Can too much Cycling take over your life

[Old jon]

pretty stupid behaviour, TBH. It's all very well bombing down a descent @35-40 mph on a bike, after having slogged your guts out to get up the hill, but if you have a tyre suddenly blow out doing that speed, someone or something comes out of a side entrance, or you hit a slippery spillage on the road surface, you are going to have a very serious, and possibly fatal, accident.

Have to disagree, here is a quote from an email to a friend after I recently fell off

"Yeah, but careful when the wheels are spinning well? Sorry I am, lass, I just enjoy that sort of riding.

Specialist? He does right hand and left hand clavicles on men and women. Not very special at all. OK, only broken ones, sort of special. Maybe. Back in ten days for a progress check.

Gravel rash right shoulder, elbow, knee. And left hand. All calmed down now, thankfully. And yes I am in a sling, a super dooper blue strappy sling with adjustments everywhere, each one more painful than the one before."

We all ride our own way, yes?

 

[classic33]

Have to disagree, here is a quote from an email to a friend after I recently fell off

"Yeah, but careful when the wheels are spinning well? Sorry I am, lass, I just enjoy that sort of riding.

Specialist? He does right hand and left hand clavicles on men and women. Not very special at all. OK, only broken ones, sort of special. Maybe. Back in ten days for a progress check.

Gravel rash right shoulder, elbow, knee. And left hand. All calmed down now, thankfully. And yes I am in a sling, a super dooper blue strappy sling with adjustments everywhere, each one more painful than the one before."

We all ride our own way, yes?

Hope you're okay and it's not too painful.

 

[Old jon]

Hope you're okay and it's not too painful.

Fine really thanks. Sure it hurts, nobbut when I laugh, and it will be a while before I am back on the bike here.

Takes nothing away from the enjoyment of riding though!

 

[bpsmith]

There are indeed all sorts of accidents that can happen, but that doesn’t only apply to being on a bike. If we didn’t do anything that had potential for danger, then it would be pretty boring.

 

[Alan O]

That's why I don't intend to have anything to do with Strava. I like to go at a comfortable pace and I don't see how knowing that other cyclists can go from A to B in X time, is in any way beneficial to me.

When I'm out I have no idea where the Strava segments are, how fast they are, or who's leading them - it's something that just doesn't cross my mind. I might notice a few "achievements" after I get home, but that's all.

I too like to ride at a comfortable pace and enjoy my surroundings, I really don't care for speed, and I have no interest in how fast others can go. And I don't find Strava has any effect on that at all. I think you need to have a bit of a speed/competitive streak hidden way somewhere to be influenced by Strava in that way - I don't, and I just find it a great way to keep a record of where I've been.

 

[Alan O]

Have to disagree, here is a quote from an email to a friend after I recently fell off

"Yeah, but careful when the wheels are spinning well? Sorry I am, lass, I just enjoy that sort of riding.

Specialist? He does right hand and left hand clavicles on men and women. Not very special at all. OK, only broken ones, sort of special. Maybe. Back in ten days for a progress check.

Gravel rash right shoulder, elbow, knee. And left hand. All calmed down now, thankfully. And yes I am in a sling, a super dooper blue strappy sling with adjustments everywhere, each one more painful than the one before."

We all ride our own way, yes?

I've got gravel rash on my right knee and down my shin from falling off my bike last week. Speed = 0 mph.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

There are indeed all sorts of accidents that can happen, but that doesn’t only apply to being on a bike. If we didn’t do anything that had potential for danger, then it would be pretty boring.

That's true - fun and danger can go together, but would you take the same attitude to someone racing in their car downhill as fast as they could manage? Or would you start banging on about irresponsible drivers, breaking speed limits etc?

 

[screenman]

That's why I don't intend to have anything to do with Strava. I like to go at a comfortable pace and I don't see how knowing that other cyclists can go from A to B in X time, is in any way beneficial to me. Putting in short bursts of hard effort to get up gradients is enough "workout" for me thanks very much, for the rest of the time in the saddle I am not aiming to be riding so hard I am gasping for breath! It really doesn't bother me that, in cycling terms, I am not a particularly fast rider. I have no interest in adopting uncomfortable "aero" riding positions with my bum sticking up in the air and suffering poor visibility in traffic, or running a fragile, theft-magnet, super-light CF bike on flimsy tyres, having no mudguards etc, just to shave off a few seconds here and there. The idea of any activity in life is that you control it, not allow it to control you, and in some cases Strava clearly has that effect. I also wonder when I see some lycra-clad roadie tearing about cycling in an illegal/dangerous/inconsiderate manner, whether the reason for their aggressive antics and RLJ'ing etc is because they are trying to beat the clock, and achieve a faster time on Strava.

Me, me and I others are different, all of the red light jumping I see in Boston which is a town I spend too much time in is done by people not wearing Lycra or going fast. In fact I have never seen a Lycra clad cyclist jump a red light in that town ever, if I did I would let them know my opinion if possible.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Which of us on here can hold their hand up and say that they've never tried to set a speed indicator off?

On the flat, I know for certain that I can't get a 30mph speed checker to go off.

 

[bpsmith]

That's true - fun and danger can go together, but would you take the same attitude to someone racing in their car downhill as fast as they could manage? Or would you start banging on about irresponsible drivers, breaking speed limits etc?

Were not quite comparing the same thing though, as you know.

Your suggestion was that every instance of someone going over 30mph on a bike is dangerous. Fact is, there are many times where fast riding isn’t dangerous apart from freak incidents. Such incidents can happen at any speed btw.

 

[Old jon]

I've got gravel rash on my right knee and down my shin from falling off my bike last week. Speed = 0 mph.

Yup, I have done some of the falling off at a standstill as well. More often than I would like to count. Broke a thumb once, how silly is that?

 

[Kajjal]

Were not quite comparing the same thing though, as you know.

Your suggestion was that every instance of someone going over 30mph on a bike is dangerous. Fact is, there are many times where fast riding isn’t dangerous apart from freak incidents. Such incidents can happen at any speed btw.

I do a lot of mountain biking and often get 40mph + on my regular route downhill off road. For me this is a calculated risk as I know the trail well, have a full suspension bike and the whole downhill is visible all the way down. It is not for me a huge risk but at the same time is not completely safe.

Riding at speeds above 30mph you increase the risk of greater injury if the worst happens. By managing the risk, having a well maintained bike and not turning into stravaman it is very likely you will be fine but the risk is still there, you have just accepted it and accounted for it. In mountain biking people say they respect the trail and this is what they mean.

 

[bpsmith]

That’s exactly my point @Kajjal. Spot on.

 

[Kajjal]

I like Terrys chocolate orange segments. They do absolutely nothing for your cycling, but they are nice all the same.

I like anything from Hotel Chocolate , it helps me maintain my bronzed Adonis like figure

 

[Ian H]

Love Strava for data storage and PRs. Not particularly interested in chasing segments. I prefer long, slow rides and touring.

I don't do live Strava, just upload afterwards. Which makes segments and stuff impossible.

As for speed, I've never managed to beat 60mph on a bike. Not even on a tandem. But I don't feel bitter about it.