Hmmmm , am I just getting too old ???

[Vantage]

As the saying goes...a fool and his money.

 

[Globalti]

I like the sound of this and would like to read more of your reports of local cycling style. Perchance do you have a newsletter or publication on the newsstands?

I can't be sure if you're being sarcastic or serious here, I reckon about 40/60 so here are a few more regulars who I've spotted almost daily and wondered about during the 28 years I've been commuting to and from the same place of work:

In the last few weeks only, a couple aged about 28 I'd guess; he riding ahead in serious roadie gear on a decent mid-range road bike and she following behind, dressed in a mac and office shoes and riding a sit-up-and-beg roadster. He rides at her sedate pace and has a pained look on his face, like a greyhound tethered to a poodle. I usually see them on the Radcliffe to Bury road at around 7.50. From their look I reckon they could be east-European.

For the last few years, also on the Radcliffe to Bury road at about the same time and sometimes going back at 5.15: a man in his thirties with thick wavy hair and a beard, no helmet, rugged, muscular, suntanned and always riding a big mountain bike with wide bars and 29" wheels; he wears a cagoule and shorts or 3/4 shorts, his bike is encrusted with mud and is always working hard against the wind resistance generated by his upright position. I have toyed with the idea of stopping him and offering his the loan of my Tricross because it would get him to his destination faster for less effort.

Most curious of all, a woman who I've seen labelled on other fora as "Manchester's Mad Cycling Woman". She looks to be in her 50s and she rides a worn-out old flat-bar roadster with all kinds of equipment tied on to it; she wears completely faded road gear, a dirty old helmet crooked on her head, masses of curly black hair and most noticeable of all she sits on the saddle canted sideways in what looks like a very uncomfortable posture. She rides painfully slowly and I've seen her all over north Manchester, mostly riding between Bury and Whitefield. He face is tanned nut brown from spending all day in the saddle. LBS staff I know say she is very posh, is a Doctor's wife and cycles compulsively all day. To tell the truth I haven't seen her for a year or so now; I bet I'll see her tomorrow. Whatever she's doing now I hope she's happy and secure; I used to worry about her being knocked off as her chances seemed pretty high.

 

[mjr]

I can't be sure if you're being sarcastic or serious here, I reckon about 40/60 so here are a few more regulars who I've spotted almost daily and wondered about during the 28 years I've been commuting to and from the same place of work:

No sarcasm but still probably only 60-70% serious.

It can be interesting playing "spot the regulars" and watching them slowly change over time... almost all of those I see ride the same bike every time I see them, often in similar states of disrepair (one chap always runs his Raleigh Twenty with its tyres near-flat) or with the same quirks even if the bikes change (double headlights on the fork crown is one). I switch bikes sometimes, often to do a short shakedown on one of the longer-distance bikes, and most of the other few who switch bikes often are known to me through the various local cycling groups and events, such as road cyclists who sometimes go touring and ride the tourer for a while beforehand to prepare. I think yesterday I worried one regular who rides an MTB in construction hi-vis jacket, usually with a carrier bag on the rear rack and often on the phone... I was on a road bike, but didn't pass him quickly because I was checking the gears out.

BTW I wouldn't offer an MTB commuter a Tricross - they might seem very upright and doing work they need not, but several of those I've seen also take advantage of the all-terrain nature of the MTB, such as heading off up very uneven gravel roads to their workplace or simply blundering through any road defects in relative comfort. In one case, there's two regulars who just ride a straight "desire line" through the traffic-lit junction complex of three A roads with little regard for white lines or kerbs - not sure a Tricross would survive that abuse for long!

I wonder, is all this people-watching a stronger indication of getting old than not understanding the magazines' mania for the rich sportivers? Keep on rolling, either way

 

[Salad Dodger]

I have given up with magazines. They barely review anything objectively - mainly because they don't want to upset their advertisers.

 

[wheresthetorch]

But . . . but . . . they're, like, full of really cool stuff!

 

[screenman]

As the saying goes...a fool and his money.

How do you become a fool, I could do with a bit more money.

 

[Milzy]

£35 sportives, Some are run so well and with decent goodie bags. They can be almost worth that. However I've pirated a few and nobody said anything. Yes higher end kit is a rip off.

 

[mjr]

[QUOTE 4724888, member: 259"]You can't give up on What HiFi, it's comedy gold![/QUOTE]
Do you want a paper bag over your head?

 

[Racing roadkill]

No, its not a " am I too old to ride thread " its more of a WTF is happening to cycling thread.
I purchased a recent glossy cycling magazine last weekend and was some what mystified by the costs and prices of some of the bikes and kit. A 4 bike review of which the most expensive was nearly 8k, there was shoes at around £250, helmets for around the same, jackets seem to be the norm at over £150 and even a bloody pump for over a £100. People seem to think £35 for a " Sportive" is acceptable to ride around on roads that with a map and bit of common sense are free. Has cycling become so trendy that the related manufacturers have cottoned on that those with high disposable incomes are easy to relieve of their money in the search for looking good on the expensive carbon unobtanium bling fests.

Confused... Or maybe not...

I would never spend over 8 K on a bike.

 

[screenman]

I know people in their fifties and even younger who seem old, or do they just moan a LOT.

 

[biggs682]

No, its not a " am I too old to ride thread " its more of a WTF is happening to cycling thread.
I purchased a recent glossy cycling magazine last weekend and was some what mystified by the costs and prices of some of the bikes and kit. A 4 bike review of which the most expensive was nearly 8k, there was shoes at around £250, helmets for around the same, jackets seem to be the norm at over £150 and even a bloody pump for over a £100. People seem to think £35 for a " Sportive" is acceptable to ride around on roads that with a map and bit of common sense are free. Has cycling become so trendy that the related manufacturers have cottoned on that those with high disposable incomes are easy to relieve of their money in the search for looking good on the expensive carbon unobtanium bling fests.

Confused... Or maybe not...

@Hedgemonkey you are so right , but as others have already said before me , you can ride whatever you want and within reason where ever you want i am just glad i am not alone about Sportives and cycling kit etc etc .

As many will know the vast majority of all my bikes added together have cost an awful lot less than a quarter of £8k you mention and i have 15+

 

[steveindenmark]

I buy gear that people on here recommend. I know it wont be crap junk. It wont be expensive either, because they are all as tight as a ducks arxes.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I buy gear that people on here recommend. I know it wont be crap junk. It wont be expensive either, because they are all as tight as a ducks arxes.

Get yerself a Pinarello Steve. They're great, trust me.

 

[Hedgemonkey]

Don't buy Cycling Plus...

I'm afraid I was sucker'd by the Modern Classics banner on the front, an interesting read tho.

 

[Nebulous]

I can't be sure if you're being sarcastic or serious here, I reckon about 40/60 so here are a few more regulars who I've spotted almost daily and wondered about during the 28 years I've been commuting to and from the same place of work:

A few months ago I saw a man in the middle of Aberdeen, who must have been late 70s at least and possibly a fair bit older. He was on a 1960's style bike in a british racing green colour. Fully enclosed chain, three speed hub. Flat cap on his head, tied under his chin with string. He was going a bit quicker than a fast walking pace and the cars I saw all treated him with respect. You've no idea how good it made me feel. I still feel cheered upthinking about him.