21 Motivational Cycling Quotes to Keep You Inspired

Elizabeth Grimsley
Written by
Elizabeth Grimsley
Some mornings the desire to get out of the comfy covers of your bed, climb up the daunting hill or set out on that 100km training ride just isn't there. So on days when you need a little extra motivation, let these inspirational cycling quotes give you that extra push you need to get out of the bed and into the saddle.
Just Ride
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"Ride as much or as little, as long or as short as you feel. But ride." - Eddy Merckx
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The Hurt Locker
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"When your legs scream stop and your lungs are bursting, that's when it starts. That's the hurt locker. Winners love it in there." - Chris McCormack
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Shut up legs!
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"When my legs hurt, I say: 'Shut up legs! Do what I tell you to do!" - Jens Voigt
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Faster
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"It never gets easier, you just get faster." - Greg LeMond
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Go Where The Fast Guys Are
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"You can't get good by staying home. If you want to get fast, you have to go where the fast guys are." - Steve Larsen
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Nothing Compares
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"Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of riding a bike." - John F. Kennedy
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Suffer the Most
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"The race is won by the rider who can suffer the most." - Eddy Merckx
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One Doesn't Play at Cycling
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"Cycling isn't a game, it's a sport. Tough, hard and unpitying, and it requires great sacrifices. One plays football, or tennis, or hockey. One does not play at cycling." - Jean de Gribaldy
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Confront Pain
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"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
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When It Hurts
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"When it's hurting you, that's when you can make a difference." - Eddy Merckx
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The Best Rides
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"The best rides are the ones where you bite off much more than you can chew, and live through it." - Doug Bradbury
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Neither Rain Nor Shine
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"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
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When You're Feeling Down
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"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." - Arthur Conan Doyle
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Glad to Be There
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"You can say that climbers suffer the same as the other riders, but they suffer in a different way. You feel the pain, but you're glad to be there." - Richard Virenque
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The Unknown
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"It is the unknown around the corner that turns my wheels." - Heinz Stucke
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When Life Imitates Art
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"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
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Balance
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"Life is like riding a bicycle. In order to keep your balance, you must keep moving." - Albert Einstein
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Add Life to Your Days
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"I don't ride a bike to add days to my life. I ride a bike to add life to my days." - Unknown
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Give a Man a Bicycle
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"Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring." - Desmond Tutu
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Challenge Your Limits
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"Don't limit your challenges, challenge your limits." - Jerry Dunn
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Freedom and Fear
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"Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is freedom." - Marilyn Ferguson
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About the Author

Elizabeth Grimsley
More by Elizabeth » Elizabeth Grimsley

Elizabeth Grimsley is the editor of ACTIVE.com. After finishing a somewhat successful yet injury-prone gymnastics career, she attended the University of Georgia where she studied magazine and sports journalism and was named the first Conrad Fink Scholar. Since then, Grimsley made a pit stop working for USA Triathlon before finally relocating from Atlanta to Dallas. In her free time, she enjoys constantly being disappointed by Georgia sports, completely consuming herself in the “gymternet” and pretending she’s a better photographer than she probably is. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.