Why do I bother?

pottssteve

Last year I did the Volta Limburg sportive. I'd only been living here for a short while, didn't know the roads very well. I was riding my Specialized Tricross and the weather for the second half of the ride was very poor.

I did it again this year. I've had a year of riding the area and knew all the climbs. I was on my summer bike (VN Euros) and the weather was dry. It took me almost 10 minutes more. :roll:

Now, the day before I had done over 20km on my city bike around the coutryside, and I've been suffering with a cold, but it makes me wonder why I don't seem to be getting any better.

petemadoc

Surely you're missing the point

Forgetting your times which ride did you enjoy more?

GiantMike

Did you enjoy it though?

I sometimes wonder why I train for races (which I don't enjoy) then race (which I don't enjoy). I started cycling because I liked it and all I seem to do now is beast myself. My wife doesn't like riding with me anymore.

daviesee

GiantMike wrote:

Did you enjoy it though?

I sometimes wonder why I train for races (which I don't enjoy) then race (which I don't enjoy). I started cycling because I liked it and all I seem to do now is beast myself. My wife doesn't like riding with me anymore.

:idea: :idea: :idea: :idea:

Anonymous

“Cycling is so hard, the suffering is so intense, that it’s absolutely cleansing. The pain is so deep and strong that a curtain descends over your brain….Once; someone asked me what pleasure I took in riding for so long. ‘PLEASURE???? I said.’ ‘I don’t understand the question.’ I didn’t do it for the pleasure; I did it for the pain.”

islwyn

Suffering in cycling is the key to success.

Try again.

GiantMike

Islwyn wrote:

Suffering in cycling is the key to success.

This is the truth. Tonight I'm on the turbo suffering my way through a horrible homebrew interval session. Or maybe I'll do Sufferfest Revolver. Or maybe Real Rides Race Day.

Doesn't really matter which one, it's all just suffering.........

rick_chasey

Boll*cks to that.

Do you only ride to improve your PB?

What got you addicted to cycling in the first place?

I realised I was a fair weather rider last year. my enjoyment of cycling has grown a lot since - to the point where fair weather is a pretty broad definition.

Gizmodo

Very old and has been posted here many times before, but someone might not have seen it.

Cycling Explained: http://youtu.be/47cGzu6-q40

verylonglegs

Rick Chasey wrote:

Boll*cks to that.

Do you only ride to improve your PB?

What got you addicted to cycling in the first place?

I realised I was a fair weather rider last year. my enjoyment of cycling has grown a lot since - to the point where fair weather is a pretty broad definition.

Reached the same point a few years ago. I follow road racing, I have a road bike and am in the process of buying a shiny new one too, I have all the kit...but I really couldn't tell you any of my times/average speeds. I have a trip computer just to note my mileage out of interest but that is as far as it goes for me. I don't see why you need to worry about times unless you actually race. I'm doing a sportive soon with a friend who's just got into cycling and he's constantly talking about times he'd like to do it in and I've yet to find a way of breaking it to him that I really don't care how quick we get round.

Stone Glider

I feel the same. I find, although I enjoy the company of cyclists, I have no need for company whilst riding my bike. The speed at which I pace myself and the enjoyment I derive from the ride do not impact on each other. A cycle computer failed recently and was replaced by the simplest one I could find, it tells me the time of day, the speed I am doing and the distance I have covered. That is all the information I require, the pleasure of the ride is contained elsewhere.

nevman

+million to that,....except,pleasure can also be achieving something you didnt think was obtainable in the first place,and this can be something small, a new PB,a sportive,or something big,such as a win in a race.I kick myself daily for not putting into action an ambition ten years ago.Its the variety of cycling I like,from audax to TT,back to commuting and every other way of being on a bike.

pottssteve

Yeah, I guess I know all this already. The suffering, the enjoyment, the goal-setting etc. I was just a bit naffed off and am now resigned to the fact that I am 10 kilos too heavy and 20 years to be old to actually be any good at this. And as someone whose self-worth is boosted by achievement (measured on my own terms), I felt like I'd let myself down. I guess the solution is to lower my standards...

