Not getting any faster, but not really bothered

[Pat "5mph"]

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread. Everyone has different goals and some have no goals at all. To each their own.

Erm ... those kind of cycling antics do not become a lady

 

[summerdays]

I would like to be continually improving but I'm too lazy to put the effort in properly. And I quite enjoy a pootle. However I do have a competitive streak and sometimes up my game a little when there is a cyclist ahead who I could overtake or one behind that I want to keep behind. Then I wonder why I felt the need to try harder, but at least it makes me put a bit more effort in for a while!

 

[Sandra6]

However I do have a competitive streak and sometimes up my game a little when there is a cyclist ahead who I could overtake or one behind that I want to keep behind. Then I wonder why I felt the need to try harder, but at least it makes me put a bit more effort in for a while!

Yes, I still do this sometimes

 

[summerdays]

Yes, I still do this sometimes

I did it today ... a cyclist overtook me literally just after I set off (with a lovely good morning) and I felt as though I had to try and keep up with him - didn't quite manage it for the first mile or two, just catching up at junctions, then he must of slowed down as I started to want to overtake, but didn't at first thinking he was faster. Once I did, I never saw him again. However I kept going and ended up at the other end with a red face - I wish I had taken it easier!

 

[Ciar]

I originally got back on the bike to commute into work, I am now doing this twice a week and weekends i go offroad more hills more trees more things for me to hurt myself on

I do have a cadence and HR monitor as I want to see an improvement for me it's about getting fitter and cutting weight and for my 15 month old daughter.

But i think you are perfectly correct there is something about riding and being free, not in a tin can be it car or tube, riding a forest or a road just under your own steam at your own pace it's a release it's not all about upping your performance.

i love it.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I'm now in my sixties, my pace has dropped off a bit, though my endurance is still good, the clubs medium paced ride that was my regular ride is now on the upper limits of my abilities and what I want from cycling has changed, I know how fast I can go and I'm not interested in testing that, if I was I'd turn up on the club TT, I no longer want to spend my Sunday mornings blowing out my arse whilst hanging on to a wheel at high speed, I want to see the country side a bit. I still like a challenge now and again but these days that challenge would be successfully completing an event, I still train a bit in the winter, but I'm not as serious about it as I was and its more about keeping my fitness when bad weather is restricting cycling than making improvements.

 

[ColinJ]

When I first started cycling and discovered cycle chat I thought it was all about the improvements in speed and endurance, getting fitter, going faster, riding longer.

Now I just feel it's about the ride and enjoying every little bit of cycling from the 5 minute pootle to the shop to the 30mile long slog, even if it does take me all day to do!

Due to well-(over-)documented health issues, that is how I ride at the moment. I am grateful to be riding again, and if this is as far as I can go, so be it! However ...

Surely I'm not the only one who isn't constantly challenging themselves and upping their game?

... I do want to challenge myself, and up my game, if at all possible!

I spent from 2007 to 2012 very overweight and struggling on every hilly route that I tackled, and there were a lot of them! Memories of doing those rides when fit, were just that - memories.

Now, I am slowly becoming slim again and even though I am very unfit, and my lungs are not working properly, I can already feel how much easier the hills are. I run out of breath very quickly but for a few seconds before I do, I feel as though I am flying compared to the slow uphill slogs that I was doing before! I want more of it. I want my lungs to work properly, and my heart to keep up.

But ... I will always do my slow rides too, enjoying the countryside and the cafe stops with my cycling pals.

Each to his/her own!