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We’ve all been there before. We KNOW that we should be riding, but the motivation or inspiration isn’t there. Sometimes you need a perspective shift to get you cycling.
Here’s a list of the best bicycle quotes that will inspire you to get off the couch and ride your bike!
1. “It is the unknown around the corner that turns my wheels.” -Heinz Stücke
2. “To me it doesn’t matter whether it’s raining or the sun is shining or whatever: as long as I’m riding a bike I know I’m the luckiest guy in the world.” – Mark Cavendish
3. You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy a bike and that’s pretty close!
4. You don’t stop riding because you get old. You get old because you stop riding.
5. It never gets easier, you just go faster
This is a quote from Greg Lemond who is one of the greatest American professional cyclists of all time. Greg is a legend for lots of cycling fans.
6. You can’t be sad while riding a bicycle
7. “I don’t ride a bike to add days to my life. I ride a bike to add life to my days” – Unknown
8. “When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking” -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
9. Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.
10. “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them” -Ernest Hemingway
11. “You either love spinning the pedals and watching scenery whiz by, or you don’t. And if you love it, not much can sour you on the idea of riding your bike.” – Keith Mills
12. “Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride.” -John F. Kennedy
13. Learn to ride a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live.
14. “Those who wish to control their own lives and move beyond existence as mere clients and consumers—those people ride a bike.” – Wolfgang Sachs
15. The bicycle is the most efficient machine ever created. Converting calories into gas, a bicycle gets the equivalent of three thousand miles per gallon.
16. Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling.
17. “Next to a leisurely walk I enjoy a spin on my tandem bicycle. It is splendid to feel the wind blowing in my face and the springy motion of my iron steed. The rapid rush through the air gives me a delicious sense of strength and buoyancy, and the exercise makes my pulse dance and my heart sing.” -Helen Keller
18. Ride as much or as little or as long or as short as you feel. But Ride.
19. If you worried about falling off the bike, you’d never get on.
20. “Riding bicycles will not only benefit the individual doing it, but the world at large.” -Udo Simonis
21. “[Commuting by bicycle is] an absolutely essential part of my day. It’s mind-clearing, invigorating. I get to go out and pedal through the countryside in the early morning hours, and see life come back and rejuvenate every day as the sun is coming out.” -James L. Jones
22. Smash your T.V. Go Ride a Bike
23. I never want to abandon my bike. I see my grandfather, now in his 70s and riding around everywhere. To me that is beautiful. And the bike must always remain a part of my life.
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27. “” – Robert Penn (View book on Amazon)
28. Smile more. Ride a bike.
29. Hills. We love them. We hate them. They make us strong. They make us weak. Today I chose to embrace hills.
30. “When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments. Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of man. And (unlike subsequent inventions for man’s convenience) the more he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product of man’s brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and of no harm or irritation to others. Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle.” – Elizabeth West
31. Ever bike? Now that’s something that makes life worth living!…Oh, to just grip your handlebars and lay down to it, and go ripping and tearing through streets and road, over railroad tracks and bridges, threading crowds, avoiding collisions, at twenty miles or more an hour, and wondering all the time when you’re going to smash up. Well, now, that’s something! And then go home again after three hours of it…and then to think that tomorrow I can do it all over again!
32. I don’t believe in Peter Pan Frankenstein or Superman All I wanna do is Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle I want to ride my bicycle, bicycle, bicycle I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my bike.
33. If I can bicycle, I bicycle.
34. Whoever invented the bicycle deserves the thanks of humanity.
35. The secret weapon in the fight against foreign oil is rusting in your garage.
36. My two favorite things in life are libraries and bicycles. They both move people forward without wasting anything.
37. “Learn to ride a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live”. – Mark Twain
38. “There is beauty in silence and there is silence in beauty and you can find both in a bicycle!” — Mehmet Murat Ildan
39. “Don’t be afraid of failure. This is the way to succeed.” – LeBron James
40. “As a kid I had a dream — I wanted to own my own bicycle. When I got the bike I must have been the happiest boy in Liverpool, maybe the world. I lived for that bike. Most kids left their bike in the backyard at night. Not me. I insisted on taking mine indoors and the first night I even kept it in my bed.” — John Lennon
41. “After a long day on my bicycle, I feel refreshed, cleansed, purified. I feel that I have established contact with my environment and that I am at peace.” — Paul de Vivie
42. “Riding a bicycle is the closest you can get to flying.”– Robin Williams
43. “Bicycles have brought more meaning and joy into my life than I ever imagined possible.” – John Howard
44. “Never say never because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” – Michael Jordan
45. “Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.” – H.G. Wells
46. “Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world.” – Grant Petersen.
47. “Bicycles may change, but cycling is timeless.” -Zapata Espinoza.
48. “One of the most important days of my life, was when I learned to ride a bicycle.” – Michael Palin.
49. “It doesn’t matter if you’re sprinting for an Olympic gold medal, a town sign, a trailhead, or the rest stop with the homemade brownies. If you never confront pain, you’re missing the essence of the sport.” – Scott Martin.
50. “My main form of transportation at that time was a bicycle, because bicycles could move through the crowd.” – John Pomfret.
