Cycling Quotes

Here are some quotes that either were, or could have been, made about cycling, and brevet cycling in particular:

"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race."

H. G. Wells (1904)

"To be a cyclist is to be a student of pain....at cycling's core lies pain, hard and bitter as the pit inside a juicy peach. It doesn't matter if you're sprinting for an Olympic 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. Without pain, there's no adversity. Without adversity, no challenge. Without challenge, no improvement. No improvement, no sense of accomplishment and no deep-down joy. Might as well be playing Tiddly-Winks."

Scott Martin

"Such is the constitution of man that labour may be styled its own reward; nor will any external incitements be requisite, if it be considered how much happiness is gained, and how much misery escaped, by frequent and violent agitation of the body."

Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

(Despite his physical ailments, Johnson participated in a variety of sports including swimming, rowing and riding. He was also known to walk great distances, which it was said he did to shrug off feelings of melancholy.)

“Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles.”

Lennon / McCartney

(from “Hey Bulldog” in case you were wondering!)

"It never gets easier. You just go faster."

Greg LeMond

(in response to a question about whether riding gets easier)

"The thing I like to do is not think of it as 'pain', but as 'that feeling I get when I'm riding correctly'. Do that long enough and you'll actually start to believe it."

Mark Hickey

(posted to rec.bicycles.tech on 6/3/2000)

“Every day is a winding road”

Sheryl Crow

(used of late in Subaru commercials)

“Time is miles!”

CCP (Chris) Davies of England

Audax UK founding member

(857,490 miles and counting!)

"Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel...the picture of free, untrammelled womanhood."

Susan B. Anthony

New York World interview, February 2 1896

“If constellations had been named in the 20th century, I suppose we would see bicycles.”

Prof. Carl Sagan

Additions for this page are always welcome – please email.

When gas hits $10 per gallon!