Not so much a huge revelation, but worth mentioning.
When I got into cycling again (in March last year) it was straight into tinkering with the bike I found under the house. Instead of simply riding it I stripped it apart and built it up from frame up to be a work of art. In the process I got really into bikes, and learnt a lot about how they work, as well as modern bike culture, terminology and trends.
Skills wise I pretty much picked up from where I left off as a 16/17/18 year old, and felt like I hadn’t really lost any of my bike riding abilities, but one thing was really missing for the first few months, and that was the actual love of riding.
Sure. I was into doing up bicycles, buying and trying new bicycle parts, tooling with them and doing countless hours of research on the internet, as well as reading magazines and watching movies, all in relation to bicycles, but I actually did a whole lot more of this than actual riding.
I’m not sure exactly when things changed for me but all of the modifying and the researching has taken second seat now to my love of riding. If I don’t ride I feel fat even though I’m far from fat. I feel bad when I don’t ride and I’m always feeling “itchy to ride”. When I’m riding I’m happy and sometimes I even feel naughty… it feels like a treat! (like dropping the clutch and doing a burnout, knowing that you’re not meant to be doing them!).
Having said all that, there’s nothing at all wrong with being into bicycles for whatever other reasons apart from just riding, it’s normal. Any which way to get into it I say. But I hope this transformation happens over time to you guys and gals who are just simply starting out riding for fitness, or for the fun of something new.