got it from…but I love it! Enjoy…and feel free to add your own in the comments! I added my own after the stars at the bottom!
From the November issue: Falling in puppy love, graduating high school, the birth of your child–nothing compared with your first case of road rash and these 108 other momentous occasions in the life of a cyclist. Share your own cycling rites of passage in the comments section below.
06. Bonking so bad you don’t think you’ll be able to make it home.
07. Discovering how a convenience-store Coke can resurrect the dead.
09. When you hang out at the bike shop and no one expects you to buy anything.
19. You notice that someone else has the chain grease on his right calf.
20. You get stuck in your pedals and topple over at a stoplight.
22. Riding a bike through a big, congested city and feeling smarter than everyone else because you’re moving.
25. You fix up your old bike to get someone into the sport.
26. Wearing out your first set of tires.
27. You ride through a pothole, and it’s no big deal.
28. Getting hopelessly lost—deliberately.
29. You stop midride to give your only spare tube to a stranded cyclist.
30. You realize you’re driving your car as if it’s a bike—drafting, looking for holes, getting away from the squirrelly guy.
31. Fixing a busted chain.
34. The first time you crumple your race number.
37. Wondering how the biggest local hill would rank on the Tour de France climb classification.
39. You got dropped, you flatted, bonked, got turned around—and when you got home you said you had a great ride. <-my favorite one
42. Rolling through a stop sign—and knowing it was the right thing to do.
45. Rubbing wheels—and staying up.
48. Cleaning the cassette with your old toothbrush.
53. Telling someone which bike to buy.
56. Figuring out how to layer without overdressing.
58. Your first ride with a jersey instead of a T-shirt.
61. Though you’re not clear on exactly how to do it and unsure of the outcome, you manage to fix your first flat.
62. Walking home in your cleats.
64. Following a favorite pro racer—besides Lance Armstrong.
66. Wrapping your bar tape so the handlebar plug stays in and no bare bar shows at the tricky bend at the brake hood.
72. Crashing and immediately asking, "How’s my bike?"
76. Clacking into a rough tavern in cleats and spandex.
81. Explicating your training in exquisite detail on a blog, then realizing nobody cares.
84. Riding someplace you’ve always driven.
87. Waving at a cyclist coming the other way and being ignored.
88. Getting annoyed by an uninvited wheel sucker.
92. Surfing traffic on adrenaline and luck in one of the world’s 10 biggest cities.
97 . Passing someone whose bike costs twice as much as yours.
99. Dismissing what used to be your favorite cycling magazine because it keeps repeating topics.
106. Feeling superstrong, then turning around for the ride back and realizing you had a tailwind.
108. Being the person whose bike squeaks drive everyone nuts.
- Staring at a new bike. Wishing you could afford the latest carbon technology
- Not feeling embarrassed wearing cycling shorts
-Buying your first modern bike and no longer having bike envy.
Increasing your average speed by 1 mph
Wondering how early is too early to go riding
The strange feeling of using chamois cream for the first time.
-Ending up spending waaaay too much time at your local bike shop (and always end up getting out with something)
The first time you passed 30 miles per hour.
The first time you passed 40 miles per hour.
Your first track stand.
Your first bunny hop.
The first time you fixed someone else’s flat.
***
The feeling you have after your first race, even if you are last place.
The first time you put on a team kit and you fill with pride.
The first bike you ever build, even if you got helping building it.
Your first single-speed conversion.
Realizing you need to get rid of a bike to make room for a new one.
Your first real bike tattoo.
When you start naming all your bikes!
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