Signs of obsession...
guinea
Posts: 1,177
At the end of last year I bought my first road bike.
I used to be a bit of a mountain biker but had stopped riding whilst I got old and fat. However, after losing the fat and getting a hell of a lot fitter I decided to try to tackle some French cols. My main target being getting up l'Alpe d'Huez this summer.
I've found that this cycling lark is getting quite addictive. Does this happen to everyone?
A year ago I was a fat lazy bugger, but now I am getting cycling obsessed. Let me explain.
#1 I find myself cycling every day to work. Only once this year have I not cycled.
#2 I find myself looking at the 5 day weather forecast on wednesdays and start planning routes to fit the wind and weather windows.
#3 On wet days I find myself looking dry breaks to get out to do my laps around Richmond Park. If, by late morning, it's still wet, then I go for a muddy ride on the mountain bike.
#4 I'm logging my times, rides, calories burnt and concentrating hard on my weight,
#5 I'm reading forums too much and have learned huge amounts, but also getting bad ideas about new wheelsets
#6 I'm spending larger and larger amounts of time on the bike.
#7 I'm doing daft things. Last night I went for a cycle in the rain, punctured 10 miles away and walked home. I got up early this morning to get the bike fixed and commute. Tonight, after looking at the weekend's weather I did my laps of Richmond Park. However, rather than stop after three I did six. I've never done fifty miles after work before.
So, what other signs should I be looking for?
I used to be a bit of a mountain biker but had stopped riding whilst I got old and fat. However, after losing the fat and getting a hell of a lot fitter I decided to try to tackle some French cols. My main target being getting up l'Alpe d'Huez this summer.
I've found that this cycling lark is getting quite addictive. Does this happen to everyone?
A year ago I was a fat lazy bugger, but now I am getting cycling obsessed. Let me explain.
#1 I find myself cycling every day to work. Only once this year have I not cycled.
#2 I find myself looking at the 5 day weather forecast on wednesdays and start planning routes to fit the wind and weather windows.
#3 On wet days I find myself looking dry breaks to get out to do my laps around Richmond Park. If, by late morning, it's still wet, then I go for a muddy ride on the mountain bike.
#4 I'm logging my times, rides, calories burnt and concentrating hard on my weight,
#5 I'm reading forums too much and have learned huge amounts, but also getting bad ideas about new wheelsets
#6 I'm spending larger and larger amounts of time on the bike.
#7 I'm doing daft things. Last night I went for a cycle in the rain, punctured 10 miles away and walked home. I got up early this morning to get the bike fixed and commute. Tonight, after looking at the weekend's weather I did my laps of Richmond Park. However, rather than stop after three I did six. I've never done fifty miles after work before.
So, what other signs should I be looking for?
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Comments
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You want to carry a set of levers a spare tube and a co2 inflator in a drinks bottle in your second bottle holder
then theres no more 10 mile walks Personally I like to carry a spare co2 cartridge patches and glue as well 0 -
Just wait until you are gripped with an overwhelming desire to shave your legs..............and don't say "it'll never happen to me".............I used to say that once!guinea wrote:So, what other signs should I be looking for?0 -
If you don't quit riding right now this horrible obession will only get worse and will
plague you the rest of your life.
Dennis Noward0 -
i feel you guinea.
i did my first century round richmond park on a wet friday night (finished about 1am) last year. it is seriously freaky in there when there is nothing but you, the dark and the deer (that wander on the roads when there are no cars)!0 -
A century around Richmond Park ? Now that is bizarre. Nurse, the screens !
However to the OP, only #5 is weird and even then, only the bit about spending a daft amount of cash on wheels.
The rest is purity, simplicity and an entirely natural part of the human condition.0 -
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Erm, I have a confession to make.
On thursday I popped down to Richmond Park at 6am to do a few laps. Then I cycled home and to work.
At night I got bored so popped back to the park for a lap or two. That 'lap or two' became 8. All in all I did 101 miles on thursday.0 -
Oh my god its not just me. Weather forecast the lot. same as me.
I get well additctive. Between June and September last year i rode 30 miles every day.0 -
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I regularly check out expected wind speeds and gusts on the MET Office.
Not fussed about cloud cover or precipitation but I hate the wind with a passion.0 -
I'm with red - wind rain snow - like this morning -sun sleet whatever I'm out on the bike.
GAts0 -
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having to jusitfy constantly trying to lose weight whilst at the same time constantly trying to justify the amount of food you're eating!
Gats :?0 -
When your best friend becomes a tub of barrier cream
The long grazed legged one0 -
I think the moment you realise that cycling is not going to save you a single penny and might well lead to divorce/repossession0
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very nice peejay-can we have more than just that glimpse?
My OCD?
Yes to most of the above
-too many bikes
-leg shaving, though I'll never be a racer
-working out rides-in bed with the maps
-scheming how to get a bike on hols
-spending ££££'s to get the latest build "just right" (try explaining just right to someone who doesn't intuitively understand)“It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best..." Ernest Hemingway0 -
george stokes path frame, awaiting build...
peugeot px-10 conversion...
carlton ten, being restored slowly...
condor acciaio lightweight steel racer...
bob jackson vigorelli...
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Lovely bikes Peejay, very jealous.
As for bike OCD...
When you clean your rear cassette wihth a toothbrush to get all the dirt off it even the cassette body so that its cleaner that it was when it left the LBS.
When its snowing and wet and cold, you've forgotten your overshoes, but you still opt to go the long way home, even though after a few minutes your feet a really wet and you cant feel your toes anymore.
When you look at the number of calories in the Mars Bar you want and work out how many minutes cycling it takes to burn the calories off and decide not to have said Mars Bar.0 -
Oh another one,
After a long sportif one day, my other half woke me up in bed that night because I was pedalling in my sleep. :roll:
The long grazed legged one0
