Cycling for the soul

[rugby bloke]

This weekend one of my cycling mates had arranged a reunion with a couple of friends he made on a cycling holiday in Vietnam. On Saturday he invited me to join them on a ride and we duly set of on a nice 100 km route through Northants and Bedfordshire.

One of the guys works for Manchester Police and was clearly very stressed and in need of a break. As the day progressed and we laughed, joked, stopped for coffee, beer, lunch etc he was relaxing more and more. It was amazing to see some very familiar countryside through someone else's eyes - the pretty villages, the grand country houses. We stopped for photos at points I had cycled past numerous times and never appreciated. Likewise we stopped for beer at a pub I had cycled past but never visited before.

With all the stops the ride took probably twice as long as I thought it would, but who cares ? My new friend was a different man, and was so happy that he had taken time out to enjoy the simple pleasures of riding a bike with good company in lovely surroundings.

I'll consider this next time I'm focusing only on my times.

 

[I like Skol]

This is kind of what forum rides are about. I usually have to ride maybe 20-30% below my normal pace which can sometimes be frustrating, but the upside of that is that you relax, see more, experience more, chat to new people, and arrive at the end of the ride feeling relatively fresh. It's all good

 

[rugby bloke]

This is kind of what forum rides are about. I usually have to ride maybe 20-30% below my normal pace which can sometimes be frustrating, but the upside of that is that you relax, see more, experience more, chat to new people, and arrive at the end of the ride feeling relatively fresh. It's all good

That was one of the interesting outcomes - our average speed was pretty much what we had planned, so although the ride felt much more relaxed it was no slower on the road. We just managed to spin it out with numerous stops.

 

[byegad]

If I ride at 20-30% below my normal pace you'll need time-lapse photography to see if I'm moving.
But I wholly concur that a ride is about the countryside and places of interest, and not about the speed.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Over the last couple of years my Good Lady's health hasn't been good and I've been more carer than husband and it's been the cycling I've been doing that's protected my sanity over that period.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I refer to it as putting my "touring head" on.

The journey is the objective, not the destination, speed etc.

In the beginning I had to be far away from home to achieve that, but with a bit of practise I can achieve it on just about any non-utility ride. It's a gift.... that we can give ourselves.

 

[united4ever]

it's a head wash isn't it...I look at a screen all day at work and a lot in the evening too but the daily commute is just real rest for the eyes, mind and soul.

 

[rugby bloke]

It's a gift.... that we can give ourselves.

I completely agree with this point. All us on the ride agreed that it was a real treat to write off the whole day the ride, rather than having to keep to a fixed time table. Normally real life gets in the way and there is the next commitment to hurry back for. It won't happen each weekend, but once in a while it is excellent.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

It's all good

Yes indeedy

 

[fossyant]

My GP prescribed getting out on the bike after work, to get rid of the stress rather than reach for AD's. Just got to keep it up, was off last week with stress build up. Back in today, and not even through the bloody door and someone is after me for stuff (I then said I was ill last week - they apologised).

So yep it's good, and you can have a laugh or seventy with good mates.

 

[Moodyman]

Currently on a bike tour in Ireland with 5 others. We have nothing in common, come from different parts of the country, have different social and economic backgrounds. Yet, the one unifier is cycling.

That's the power of kinship. That's the power of cycling.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Currently on a bike tour in Ireland with 5 others. We have nothing in common, come from different parts of the country, have different social and economic backgrounds. Yet, the one unifier is cycling.

That's the power of kinship. That's the power of cycling.

I,m fairly sure the crappy weather is helping ye bond as well!

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I completely agree with this point. All us on the ride agreed that it was a real treat to write off the whole day the ride, rather than having to keep to a fixed time table. Normally real life gets in the way and there is the next commitment to hurry back for. It won't happen each weekend, but once in a while it is excellent.

I understand what you're saying and agree wholeheartedly on the need for a down day, but I was mainly referring to the actual cycling as opposed to the coffee/beers/breaks around the cycling.

I'm certainly not a performance cyclist and when I dipped my toes into an hourly commute I was focused on a deadline - getting to work on time. The more I did, the more I could relax and instead of focusing on where I was relative to time, I could start to pay attention to what was around me - like I do when I go off on tour. When you start to look at these things, it's amazing what you notice. Instead of passing through a place, you become a part of it. Introduce a camera and you can have a visual record of places in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter as well as a reason to stop for a few minutes and just take it all in.

What was amazing for me was how much I came to enjoy the ride, irrespective of the weather. I never thought I was that guy!

When I introduced a Wahoo into the picture and started getting reports on my segment performance I lost my way for a while, until I copped on and started to ignore it. Peace was restored.

I understand a lot of people here are on training rides so what I'm saying is heresy, but I'd suggest trying it out on a regular route. Ride, see, notice and feel. No measurement.

Taking a bit of time to notice your surroundings might help you to understand, for example that Seville is spelt with an "E" and "Saville" is not really a positive name in these times

 

[Deleted member 26715]

When I introduced a Wahoo into the picture and started getting reports on my segment performance I lost my way for a while, until I copped on and started to ignore it. Peace was restored.

I think there are a lot of people who are a slave to their device, rather than the device being a slave to them. I record all my rides via Garmin/Strava but it's not for any competitive reason

 

[Blue Hills]

I think it helps to kinda take it easy if you have a lower geared bike - and maybe a bit heavier (nice steel) with wider but still easy rolling tyres. I used to have a very high geared bike (so high I only very rarely got it into the very top gear front and back together) and found that it was sort of pushing me to push it. I came rather late to gps and now much prefer to a simple old school speedo - apart from obvious navigating features it is usually on the map screen so I have no real idea what speed I am doing. I just flow with my body, the bike, the terrain. With a speedo, the damn speed is always in your face.