Originally published on WeLoveCycling.com
We all know life isn’t always a smooth ride along a scenic cycling path. Sometimes, it feels more like a bicycle wheel spinning through the ups and downs of a muddy trail (though, to be honest, that actually sounds like fun to me!). But on those tougher days, when giving up isn’t an option, what can we do?
Personally, I find inspiration in short, powerful quotes—little reminders that say a lot about life in just a few words. I’ve put together some of my favorites, all with a cycling twist. These quotes often help me see things from a fresh perspective and shift my mindset into “I can do it” mode.
I hope they inspire you in 2025!
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”
Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955), physicist who developed the general theory of relativity
“It never gets easier, you just go faster”
Greg LeMond, former pro rider, three times the Tour de France champion and twice Road Race world champion
“Crashing is part of cycling as crying is part of love”
Johan Museeuw, former pro rider, twice world champion
“A bicycle ride around the world begins with a single pedal stroke”
Scott Stoll, a Community Professor who travelled around the world on his bicycle
“Cyclers see considerably more of this beautiful world than any other class of citizens. A good bicycle, well applied, will cure most ills this flesh is heir to”
Dr. K. K. Doty
“Like dogs, bicycles are social catalysts that attract a superior category of people.”
Chip Brown, writer
“Beyond pain there is a whole universe of more pain”
Jens Voigt, former pro rider who holds the World Hour Record
”Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever“
Lance Armstrong, former pro rider who saw all his accomplishments going down the drain because of doping
“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 (1859 – 1930), author of Sherlock Holmes
“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, former pro rider, three times the Tour de France champion and twice Road Race world champion
“You never have the wind with you — either it is against you or you’re having a good day“
Daniel Behrman (1924 – 1990), author of The Man Who Loved Bicycles
“Cyclists live with pain. If you can’t handle it you will win nothing”
Eddy Merckx, former pro rider super champion