A Cyclist's Confession

My name is Bradley Joel Hintze and I am addicted to road cycling. It all started on September 9, 2006 when my friend, Bryan (a heavy bicycle user), invited me to volunteer at a feed station for a race known as LOTOJA, the longest single-day US cycling federation-sanctioned race. We were stationed a mile or so below the summit of one of the three mountain passes on the course. As we handed food and water bottles to the 1,000 cyclists (facilitating the addicts) I noticed a few tandems. I eagerly turned to Bryan and said, “We should do this next year on a tandem!” Bryan liked the idea and encouraged me further. I was innocently introduced to this behavior but you can see how quickly I was planning to use. A month later I spent a large sum of my savings on my own road bike.

The time spent cycling went down as the bitter Cache Valley winter settled in; however, I did relapse in the middle of the cold season. This is hard to relate but it goes to show how this addiction can screw up your thinking. It was in the deep winter, we had several days in which the temperature struggled to reach freezing. I remember the day well, it was a cold but clear and the roads were dry although snow did cover the ground that wasn’t road. I had had enough holding back and I went and I used my bike. The temperature on my bike computer read 30 degrees! Crazy.

Well the next summer I became a heavy user of bicycles with the help of Bryan. We rode all over town, sometimes on our own bikes other times on the tandem. I remember a few sessions of use that lasted several hours: Logan to Salt Lake, we rode around the Wellsville Mountains, Logan to Bear Lake THRU Idaho… you get the picture. These sessions gave me great highs but nothing can compare to the LOTOJA. A year after I had innocently volunteered at a feed station I was riding the race on a tandem!

The time between then and now is fuzzy at best. There was a time when I moved across the country and left my bike behind. I had eight glorious months where I was clean. Then spring came with its trigger for the addictive behavior, warm weather. I couldn’t take it; I needed to use. So I had my dad mail me my bike and started using quite a bit. It’s been a year and a few months since I’ve had my bike here in NC and it has only gotten worse. I am now a habitual user of bicycle, essentially no soberness. I use three times a week, mostly in the mornings before I start in lab.

So what are the effects? First financial, in order to be a serious user you need money. There is the obvious; you need a bike, not just any though, you need an expensive carbon-fiber frame with the fancy components. Then there is the attire that users adopt, spandex with special padding. I am talking cycling shorts and they are not cheap. Then there is the maintenance; a heavy user will, out of necessity, maintain their bike. This is not free either. Second, the time factor; using takes a lot of time. For recreational users a quick ride around the neighborhood will suffice. The hard user, like myself, will literally dedicate several hours a week using. Third, psychological; certain ideas that are totally irrational to a healthy individual start sounding rational to the addict. Case in point, LOTOJA, riding 206 miles in one day. Spending a couple hours in a day where your average heart beat is greater then 170 bpm. Do this three or four times a week. Spend $80-$100 on one pair of shorts. Burn so many calories such that food intake becomes a chore. Does any of this sound rational in the slightest? Finally, as with other addictions, continuous bicycle use leads to longer, more intense use to achieve the same high. For a few months I was content with my 18.3 mile loop three times a week; no longer does that do the trick. I now have to do a 25.4 mile loop three times a week to get the same high. I’m sure I missing some of the unseen effects.

So there you have it, full disclosure. I am addicted to bicycle use with some pretty dire effects to my physical and emotional health. How do I feel about my addiction? I wouldn’t change a thing!