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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 11, 2016 at 3:08am

My only real absence from cycling was a period of few years after I had a bad ankle/foot sprain and ended up with plantar fasciitis in both feet (long story). Riding made my feet hurt so bad that it was difficult to walk.

I missed the bike a lot. As soon as my feet were stable enough to tolerate pedaling (in bike shoes, not regular shoes), I was back on the bike.

Permalink Reply by Gort 12-mile Pinklegneep on August 11, 2016 at 7:40am

i got a bike in like '98 because i was getting Real Sick Of Driving In The City, and i rode it "only sometimes," not huge distances, just like pilsen to the loop and back 

Then in january of like 2003 or something i lived farther west, and worked second shift in the south loop, and my dad & brother got the diabetes and that made me go Bonkers bikewise and started racking up 25 miles a day in bitter cold dead of night all muscling through it like "you can't catch me, diabetes" 

Permalink Reply by Shawn A Conley on August 15, 2016 at 4:57am

I haven't been cycling long enough to have a true hiatus, but I am experiencing a renewed enthusiasm for the sport.  Specifically as it relates to group rides, I'd been more or less going through the motions. Then, I rode the Tri-States 100 with a group from the Spring City Cycling Club out of Huntsville, AL.  The group was very fun and enthusiastic.  We rode together and everyone seemed to be very welcoming.  It was obvious that this group rides together a lot and were a well-oiled machine out there on the road.  After having ridden the century with this group, I came back to Chicago and started emphasizing teamwork on group rides as opposed to riding as individuals within the confines of a group.   Now our rides are much easier on the body, and we are riding much faster average speeds.  Now, I'm looking forward to our weekend group rides.

Permalink Reply by Jim Reho on August 15, 2016 at 5:20am

Well, my wife leaving me was certainly helpful.  I had been riding bikes steadily from about the age of 5, and in Chicago since 1979, but I got married later in life and my wife not only didn't want to ride with me but was actively resentful when I rode myself.  So for years, cycling was a rare, furtive activity, kind of like sneaking out to shoot some heroin in an alley.  Needless to say, my physical fitness deteriorated from average to really sad.  But after she took off to be with that alleged indie music producer, I got right back in the saddle and it was like coming back home.  I remember the first time I rode to the Skylark on Halsted and Cermak from my residence at around 40th and Western.  I felt like Marco Polo trying to reach China.  The little hill just east of Ashland on Archer Ave. felt like the Himalayas.  It was bad.  But now, after six years of riding as I wish, I'm right back to being average or a little less.  Sometimes some good comes out of bad things!