How hard do you ride?

straas

I've noticed some people can merrily tootle along on their way to work, but I just can't seem to do it.

I'd say I'm giving it 80% effort as a minimum at all times, and often 90+ no matter how hard I try I just can't pootle.

Anyone else with the same affliction?

elbowloh

straas wrote:

I've noticed some people can merrily tootle along on their way to work, but I just can't seem to do it.

I'd say I'm giving it 80% effort as a minimum at all times, and often 90+ no matter how hard I try I just can't pootle.

Anyone else with the same affliction?

I'm mainly in pootle mode for most of the commute, but if there are some nice, fast sections or if there are lots of cyclists in the way, I might put in an effort for fun / get some space!

davis

I used to try really hard, and then I realised I don't like my job that much.

cooldad

My commute is about a mile so I don't get too stressed about it. Generally quicker to ride on the pavement as our main street gets quite busy. The trials and tribulations of living in a village.

slowbike

Mostly "Hard" at the moment - because it's all the training I get. But if I'm tired then I'll go into cruise mode - which TBF, isn't much slower - just a lot less effort.
Sometimes, I might just do sections at a higher effort...

Traffic never really bothers me as it's a country A road with no junctions/traffic lights (except the current set of road works) to worry about.

mattsaw

Mostly hard.

My justification is that my commute is not just quicker than the train, up also doubles up as exercise time.

My commute is around 40 minutes each way, and that is instead of 3 hours of train commuting. Added the 80 minutes of 'free' exercise time I'm getting actually means that I'm somehow getting a 27 hour day

MrSweary

Generally slower as the week goes on. Monday I dance up over Crystal Palace. Friday I grind up looking like I'm fighting a gorilla in slow motion.

Obviously I still put in the effort to smash any chancers on the EC-Brixton speedways.*

*Not that I've seen any in a while...

fat daddy

straas wrote:

Anyone else with the same affliction?

yup ! .... and its beginning to annoy me .. I just cant seem to cruise ..... often think if I bought a lady shopper hipster bike maybe I could calm down ... but I would probably end up racing everything still :?

spasypaddy

i ride at an average speed through central london, its not worth the risk of injury/accident to smash it through the traffic.

i ride harder through certain sections as they are less densely populated with cars and other cyclists

essex-commuter

I take it steady in the mornings, I struggle to function properly at 5.30am. Coming home I put more effort in but probably average around 70%. Going to work is pretty much uphill, and obviously down if I come home the same way. Weekends are for going nuts out.

I see another cyclist about once a month, I might give it some beans then :-)

kingstongraham

spasypaddy wrote:

i ride at an average speed through central london, its not worth the risk of injury/accident to smash it through the traffic.

i ride harder through certain sections as they are less densely populated with cars and other cyclists

Same. But if anyone overtakes me towards/in Richmond Park, I'm riding hard. I can't help it.

corriebee1

Pretty hard tbh.

It's the only training i get and i enjoy getting to work and feeling like i've achieved something.

I'm commuting on the massive, fat-tyred mountain bike at the moment (with suspension) as i had to leave my roadie in Scotland after the etape. It's flipping soul-destroying busting a gut and getting into the office with a 15 mph average!

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Heading in, I generally don't give my self enough time to make a gentle pootle an option.

Heading home, it depends on how my legs feel and what recreational rides I've done recently. Sometimes I stick to the direct route (either pootle or putting some effort in), other times I can extend the route home by ~5-35 miles (sometimes choosing the odd section to go into zone 4 on the hrm).

davesnothere

Easy pace on the way in although i usually add a few miles if time (direct route is 6 miles, I often do 12 coming in, but pretty flat)

Going home I will push harder and choose a more hilly route, again adding miles if time allows.

There is no SCR to be had for me, 90% of my commute is rural

tangled_metal

Mostly I'm not in a rush to get to work so it's a pootle, fast pootle for me though.

On the way home it's my time and it's a nicer place to end up. So I race along at a high effort.

When I'm late leaving it the weather's really bad I really have to up the effort. I'm usually running late these days.

Also my mid week fatigue creeps in and I'm just slow Wednesday no.matter what effort I'm able to summon up.

imafatman

8 times out of 10 I ride hard. It's only a 45 minute ride so no reason not to push.

The rest of the time I'm feeling lazy or just don't have it in me so I slow down a bit.

hopkinb

If I don't see stars dancing in front of my eyes at traffic lights I'm disappointed.

Seriously though, depends on traffic. I always try and smash it into a headwind for extra "training". If I see anyone I "know" I'll up the effort as well so as not to let the side down.

asprilla

I had a Brompton for the days I'd get the train. The idea was that I'd pootle from Waterloo to the office and back.

