I picked it up when I met Mac. He was in med school and whenever he had free time, he was on his bike. If I wanted to spend time with him too, then I had to be on a bike :) I bought a cheap heavy hybrid (which I still have) and struggled to keep up with him on his road bike, but it was fun. He got a new road bike sometime before we left Ann Arbor, and we're close enough in height that I was able to ride his old one somewhat comfortably with some minor adjustments. And when we got married, our wedding present to ourselves was a custom tandem.
When we moved to KC, we started biking regularly with a group on Monday nights and I started biking more on my own too since he was in residency and way more busy than in med school. For my 30th bday, he bought me my own road bike, and that was that.
As for building endurance, you just start slow. Go as far as you can, just a few miles if need be or 30 minutes, and slowly add extra distance or time. Riding with a group is great - it always encourages me to go further than I think I can. And it keeps me from whining and complaining.
And I'll be honest, having the right equipment helps, a lot. When I just had the hybrid, it was really hard to go and go and go. It's just a heavy, inefficient bike. Once I switched to the road bike, it made a world of difference. But you don't HAVE to have one. It just made it so I could do 20 mile rides instead of just 10 mile ones. But 10 miles is plenty far for most people, you know?
When we moved to KC, we started biking regularly with a group on Monday nights and I started biking more on my own too since he was in residency and way more busy than in med school. For my 30th bday, he bought me my own road bike, and that was that.
As for building endurance, you just start slow. Go as far as you can, just a few miles if need be or 30 minutes, and slowly add extra distance or time. Riding with a group is great - it always encourages me to go further than I think I can. And it keeps me from whining and complaining.
And I'll be honest, having the right equipment helps, a lot. When I just had the hybrid, it was really hard to go and go and go. It's just a heavy, inefficient bike. Once I switched to the road bike, it made a world of difference. But you don't HAVE to have one. It just made it so I could do 20 mile rides instead of just 10 mile ones. But 10 miles is plenty far for most people, you know?
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