How many bikes is too many?

A bike, any bike, is good for the soul. Roadie, fixie, MTB or cruiser, any will do the trick but to really call yourself a cyclist I reckon you need a full stable.

There was time when I had more bikes than furniture, the small apartment crowded out with two roadies, a chrono machine, two MTB's a city cruiser and a single (not to mention indoor trainer, rollers, parts boxes, etc).The only thing missing was a unicycle, an oversight I'm yet to correct. But I'm bad at busking so that may never happen.

Anyone know anything about recumbents?

These days I'm down to a roadie, a dually MTB and a steel single speed with canti brakes, my favourite bike, and there's also a cruiser for the girl. The need for furniture and floor space eventually won out but there may still be a Cyclo-cross bike in my future. Reminder to self, get more hooks, a bigger apartment or a new wife.

So how many is too many?

But why would you need more than one bike? You don't really but it helps.

One of my favourite trends during 2013 is the number of elite riders who are crossing over, some, like Caroline Buchanan and Paul van der Ploeg, Peta Mullens do it for competition, but we know they also do it for fun. In retirement Robbie McEwen has been sampling the delights of Cyclo-cross.

I like the trend because cyclists are too often divided along tribal lines even though we have more in common than we sometimes know. I wear lycra and tight jeans and I love a pretty fixie as much as I do a dirty MTB. Grovelling for hours into a headwind on a road ride is as much fun as a ride up to the shops for a Gelato, or so I've heard.

With so much stacked against us on the roads we have to band together, and the easiest way to cross the divide is to experience a few kilometres in another man's clipless shoes and add some variety to your daily cycling diet.

If you spend your time on a roadie, add a MTB or Cross rig to your arsenal and hit the dirt, your skill set will improve beyond belief. If BMX is your thing there is no better way to build your overall fitness than long road rides.

All of it combines to not only make us better bike riders but understand all that the sport we love has to offer.

Are you going to add another bike to your stable in 2014?

Follow @Philip_Gomes