I've just sold it because I'd always arrive as a terrible sweaty mess no matter what my intentions were. I'm just not capable of not pushing hard.

herb71

I have a 12.5 mile commute each way to work.

If you're fat an unfit like me, just keeping the bike moving forward is an effort, hence I have 2 speeds, flat out and stopped.

bendertherobot

straas wrote:

I've noticed some people can merrily tootle along on their way to work, but I just can't seem to do it.

I'd say I'm giving it 80% effort as a minimum at all times, and often 90+ no matter how hard I try I just can't pootle.

Anyone else with the same affliction?

Are you recording your ride with Strava etc?

roger_merriman

I think may depend on the bike/location I mostly pootle though Bushy Park which is a serene 3ish miles with only some back roads mostly at either end, so unless it's windy I don't work hard, it's a old MTB and fairly upright position so headwinds are truly demoralising!

But when the Deer cull is on, I have to mix with the traffic and that tends to encourage me to keep my speed up, plus it's mildly longer so I need to work harder to simply be on time!

rick_chasey

I try to either go as close to 100% as possible, and really nail it, or do as little as possible.

I find it difficult to really empty the tank, so I find myself edging up towards the actual limit during the ride or as the week goes on. Some days it's a lot easier to do than others.

If i'm either really pooped, didn't sleep well, or have a big meeting first thing, I'll pootle - barely much more effort than walking.

Obviously traffic is the main limiter here, and my commute is short (at 25-30 mins).

Pufftmw

Glad I'm not the only one. Whatever I ride, my little internal voice says I have to go as fast as possible, more so if I got overtaken. Result is that I probably over-train as it were and end up going slower than I would have been doing, say, 5 years ago. Perhaps some of that is old age. Put the dog in the trailer and I still had to beat people. Got the ebike + trailer and it was easier/took less out of me but I still had to go fast. Now its just the ebike, I still work as hard but I'm chasing motorbikes instead.
Sometimes I start off slowly but it only lasts about a 1/2 mile before I get a notion and add effort. After that, I can't slow down, can I?

fenix

My commute is less than two miles so I take it as easy as possible. Riding like Miss Marple and saying good morning to all and sundry. I could probably do with a dog in a basket.

imatfaal

Herb71 wrote:

I have a 12.5 mile commute each way to work.

If you're fat an unfit like me, just keeping the bike moving forward is an effort, hence I have 2 speeds, flat out and stopped.

Love it - properly laugh out loud moment. In a few years you'll be a road snake.

70-80percent most rides. Summer that means a bit too quick to be safe on my road bike, winter that means getting the steel mtb upto fairly sensible speeds. Any out of hours commute - then effort goes up to gut-busting as for 50% of my ride the danger is other cyclists and pedestrians rather than cars

greenamex2

90% on a 12.7 mile each way commute...as fast as my lung, heart and legs will let me whilst still doing a day's work.

And not crashing

Too often

Slowly creeping up the Strava tables.

jspash

Welcome straas...

Blue pill

:twisted: Red pill

elbowloh

elbowloh wrote:

straas wrote:

I've noticed some people can merrily tootle along on their way to work, but I just can't seem to do it.

I'd say I'm giving it 80% effort as a minimum at all times, and often 90+ no matter how hard I try I just can't pootle.

Anyone else with the same affliction?

I'm mainly in pootle mode for most of the commute, but if there are some nice, fast sections or if there are lots of cyclists in the way, I might put in an effort for fun / get some space!

I need to put a caveat on this, my commute is 18 miles each way and it I smashed it, then I would be too knackered on the way back, especially as the last 2 miles is pretty much all uphill, it's not steep, but it's a drag.

wolfsbane2k

Normally in HR Zone 3 (40% of time ) & 4, (20% of time ) so because I like to keep some in the tank.
Occasionally, like yesterday, 100% for 12 miles & that hurt.

prawny

Pootle in every day, I try and beat my previous lowest Strava suffer score, only changes if I fancy a chat with one of the other roadies I see in the morning on occasion, they tend to ride/be faster than me so I have to up it a bit. I wear a HR monitor every day and try to stay in zone 2 all the way.

On the way home I thrash it some days, I normally have to be home a bit earlier on Wednesdays so try and crack the hour then, still way off, did 1:08 this week. 17.5mph average. I blame traffic.

awavey

must be 80-90%, usually because Im late anyway, but I find it difficult to just pootle along, I kind of feel I have to push as hard as I can, not flat out sprinting the whole way, but its sustained hard efforts, and you get familiar with the topology of the routes you take, so know its like the classic sprint for the village sign bit.

only time I really just sit up and kind of just go, pedal through it, is in sustained strong head winds, usually on the homebound leg, its amazing how much sitting in an office staring at a computer wears you out because you know you are just wasting energy and not really achieving anything