Bicycling Quotes

“Something in the air this morning made me feel like flying. . . "

Spring Flight”
― Eileen Granfors, And More White Sheets: An expanded text edition

“Occasionally the poster pictures a pair of cyclists; and then one grasps the fact how much superior for purposes of flirtation is the modern bicycle to the old-fashioned parlour or the played-out garden gate. He and she mount their bicycles, being careful, of course, that such are of the right make. After that they have nothing to think about but the old sweet tale. Down shady lanes, through busy towns on market days, merrily roll the wheels of the “Bermondsey Company’s Bottom Bracket Britain’s Best,” or of the “Camberwell Company’s Jointless Eureka.” They need no pedalling; they require no guiding. Give them their heads, and tell them what time you want to get home, and that is all they ask. While Edwin leans from his saddle to whisper the dear old nothings in Angelina’s ear, while Angelina’s face, to hide its blushes, is turned towards the horizon at the back, the magic bicycles pursue their even course.”
― Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men on the Bummel

“Everything about riding a bicycle compels you towards beauty.”
― BikeSnobNYC, Bike Snob: Systematically & Mercilessly Realigning the World of Cycling

“A universal truth of bicycling is this - pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.”
― Robert Penn, It's All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels

“Cycling is an excruciating sport - a rider's power is only as great as his capacity to endure pain - and it is often remarked that the best cyclists experience their physical agonies as a relief from private torments. The bike gives suffering a purpose.”
― Philip Gourevitch

“I call it “pedal magic” and only those who ride know the utter ecstasy of bicycling. Pressing a pedal toward Earth gives flight to my fancy. Every rotation powers my traveling machine toward yet another date with destiny. The breeze clears my senses. The wind blows away my troubles. The sun shines upon my future. Spinning spokes create flashing metal upon an endless path—cycling feels like an infinite spiritual rush. It cleanses my mind. All my troubles fade into joy.”
― Frosty Wooldridge

“The best scenario of all when it comes to air pollution has nothing to do with tailpipe filters or hybrid, electric, or zero emissions car technology. The way to reduce pollution is to reduce driving, plain and simple.”
― Elly Blue, Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save The Economy

“If you ignored all other economic and community benefits of bicycling, the factor of health alone is more than enough reason to invest hundreds of times as much as we currently do into retrofitting our entire country to be a bicycling paradise.”
― Elly Blue, Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save The Economy

“Another writer argued in an 1895 issue of the Cosmopolitan that by riding a bicycle, a woman would "become mistress of herself," transformed into a "rational, useful being restored to health and sanity.”
― Frances E. Willard, How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle: Reflections of an Influential 19th Century Woman

“In 1895, Ann Strong declared in the Minneapolis Tribune that bicycles were "just as good company as most husbands" and that when a bicycle gets shabby or old a woman could "dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community.”
― Frances E. Willard, How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle: Reflections of an Influential 19th Century Woman

“I’ve put down half a pitcher of water by the time she comes to take my order. She fills another pitcher and sets it in front of me, standing with her pen in her hand, distracted, waiting for me to order. It’s early afternoon and well north of 100 degrees. Perusing the menu, I comment on the heat. “Man, it’s hot out there.”

Setting her order pad down on the counter, crossing her arms, tapping the back of her pen against her lower lip, she looks out the window at my bike leaning there. Her eyes drift to mine with that look women can give men. You know the look, the one that says, “I’m wondering if you’re trying to act dumb, or if you really might be that dumb.” Not necessarily mean, just curious.

I smile sheepishly beneath the pressure of the question behind her look. Every man reading these words knows exactly what I’m talking about here. You get the look, so you know you’ve said or done something really stupid, but you don’t have a clue what it is you’ve done or said that is so outrageously idiotic. Which just makes it worse.

She sees all this wash across my face, and a small smile plays at the corners of her face. Still tapping the pen against her lower lip, she brings her elbows down to rest on the bar, leaning in a little closer to me, as if letting me in on her secret. “Honey, it’s June. It’s the hottest month in the Sonoran Desert.” Pausing, she looks again at my bicycle leaning against her window.

“You’re riding a bicycle across the black asphalt in the hottest desert in the hottest month.”
She pauses there, looking into my eyes, raising one eyebrow, letting me know a question is coming. “What, exactly, did you expect?”

Hmmm. Good point. I might have heard those words whispered to me by the desert itself earlier today.

“Right,” I say, closing the menu and handing it to her, keeping my eyes on hers. “I’ll take the burger.” We smile at each other as she takes the menu.”
― Neil Hanson, Pilgrim Wheels: Reflections of a Cyclist Crossing America

“Before you start your full day of watching Equestrian Square Dancing, Soccer Balling, Hoop Dreaming, Cricket Batting, Rugby Punching, Volleyball Chopping, Skateboard Falling, Martial Arts Bowing, Bicycle Peddlers, and College Football Hecklers, maybe we have time to learn something
Scientifically.”
― James Hauenstein

“I slammed down on my hip first, followed by my shoulder, followed by my ego. It’s not often that I crash like this, but often enough that I’ve recognized a series of reactions that occurs by instinct rather than reason, which explains why they are so ridiculously misprioritized.

