About 15 years, although rarely since lockdown. When I started working, I noticed that the only healthy old people were the bike commuters. Other people had fitness routines by convenience, and they didn't last to old age. Bike commuting was closer to a religion. You start out just trying to get some exercise, but you find freedom and self-mastery. It's a constant set of new and deeper challenges, as you push through the breaking points of each part of both body and equipment, not because you want to, but because you have to. Fitness is no longer a goal, but a means to a higher goal - simply surviving on this planet by your own god/evolution-given power.

Thick and stiff sounds great to me. Regardless, I don't recommend jogging; I do recommend short runs building to max stride directly after completing a ride. I also like glute-ham raises and the reverse sit-ups to balance things out.

Not the parent poster, but have done this all my live. In The Netherlands people generally stop biking for sport in the winter, yet continue biking to work, which shows that your observation that it looses its fun is largely shared. It’s just that the benefits keep outweighing the drawbacks: it’s cheap, fast (at least in congested cities), sustainable, and good for your health.

Then again, it’s much easier to keep doing something when everybody else is doing it, so if you’re in an area where cyclists are a minority I imagine it’s more of a challenge to convince yourself. The advantages do still apply so I’m sending virtual encouragement!

> Then again, it’s much easier to keep doing something when everybody else is doing it, so if you’re in an area where cyclists are a minority I imagine it’s more of a challenge to convince yourself. The advantages do still apply so I’m sending virtual encouragement!

Very much, and also netherlands bike lane system is a real luxury. I'm lucky to have a long bike lane to bike freely, if most of my area was like this I'd be biking twice more.