Why commuting gets no easier

[Thomk]

Why is cycling just as hard now as it was about a year ago when I started?

I've given this some thought and come up with some ideas. The key to my theory is the DLOCK (do you see what I did there?).

When I started I very soon discovered that I couldn't go very fast and got tired easily. I might average 12 or 13mph doing an 11 mile each way commute and feel fairly exhausted most of the way there and back. Steep inclines (actually gentle drags) burned my legs and sapped my spirit and a headwind caused untold anguish, cursing and old man noises. I could only commute a couple of days a week.

Jump forward a year and some things are pretty much the same. I still feel very tired on the commute, my legs burn on the drags and I curse headwinds. There are some differences however. I now commute 3 or 4 days a week and I don't make old man noises any more. Most importantly I average 15 or 16mph most days.

So why does it still seem just as hard as it was? I call it DLOCK – Default Level Of Cycling Knackeredness. It's not the toughness of the commute which changes over time, you just cycle hard enough to reach your DLOCK however good/experienced you are, it is average speed and frequency of cycle commuting which changes.

 

[This Time Next Year]

Can't comment on the cycling specifics as I've only been cycling a month (if that) but from a few years running experience I have to agree with the sound principle. (Though in running's sake, you'd need to change the acronym)

 

[daSmirnov]

Aye, one always cyclists as fast as one can, so it always feels just as hard. You're just faster now.

 

[redcard]

Cycle tomorrow at 12mph, and you'll realise then how easy it is.

I had a slow puncture tonight, so kept my speed to around 14mph - it was easy, even with about 20psi in my front tyre

 

[Pauluk]

Interesting, my experience is similar. I suppose when you think about it our cycling is getting easier. As we get better we are able to work harder, in the sense that we can cover the same distance in a shorter time. Conversely, we could slow down and cover the said distance at a more leisurely pace (our original speed) without getting so knackered. So its easier.

I suppose when we ride alone on our commute we tend to push ourselves into your DLOCK, I know that's what I'm doing.

Its when I go riding with others that I notice that its getting easier

 

[helston90]

I guess this is the point someone drops the 'it never gets easier you just get faster' bomb?!

 

[cyberknight]

I guess this is the point someone drops the 'it never gets easier you just get faster' bomb?!

Nail on the head !

 

[GrumpyGregry]

It is entirely possible to commute without riding flat out every time you throw a leg over the bike.

 

[fossyant]

Nail on the head !

This is it.

Never ever gets easier.

Ask Mark C.

You just get faster. Suffer.com. If you think it gets easy, go do knitting. Hee hee

 

[lozcs]

It is entirely possible to commute without riding flat out every time you throw a leg over the bike.

WHAT?

 

[Madders]

I've read this post with interest as a newbie to cycling. I've been wondering about improved times, average speeds etc but about weight loss and less timber around the midriff? I reckon, in the month that I've been riding I have seen my belly tone up though the muffin tops remain and my weight has remained constant. Surely this will improve with time? My commute is just over nine miles each way.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

This is it.

Never ever gets easier.

Ask Mark C.

You just get faster. Suffer.com. If you think it gets easy, go do knitting. Hee hee

ask him again when he is 50

 

[I like Skol]

It is entirely possible to commute without riding flat out every time you throw a leg over the bike.

Source? This is clearly just a made up statement to try and win an arguement

 

[So Slow]

...taking it easy is so hard to do, I have attempted this challenge many times only to have some lyrca clad Adonis speed past me, or see another cyclist up in front and all thoughts of leisurely commute are gone.....its only when i catch up with said Adonis and hug his/her back wheel that i realise they were doing the same, and my ego takes a nosedive as they just tear away from me.......darn my competitiveness....maybe next time

 

[PJ79LIZARD]

I rode this week still getting over a cold I had the weekend, I've took it easy and I've been fine. My pace though is like when I first started. The difference being when I first started it felt like torcher. So that shows over the years your base level fitness is better than you think, it's like what's been said, most people tend to keep pushing on there commute and tend to result in the same level of exhaustion, but your times must be getting quicker. Im not one for logging every mortal detail of my rides, I did in the beginning like most. But after a few years I'm bored with that. I tend to just log longer weekend rides these days, I might check a commute ride if I felt particularly fast see if I've got a pb, but most days I'm just trying to concentrate on staying alive lol.