What is the obsession with going faster and faster?

[ianrauk]

Strava is where you wear a heart rate monitor while driving through a certain "segment" at 28.5mph,
while your girlfriend finds something to sooth her itchy tonsils.

Then you upload the record, win a KOM and nobody realizes you drove it because the heart rate shows
190bpm over the entire segment.

I really like Cheese...

Strava would be dangerous to my health...

 

[Andrew_P]

I really like Cheese...

Strava would be dangerous to my health...

I just choose to upload and ignore it now...

 

[Manonabike]

A few interesting reasons......

A couple of years ago I was trying to go faster, break my best time, that sort of thing and in doing so I began do take silly risks and more importantly, putting other innocent people at risk. In my case it became an obsession to beat my record and I was getting angry with drivers, peatons and anything that slowed me down. The thing that made me stop was an argument with a lady. I saw her walking to a zebra crossing and instead of slowing down I accelerated to cross before she did but my judgement was wrong and although the lady was never in danger she had plenty of reasons to be mad at me. I never understood that until I got home..... then I realised that if anybody did that to my wife I could easily turn into a really nasty man.

At the time I had lost lots of weight and I was feeling light and fit and wanted more of that but there are things I'm not proud of and I wish I never did...... jumping red lights cause I was inside my best time and I didn't want to miss the chance to brake it or shouting warnings at people that i was coming....... that is not who I'm and I'm so glad that I saw what I was doing wrong. For a while I lost all interest in cycling and I went about 6 months doing a handful of miles a month. Luckily I now got my motivation back

There are a couple of good roads near my house, ever so quiet, where I can do training.... the complete circuit (rectangle) is 1.2 miles and I can go as fast as I like and I enjoy that very much..... not sure it will be very safe in the winter though.

 

[Trail Child]

Makes me feel like Superchick!

 

[slowmotion]

What is this "fast" of which you speak?

 

[CopperCyclist]

It's a good way to increase the exercise without increasing the distance if you have a time constraint. I also find when you start to move nearer traffic pace, it actually becomes safer - its easier (mentally) to take primary without feeling you are holding people up, and people take more care in passing you.

 

[cloggsy]

I see it as competing against myself (and everyone else on my Strava routes).

 

[al78]

The A281 isn't a very pleasant road to cycle on, so I prefer to get it out of the way as quickly as possible.

 

[Nebulous]

I was heading for 50, never having taken part in any sport other than school gym, and about 35kg overweight. I then started on the most amazing journey and I want to see where it takes me. To be honest I don't really care whether someone overtakes me on my short commute, but much of my time is committed to trying to improve for competitive cycling. I'm still improving with some 8,000 largely leisure miles in my legs, so that's what drives me on. That has required pushing myself out of a comfort zone, and most of my riding is pushing hard - but that's why I'm doing it.
I don't see why that needs to bother others though. I'm happy to see people cycling, whether they do it for leisure, for transport, for relaxation or whatever. They can please themselves, but again that isn't me. I'm trying my best to make up for all my lost years!

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Cycling along like a grandad is borning, give yourself motivation and pace, help to feel alive and warm when cycling. Plus it Pi**es off the other road users when you speed past them as they crawl along in first gear.

Some of us crawl in third gear

 

[Hacienda71]

It's the endorphine buzz init........

 

[fossyant]

It's the endorphine buzz init........

Aye for us old uns.......

 

[Miquel In De Rain]

It's the BMW buzz.

 

[4F]

Ride it like you stole it

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Ride it like you stole it

Wearing a Tracksuit and smoking cheap hash?