1. First thought: “I’m never riding a bike again.”
2. Pop quickly onto my feet, and then scan for bystanders to assess embarrassment level.
3. Check bike for damage.
4. Check body for damage.”
― Tom Babin, Frostbike: The Joy, Pain and Numbness of Winter Cycling

“A good ride in the winter is something you quietly put adjacent to your heart; an unspoken victory filed away for times of weakness and need, to be pulled out when you require a reminder of what you are capable of.”
― Tom Babin, Frostbike: The Joy, Pain and Numbness of Winter Cycling

“When we talk about reducing transportation emissions, the conversation tends to solely be about cars and fuel. Efforts to invent and promote electric and hybrid cars have enjoyed some success, and have proven the latent market demand for lower-emissions personal transportation. These vehicles pollute less, but they still require roads and parking spaces, are susceptible to crashes, and contribute to a dispersed and unhealthy landscape. And they are far from energy-neutral.”
― Elly Blue, Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save The Economy

“In larger scale disasters, bicycles are also proving to be valuable resources. After a hurricane, a tornado, or a flood, the streets tend to be clogged with debris, fuel is unavailable, cars are out of commission, and resources are strained. A bicycle with tough, knobby tires is often the only way to get around the city. These are times when the latent demand for bicycling makes itself known.”
― Elly Blue, Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save The Economy

“When bicycling, you’re simply less likely to make unplanned purchases, especially large ones. Shopping, especially for bulky items, must be more carefully planned and premeditated—you’ll want to do it all at once, and either bringing your trailer or renting or borrowing a car for an afternoon.”
― Elly Blue, Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save The Economy

“We have a very large cultural blind spot when it comes to cars. Using the roads by any means is one of the most dangerous things you will do on a daily basis; in a car, you are not very much less at risk, but you become a tremendous danger to others.”
― Elly Blue, Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save The Economy

“Converting car parking to bike parking is one of the cheapest, easiest, and most effective ways for any city to make a sizeable dent in the bad economics of our current transportation system.”
― Elly Blue, Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save The Economy

“The worst effects of breathing polluted air are experienced where it is densest: in traffic. Spending time on and near highways, freeways, and other busy roads is terrible for your health. How near is a question that is still being studied, but researchers believe that the effects are worst within either a fifth or a third of a mile. People in cars or buses are exposed to considerably more air pollution, perhaps because of, rather than despite, being in a closed space. People walking and bicycling on or next to roads breathe more air, but inhale somewhat less pollution; and cyclists have been found to have even less risk if they are on paths that are separated from the road.”
― Elly Blue, Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save The Economy

“When it comes to bicycling, short trips, close to home, are the lowest-hanging fruit. A quarter of all our daily travel is done within a mile of our homes. We do most of these short hops by car; less car-centric standards for neighborhood roads could easily make bicycling or walking a more attractive option. This need becomes especially clear when you know that these short local trips result in 60% of the pollution caused by our cars.”
― Elly Blue, Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save The Economy

“Everyone who wants to and has either the determination, social support, or infrastructure support can ride a bicycle, as recent times are proving.”
― Elly Blue, Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save The Economy

“During the boom in velocipedes - known with good reason as 'boneshakers' - tyres were made of solid iron.”
― Robert Penn, It's All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels

“That which caused the many failures I had in learning the bicycle had caused me failures in life; namely, a certain fearful looking for of judgment; a too vivid realization of the uncertainty of everything about me; an underlying doubt--at once, however (and this is all that saved me), matched and overcome by the determination not to give in to it.”
― Frances E. Willard, How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle: Reflections of an Influential 19th Century Woman

“As an exercise bicycling is superior to most, if not all, others at our command. It takes one into the outdoor air; it is entirely under control; can be made gentle or vigorous as one desires; is active and not passive; takes the rider outside of himself and the thoughts and cares of his daily work; develops his will, his attention, his courage and independence; and makes pleasant what is otherwise irksome.”
― Frances E. Willard, How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle: Reflections of an Influential 19th Century Woman

“You can handle any and all of these sixteen routes, from the highest paved road in the Pyrenees to the flat woods through the Medoc. It all depends on your lungs, thighs, patience and proper selection of grandparents.”
― Walter Judson Moore

“She loved riding her cycle in the evenings, when the breeze was cool and the humidity was less.

The color of the cycle reminded her of the sky. While riding, she felt as if she were flying. She loved this feeling of flying: as if she were a bird flying in the sky.

Life is so beautiful, she realized. But she could not understand why people fought wars. Why people hated one another?

The birds did not hate each other; they just loved flying under the wide blue sky and the vast green grass.

She often wondered about life and the answers to life's questions. But her mind could never find answers to her questions.”
― Avijeet Das