Times, are they important

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madguern

Active Member
Location
Guernsey
Morning all

How much importance should I put on times .... I have been aiming to meet some of the standards set by the local cycle club but I am constantly out by several mins. I enjoy my bike but it gets a little disheartening that although only 38 my standard is bronze for a 55-65 year old ;-)

If I keep riding will these come down or will I have to give up the beer :-)

Aiming for 28mins for 10 miles at the moment my best is 30 mins 11.

Or am i just too obsessed with it all and should just get down and enjoy it
 

scott s10

Well-Known Member
my dad gave up beer for a while he lost a beer belly, and felt better and he went faster
 

Mark_Robson

Senior Member
madguern said:
If I keep riding will these come down or will I have to give up the beer :-)

Aiming for 28mins for 10 miles at the moment my best is 30 mins 11.

Or am i just too obsessed with it all and should just get down and enjoy it
It depends what you want, personally I think cycling is about enjoyment and I don't get hung up with times or speeds.
 

jig-sore

Formerly the anorak
Location
Rugby
madguern said:
Or am i just too obsessed with it all and should just get down and enjoy it

i think so :ohmy:

i log my ride times but only to see how I'M improving (or not)

there will always be someone slower than you and always be someone faster. i little bit is natural ability and a lot of it is hard work and training.

i think im a natural cyclist and with a moderate amount of riding im reasonably quick. I'd like to think that with a good bit of proper training i could challenge the top club riders but do i really want to ??

times will naturally improve over time, after that it's just about how much you want to put in and how much you want to get out.

for me cycling is more about those magic moments when you just fly along for no real reason, people will know what i mean :biggrin:
 

JtB

Prepare a way for the Lord
Location
North Hampshire
madguern said:
Aiming for 28mins for 10 miles at the moment
Flippen heck, that's an average of over 21mph :ohmy: Even if I could do that (which I can't), I don't see how I could ever enjoy a ride like that (for one thing the concentration required just to avoid all the pot holes round here would leave me with little else to think about).
 

Rob3rt

Man or Moose!
Location
Manchester
Times are as important as you want them to be really. From zero importance to being what you organise your life around. If you really want to time trial get down the local club 10. The course should be well planned to avoid lights etc and the race adrenaline will spur you on. Plus you will get advice and encouragement from other riders.
 

Madcyclist

New Member
Location
Bucks
I raced for a number of years both road and time trials becoming completely obsessed with times. Now that I've returned to cycling after a 20 year break I'm finding it much more enjoyable not racing and just enjoying each ride, although the competitive spirit is still burning and can't resist pushing it a bit harder on the occasional ride.
 
OP
OP
madguern

madguern

Active Member
Location
Guernsey
Good points, I do enjoy it but wanted to measure my standard against somebody else, maybe the local cycle club not the best measure at the moment ! Re-ran my old commute route today and have reduced my time by 3 mins so I am improving !

The other way is to just keep this standard up until I am 65 and then I will be gold standard ;-)

I enjoy riding to happy to use my times to measure myself just wondered what others thought.
 

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
See how fast they are when they have panniers,rack,guards + lights etc ...

No way could i do that time fully loaded and it all depends on their route and what they train for.

Most important thing is to enjoy it and compare yourself to those in the metal box fat lane:biggrin:
 
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