15 signs you have an unhealthy relationship with your bike

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by Chipps February 14, 2022 33

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Chipps Chippendale

Singletrackworld's Editor At Large

With 23 years as Editor of Singletrack World Magazine, Chipps is the longest-running mountain bike magazine editor in the world. He started in the bike trade in 1990 and became a full time mountain bike journalist at the start of 1994. Over the last 30 years as a bike writer and photographer, he has seen mountain bike culture flourish, strengthen and diversify and bike technology go from rigid steel frames to fully suspended carbon fibre (and sometimes back to rigid steel as well.)

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This topic has 33 replies, 28 voices, and was last updated 2 years ago by Alex (formerly theboyneeds on STW).

Viewing 33 posts - 1 through 33 (of 33 total)

15 signs you have an unhealthy relationship with your bike
ta11pau1
Full Member

You have/have considered relocating to the other end of the country, hundreds of miles away, to be closer to the mountains and hundreds of prime trails, right from your door. And the house prices, and quality of life improvements. But mainly the trails.

Posted 2 years ago

Alex
Full Member

Your bank app has your account labelled ‘Bike fund, DO NOT USE FOR FOOD’ 🙂

Posted 2 years ago

beamers
Full Member

The first items on your packing list for any family trip away which is not cycling related (for them) are one of your bikes (at least) and associated paraphernalia.

Posted 2 years ago

shortcut
Full Member

You can’t remember the last time you went on a holiday without taking a bike.

Posted 2 years ago

Onzadog
Free Member

My wife once asked if I loved my bike more than her.
“Which one?” I replied.
She was happy with that as it meant she beat at least one of them.

Posted 2 years ago

MrOvershoot
Full Member

You turn down a job with higher pay as its located in flat part of the country.

Posted 2 years ago

tthew
Full Member

You have/have considered relocating to the other end of the country, hundreds of miles away, to be closer to the mountains and hundreds of prime trails, right from your door. And the house prices, and quality of life improvements. But mainly the trails.

Or even an entirely different country – @chipps ? 😁

Posted 2 years ago

ta11pau1
Full Member

You can’t remember the last time you went on a holiday without taking a bike.

ALL your holidays are biking holidays.

Posted 2 years ago

pmurden
Full Member

Reading this article and nodding along with every point made?

Posted 2 years ago

doomanic
Full Member

My wife once asked if I loved my bike more than her.
“Which one?” I replied.
She was happy with that as it meant she beat at least one of them.

My wife calls my bike “your girlfriend” and my regular riding buddy “your other girlfriend”… 🤣

Posted 2 years ago

joshvegas
Free Member

You spend your time off in different rooms not looking at each other. Occassionally coming together for a brief tryst on a sunny hilltop before locking them back in your basement?

Posted 2 years ago

matt_outandabout
Full Member

You turn down a job with higher pay as its located in flat part of the country.

More positively, I chose job locations based on trails, hills and paddleable rivers. 😎

Posted 2 years ago

charliedontsurf
Full Member

You can identify over 70% of insects by taste alone.

Posted 2 years ago

jd13m
Free Member

No. 5 – the amount of comments I get regarding what “bike club” is a euphemism for….. 😀

Posted 2 years ago

oldfart
Full Member

You only remember someone when you’re told what bike they ride 🙄

Posted 2 years ago

Sandwich
Full Member

The ability to recognise tyre tread patterns in the mud and who it might be that was riding.

Posted 2 years ago

fatbikeandcoffee
Free Member

Oh my .. all of the article and above comments.

Posted 2 years ago

andrewh
Free Member

You only remember someone when you’re told what bike they ride

I have genuinely failed to recognise a couple of my friends when they’ve bought a new helmet🙈

Posted 2 years ago

nickc
Full Member

When someone tells you how far away a destination is, you automatically calculate how long it would take to get there on your bike. Sometimes your work out which roads you’d use.

Posted 2 years ago

convert
Full Member

You get a slap from your partner for eyeballing a rider going past and you genuinely feel aggrieved because you were checking out their bike not their arse.

Some time later…..

An attractive rider goes past and you don’t get a slap for eyeballing them because by now your partner has appreciated that yes, you are in fact just eyeballing the bike.

Posted 2 years ago

northernsoul
Full Member

You view testing positive for covid as a perfect opportunity to refresh your drivetrain.

Posted 2 years ago

reeksy
Full Member

9. You only consider injuries worthy of medical attention if actual bone is visible. You apply this same measure to your kids

Still feel a bit guilty about the time my then 7 year old claimed he couldn’t ride cos he bashed a stick against his shin before a coaching session started. It looked fine to me, a small splinter, and the club president so we tried to gee him up before he gave up in tears.

… gets home and his mum was a bit more sympathetic, “there’s still some splinter in there”.

Next day Doctor pulls out 1 inch splinter. Dad’s proclaimed an idiot.

Posted 2 years ago

reeksy
Full Member

When someone tells you how far away a destination is, you automatically calculate how long it would take to get there on your bike. Sometimes your work out which roads you’d use.

Your Google Map default is bike not car 🙂

Posted 2 years ago

Woo
Full Member

I entirely disagree. These are all signs of a healthy relationship with bikes.
While I worked I kept a set of maps in my office in case I needed to plan a ride.

Posted 2 years ago

bfw
Full Member

I am guilty of sneaking a bike in on all non-biking holidays, or making all holidays biking holidays, and sneaking a non-compatible bike in on other biking holiday, ie road bike on a mtbing holiday in the Alps..

I was only thinking this yesterday after planning and booking our family mtb holiday in Lenzerheide. Next item in my brain after book accommodation, stop part way to meet up with mtb mate who now lives in Switzerland, Chunnel etc…. “Can I pack my Summer road bike?”…

Posted 2 years ago

augustuswindsock
Full Member

You go on a holiday with partner, really miss your bike, go on biking holiday with mates, barely give partner a thought.

The weather app on phone is defaulted to where you ride the most, not where you live!

Posted 2 years ago

bfw
Full Member

I was also thinking I am, and have been the bike partner slaaaggg over the years. I been trough many a group of biking friends as they come and go, I go and find more

Posted 2 years ago

bfw
Full Member

Weather app is so true 🙂

My wife and both kids mtb well. God loves me 🙂

Posted 2 years ago

tthew
Full Member

Your Google Map default is bike not car

This caused much confusion when trying to navigate to an unfamiliar hotel in Nottingham, pre-lockdown.

“I can’t turn left there, it’s a bloody tram track!!” (with a bike path running along side it)

Posted 2 years ago

davros
Full Member

You spend valentine’s Day building a new bike 🥰

New frame day

Posted 2 years ago

P-Jay
Free Member

My wife calls my bike “your girlfriend” and my regular riding buddy “your other girlfriend”… 🤣

My Wife calls my Riding Mate my “Second Wife”, I haven’t the heart to reminder her I’ve known him longer, so technically she’s the Second Wife.

Posted 2 years ago

reeksy
Full Member

Nobody at work knows that the real reason I have two offices is because of their proximity to good riding before work. When I wake up I check the radar and rainfall gauges online and decide where to go.

Posted 2 years ago

specialisthoprocker
Free Member

You volunteer for the crappier assignments at work just because they’re 30 mins from a trail centre, and you turn down any lucrative contracts that prevent you arriving in good time for the Thursday night ride…

Posted 2 years ago

Viewing 33 posts - 1 through 33 (of 33 total)

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