MaxwellBygraves

pottssteve wrote:

Yeah, I guess I know all this already. The suffering, the enjoyment, the goal-setting etc. I was just a bit naffed off and am now resigned to the fact that I am 10 kilos too heavy and 20 years to be old to actually be any good at this. And as someone whose self-worth is boosted by achievement (measured on my own terms), I felt like I'd let myself down. I guess the solution is to lower my standards...

To quote Homer Simpson...

'Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.'

Richard_D

potssteve consider yourself lucky you are only 10 kilo and 20 year too old. I could lose 10 kilo and still be too big for fast cycling. I blame rugby and rowing as a youngster for the basic build and 30 years of office work for the waistline.
I am not a happy bunny as I took my summer bike out last Saturday for its first run of the year. Only a 20mile loop but guess where I lost a spoke. Thank god for cell phones. I had still managed to walk a couple of miles back before the other half picked me up.

team47b

...because, look around you at the non cyclists, even more miserable, even more negative

OffTheBackAdam

What were the weather conditions like last year, compared to this? What was the group your were riding with like compared to last year, was the route exactly the same?
All variables to be considered.
End of the day, did you enjoy the ride?

rolf_f

verylonglegs wrote:

I'm doing a sportive soon with a friend who's just got into cycling and he's constantly talking about times he'd like to do it in and I've yet to find a way of breaking it to him that I really don't care how quick we get round.

He's a friend. Part of the thing about being a friend is that you are meant to put up with your friends quirks. So, if he likes talking about times you need to be nice to him because it is obviously what makes him tick. Unless you want him to think that cycling is full of people who just like putting others down all the time

petemadoc

Rolf F wrote:

verylonglegs wrote:

I'm doing a sportive soon with a friend who's just got into cycling and he's constantly talking about times he'd like to do it in and I've yet to find a way of breaking it to him that I really don't care how quick we get round.

He's a friend. Part of the thing about being a friend is that you are meant to put up with your friends quirks. So, if he likes talking about times you need to be nice to him because it is obviously what makes him tick. Unless you want him to think that cycling is full of people who just like putting others down all the time

Just remember, let the guy go on and on about his time and what he hopes to get while you keep quiet. Then drop his sorry ass like a stone on a big climb and smash his cr4ppy time into pieces. You must humiliate him and then at the end nonchalant just say "well that was pretty easy"

pottssteve

team47b wrote:

...because, look around you at the non cyclists, even more miserable, even more negative

I'm not miserable, I just thought all that practice might have paid off a bit.

Adam - The weather was better this year. Last year I rode most of it alone or tagged onto groups going at my speed, this year with a couple of friends. I did enjoy it, like I enjoy most rides, but I would have enjoyed it more had I shown improvement. Maybe that's the point. If I enjoyed it less I'd get better!

verylonglegs

Rolf F wrote:

verylonglegs wrote:

I'm doing a sportive soon with a friend who's just got into cycling and he's constantly talking about times he'd like to do it in and I've yet to find a way of breaking it to him that I really don't care how quick we get round.

He's a friend. Part of the thing about being a friend is that you are meant to put up with your friends quirks. So, if he likes talking about times you need to be nice to him because it is obviously what makes him tick. Unless you want him to think that cycling is full of people who just like putting others down all the time

Oh I've not said a word so far for precisely those reasons, I don't want to knock his enthusiasm and I can't dismiss the timing thing completely, I do cross-country running in winter and enter local club races so I check my progress on them. It's just a 3hour ride of giving it your max, staring at the guy's arse in front and swapping turns like you are in a TdF breakaway isn't how I derive my pleasure from cycling but he knows I've been to watch the tour and have all the gear so thinks that's what I do. I do put some effort in so it's a decent fitness exercise but I like to look up and see a bit of the world too! It's a problem.

rolf_f

Maybe you should do the ride on a Dawes Galaxy with full panniers on!

verylonglegs

I quite like that idea, especially if I put in them a travel rug, flask and a mini-hamper containing a variety of sandwiches, pies etc plus a dessert and then brandish a map asking my mate which picnic site we are stopping at. Or should I be more subtle?