Cripes: that's impressive.
Cripes: that's impressive.
At 64 I could not imagine life without cycling. I have always cycled, but never competively. I enjoy my cycling more now than ever. My bikes are old french Touring bikes which I like tinkering with And I am lucky to have an abundace of relatlively traffic free roads with some great scenery. No stress no targets, just the odd burst of speed to work the heart a bit. At the moment I am gradually upping the mileage And would contemplate an Audax later. The biggest plus is my Health is Improving.
To find a common interest/passtime in a relationship is a rare thing so you keep at it and enjoy the time together doing what you both so obviously enjoy. I think I'm a bit jealousI used to do all kinds of sports. One year, 23 years ago I found myself out every weekend playing ball tournaments while the wife stayed home watching I Love Lucy reruns. I found cycling then dawned on me she could do it too. She does 3,000+ miles every year over the last 23 years. 40, 60, 100 mile rides on her single bike, the tandem, and loves every mile of it.
Now I can't imagine myself enjoying any other activity without her now that the kids are all out!
Plus, she encourages me to stop at all the bike shops to check out stuff. I'm sticking with this cycling thing!
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I think for a lot of us "older" fun riders we can remember the days going out for a day's ride and hardly seeing another bike save for people cycling to work.
Nowadays it is everywhere and perhaps the over popularisation of it does away with some of the simple pleasure of getting on your bike and exploring some back lanes.
I think though that we as people go through change, I used to be an avid football fan, followed club and country all over the world, despite the fact neither were very successful!! Nowadays I barely even look at the results.
Yes, the one part of cycling that I did always enjoy the most was an early morning ride down the local Bridleway on my Cyclocross bike so I won't rule that one out just yet. I think part of the appeal was sticking on my oldest cycling clobber and getting a bit muddy without a car in sight and a grin on my face. The Bridleways are great places if you like nature and usually the people you meet are a lot more pleasant than those rushing about in town. Good ideaTry a 'different' part of cycling - how about off road. Doesn't have to be the 'gnarly' stuff, but about getting away from roads - there are loads of things you never see from a road.
Yes, the one part of cycling that I did always enjoy the most was an early morning ride down the local Bridleway on my Cyclocross bike so I won't rule that one out just yet. I think part of the appeal was sticking on my oldest cycling clobber and getting a bit muddy without a car in sight and a grin on my face. The Bridleways are great places if you like nature and usually the people you meet are a lot more pleasant than those rushing about in town. Good idea
Do it. There are tonnes of views I've seen, which I never see on the road bike - same part of the area, maybe just a few hundred yards away, but roads go in the easiest direction - that bridleway might just give you astounding views. They generally traverse somewhere the roads don't. There is no rush, just get out and enjoy. Take a picnic or factor in a coffee stop.
I'd say it's because a lot of people start out as "blokes who ride a bike" then it gradually morphs into an obsessive way of life that takes over too much free time, prevents you from eating and drinking any "bad stuff" you want, and becomes something that is eventually resented because it controls you not the other way round.
Bloke starts out on a fairly basic and inexpensive machine, and it gets him from A to B and is a relaxing and harmless hobby. Then starts to read media reviews of fancy equipment, interact with people on forums who really think that £5k is a perfectly normal price for a push bike, looks at the weight of everything down to the last gram, has to have a separate wardrobe of cycling-specific clothing, gets a fancy cycle computer, signs up for Strava, starts obsessing about average speeds and achieving ever faster times over their regular routes. Forces themselves to go out on "training rides" even though the weather might be horrible, and they'd actually much rather spend the evening in front of the TV or down the pub. Feels guilty if they don't ride as hard and as far as possible as often as possible, because they might be missing out on a potential higher level of performance.
What starts out as a bit of fun becomes something that absorbs all of someone's spare time and all their spare money. I would actually consider it a form of addiction in some cases, especially when it gets to the point of people admitting to being bad-tempered and grumpy because other things in their lives (like work and domestic responsibilities) have conspired against them to prevent them riding for several whole days!.
Never lose sight of the fact that it isn't all about average speeds and longest distances and PB's and KOM's, it's just about jumping on a bike and going for a ride. Even if it's a tatty old worthless heap of a heavy steel bike and you are wearing jeans and a pair of builder's boots. As a casual utility and recreational rider, I can take it or leave it. Go for a ride, or go out for a load of beer and a doner kebab instead. If I choose the latter, I don't feel guilty about it and I don't feel the need to "make amends" by riding twice as hard or as far the next time. I own my cycling hobby, it doesn't own me - and because of that I don't ever feel forced to do it when I'm not in the mood or resent the amount of time it demands.