51. “If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it – then I can achieve it.” – Muhammad Ali
52. “In Mendrisio I felt it; the exhilaration of what the bike has to offer. It’s a simple machine that conjures a vast mix of emotions. It can evoke the senses and raise the spirits of people who watch.” – Cadel Evans.
53. “The cyclist is a man half made of flesh and half of steel that only our century of science and iron could have spawned.” -Louis Baudry de Saunier.
54. “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” – Muhammad Ali
55. “My fear isn’t crashing this bike at 85 miles per hour and losing my skin. It is sitting in my chair at 90 and thinking, ‘I wish I’d done more.” – Graeme Obree.
56. “Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger
57. “Belief in yourself and your cycling goals is the ignition switch that gets you off the sofa and onto your bike.” – Felicity Luckey.
58. “I’d rather regret the risks that didn’t work out than the chances I didn’t take at all.” – Simone Biles
59. “Embrace your sweat. It is your essence and your emancipation.” – Kristin Armstrong.
60. “There are three ways to pedal a bike. With the legs, with the lungs, or with the heart.” — Mandible Jones
61. “My brother persuaded me to try cycling and I realised it was the best thing in the world.” — Peter Sagan,
62. “Work to Eat. Eat to Live. Live to Bike. Bike to Work.”
63. “Every race is a war. Every race is a fight. If you don’t go into every event with that belief, you will never achieve your goals.”- Fabian Cancellara
64. “I don’t fail to finish because I’m physically not up to it, but because I get mentally tired.” – Mario Cipollini
65. “To know if the weather is too bad for training, put on your gear, go train, and you’ll know when you get back.” — Sean Kelly
66. “Compare yourself to yourself. That’s the most satisfying way to achieve improvement.” — Mary Jane Reoch
67. “Rest is second in importance to hard work. Without hard work, no results. But without rest, no results.” — Eddie Borysewicz
68. Cyclists live with pain. If you can’t handle it, you will win nothing” – Eddy Merckx
69. “The bike will transform anyone who is willing to let it happen.” – Ina-Yoko Teutenberg
70. “Life may not be about your bike, but it sure can help you get through it.” – Hallman.
71. “I have always struggled to achieve excellence. One thing that cycling has taught me is that if you can achieve something without a struggle, it’s not going to be satisfying.” – Greg LeMond.
72. “Any Day I’m Out On A Bike Is A Good One” – Martyn Ashton.
73. “When I First Started Out In [Mountain Biking], It Was All About Having Fun, Playing With My Mates, With A Bit Of Racing Thrown In. Nothing Has Changed!” – Steve Peat.
74. “It Really Is All About Believing In Yourself. 80% Mental, 20% Physical” – Victoria Pendleton.
75. The more you ride the bike, the better it gets, and the more you know how to ride it. – John DiMaggio.
76. “To these ideals which were instilled in me when I was a youth, I attribute in a large degree the success that was mine on the bicycle tracks of the world.” – Major Taylor.
77. “The bicycle has a soul. If you succeed to love it, it will give you emotions that you will never forget”. – Mario Cipollini
78. “Commuting by bicycle is an absolutely essential part of my day. It’s mind-clearing, invigorating. I get to go out and pedal through the countryside in the early morning hours, and see life come back and rejuvenate every day as the sun is coming out.” – James L. Jones.
79. “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'” – Muhammad Ali
80. “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.” Alfred Wainwright.
81. “When I was younger I asked my dad how many hills were left towards the end of the ride, he would reply: It’s all downhill. Except for the uphill bits.” – Tom Cullen
82. “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.” – Tommy Lasorda
83. “Never give up! Failure and rejection are only the first step to succeeding.” – Jim Valvano
84. “Show me a guy who’s afraid to look bad, and I’ll show you a guy you can beat every time.” Lou Brock
85. “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” – Fred Devito
86. “Victory is in having done your best. If you’ve done your best, you’ve won.” – Billy Bowerman
87. “If you are afraid of failure you don’t deserve to be successful!” – Charles Barkley
88. “A raggedy ride beats a dressed up walk.” – Simon Peat
89. “In order to succeed, you have to fail, no? You ride a bicycle, you fail; you try a few times, you succeed.” – Jacques Torres
90. “Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.” – Vince Lombardi
91. “Allow yourself to be a beginner. No one starts off being excellent.”
92. “When I go biking I am mentally far, far away from civilisation. The world is breaking someone else’s heart.” – Diane Ackerman
93. “Nothing compares to getting your heart rate up to 170-something, riding hard for an hour-twenty, getting off and not hurting, as opposed to 24 minutes of running, at the end of which I hurt.” – George Bush
94. “Bike riding is a beautiful thing. Peaceful and serene, flowing and artistic, freeing and blissful, pedaling a bike over hill and dale is ethereal.” – Ted King
95. “When in doubt. Pedal it out.”
96. “When your legs scream stop and your lungs are bursting, that’s when it starts. That’s the hurt locker. Winners love it there.” – Chris McCormack
97. “Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.” – Jerry Rice
98. “Riding a bicycle is about getting back to basics. It’s good for the waistline and it’s good for the wallet.” – Phil Keoghan
99. “Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.” – Wayne Gretzky
Did we forget any other inspirational, motivational, or happy cycling quotes? It’s not always easy to motivate yourself to go for a bicycle ride, but I hope these words get you cycling faster than ever before.