I didn't know how to ride a bike until June 2024. I'm 26 years old. Go ahead and laugh, I'll wait.
My friend Fred from Queens College got me into it. He's one of those cyclists who just casually does 40 mile rides on a Saturday morning, and one day he was like "bro, just come ride with me." I told him I literally couldn't ride a bike. He did not believe me.
My first Strava activity is from June 3rd, 2024. 0.7 miles. Not even a full mile! I was wobbling around like a drunk toddler near my apartment. My second ride that same day was 4.8 miles and took me 77 minutes. That's like... walking speed. Slower than walking speed, probably, if you factor in the stops where I was standing over the bike trying not to fall.
But I kept at it. By June 11th I did 10.7 miles. It took me an hour and 40 minutes but I actually rode a real distance. And I was hooked! Something about being on a bike and just covering ground hit different. Maybe it's the same thing that hooked me on RuneScape as a kid, that feeling of exploring a map.
Then on July 7th, Fred and I rode to REI and back together. 20.7 miles! My first real ride with another person. I was dying but I didn't want to show it.
Riding with Fred to REI, July 7th 2024. 20.7 miles. I was cooked but pretending to be fine.
I got a Trek Domane AL5 around this time. Named her "Dommy Rocket" because I'm very mature. She's an endurance road bike and honestly way more bike than I deserved as a beginner, but Fred convinced me I'd just end up replacing a cheap one in six months anyway. He was right.
By the end of July I was doing 25-30 mile rides regularly. "Can't ride a bike" to "doing 30 miles on a Saturday" in less than two months?? I logged 350 miles in July alone with 11,000 feet of climbing. My legs were sore literally every single day.
Honestly the most unexpectedly life-changing hobby I've picked up since music. And just like music, a friend dragged me into it!