Hi again.
Whilst out cycling today doing my monthly 100k ride ( it was had going too with that east wind :-) I tend think a lot about life in general. With just over 4 hours in saddle, you've only got your own thoughts to keep you going on the deserted Sunday roads over here in Wales.
I got thinking about cycling adverts that you often see popping up on YouTube and the tv from time to time.
The YouTube ones in particular really give a "rose tinted" image of cycling which can be a million miles away from reality. They often show high-end bikes tearing down some picturesque mountain with not a car or truck to be seen. The weather is always perfect ,and it has to have some real aggressive back ground music to give it all the sense of speed and action.
To a non cyclist who's thinking of taking up cycling all these hyperactive adverts really do give out the wrong impression to a new cyclist. The newbie cyclist goes out and spends a few hundred £££s on their new steed and after a few miles ,reality soon kicks in. Intimidating traffic ,cold hands and feet and a sore arriss :-) Then there's the low speed they will no doubt be enduring as they slowly get "bike fit". The adverts often show the cyclist traveling in excess of 20mph whilst the newbie is puffing and panting away trying to break double figures.
Sometimes you see why new cyclists spend lots of money on a new bike only to give it up after a few months and the bike becomes an expensive ornament of the garage.
It's good that such web sites like "CYCLE CHAT" are a common place, because we are real people who talk about all our highs and lows in the cycling world. Whether it be positive or negative issues, a new cyclist will get a balanced view of what cycling is all about in this day and age.
If you are new or thinking of getting a bike don't let the glossy adverts take you for a ride. Read Cycle Chat instead. You will get a more down to earth picture of what cycling is really like on a day to day basis.
All the very best,
Johnny.
Whilst out cycling today doing my monthly 100k ride ( it was had going too with that east wind :-) I tend think a lot about life in general. With just over 4 hours in saddle, you've only got your own thoughts to keep you going on the deserted Sunday roads over here in Wales.
I got thinking about cycling adverts that you often see popping up on YouTube and the tv from time to time.
The YouTube ones in particular really give a "rose tinted" image of cycling which can be a million miles away from reality. They often show high-end bikes tearing down some picturesque mountain with not a car or truck to be seen. The weather is always perfect ,and it has to have some real aggressive back ground music to give it all the sense of speed and action.
To a non cyclist who's thinking of taking up cycling all these hyperactive adverts really do give out the wrong impression to a new cyclist. The newbie cyclist goes out and spends a few hundred £££s on their new steed and after a few miles ,reality soon kicks in. Intimidating traffic ,cold hands and feet and a sore arriss :-) Then there's the low speed they will no doubt be enduring as they slowly get "bike fit". The adverts often show the cyclist traveling in excess of 20mph whilst the newbie is puffing and panting away trying to break double figures.
Sometimes you see why new cyclists spend lots of money on a new bike only to give it up after a few months and the bike becomes an expensive ornament of the garage.
It's good that such web sites like "CYCLE CHAT" are a common place, because we are real people who talk about all our highs and lows in the cycling world. Whether it be positive or negative issues, a new cyclist will get a balanced view of what cycling is all about in this day and age.
If you are new or thinking of getting a bike don't let the glossy adverts take you for a ride. Read Cycle Chat instead. You will get a more down to earth picture of what cycling is really like on a day to day basis.
All the very best,
Johnny.