Just A Ride

I see the merits in all forms of cycling, so feel apprehensive about glorifying/chastising one form over the other... its all good.

That said, there is nothing like turning off the tech and going out for the sheer enjoyment of it.

Problem is, I am always going to enjoy seeing how hard I can push up that hill, how many miles I can cover... its so easy to forget the surroundings we pedal through.

Last week I was in Spain, and I did make sure to take in the beautiful scenes around me. Problem was that I did that half way down a mountain pass, which ultimately cost me a Strava KOM

Great piece this, judging by all the comments it seems to have struck a chord.

Apologies for the self promotion but i wrote recently about the Quality Controllers among us - all those who prize quality over quantity:

http://ragtimecyclist.com/2014/02/18/biking-behaviour-part-14-the-qualit...

Whatever you get the most out of. I love hammering it 90% of the time. The rest of the time, bimbling about watching the world go by is great.

I ride each road in the same manner. No set plan, no particular heart rate zone (always 180+, but that's thru lack of fitness)...do I hammer it? Yes, until I have no legs left...then I trundle back to where I came from ...spent, moaning, wondering why!!! But, then doing exactly the same next time...but not feeling as spent...it's a vicious *cycle*..harhar....I do sportives very infrequently, I don't race...I am a lone cyclist 99.8% of the time...and range from 60k to 133k rides...just to suit myself...me...numero uno...but only if I can be bothered....
Do I stop and ponder life's wonders..sometimes..I even take the occasional photo...but the Garmin is always there to record and prove that I did shift my ass and do something...proof only needed by me for me...not to impress anyone....I cycle because I can and wish to...even if the weather is foul, fair or fantastic....
(meanders to an inconclusive conclusion....)

That's so spot on - love it. I actually wrote something strangely similar after a wonderful ride out in the much-missed sunshine on Sunday. Just a ride - best thing ever. http://bit.ly/PagninX4

You sound like a hipster fixie c*nt. Cynical about something......did a fat man overtake you whilst checking his Strava?

Did Roleur have first refusal on this piece, Jo?

Exactly. A certain website advertises a ride near me as 'Hell of the ...' and it has an 'easy' option (52 miles). Time to up the mileage and put down the razor. Anyone got a Rapha discount code?

Liberating read.
This is me, going for a ride:
Stuffing my carcass into bib-tights, they seem to have shrunken somehow.Where the f*ck are the gloves. And knee-warmers. Should I take some more clothes with me? I'm out of the energy bars I like.These shoes are always too loose or too tight. Where is the HRM? Where is the strap? Should have put on the HRM before the jersey. The HRM was not working right on the last ride. Is the strap tight enough? Getting the bike out of the basement, and it's just as not-spacious as the last time. Forgot the water bottle up in the apartment. Forgot to use the pump. I have to take my cold weather gloves off to adjust the touch screen of the smartphone, glove won't come off. Dropped a glove. HRM wont sync with the phone.
By the time I'm ready to ride, my heart rate is already almost 90.
Usually, I calm down after a while on the bike.
Leaving the HRM at home and not ranting about the ride on the website for the social app afterwards makes all this a bit easier. Some times I also manage to convince myself that I don't have to try for new personal best and that I really don't have to be pushing harder or going further, today. Those rides are often quite pleasant. Not epic at all. Just nice.

I am middle-aged and overweight, but alas not oversexed :P. I got into cycling only recently, about 7 months ago. My primary motivation has been to get healthier, off diabetes meds, and lose weight. I started at 386 lbs and am now about 288. Frankly, I see very little evidence in my little corner of the world that cycling is marketed to someone like me. The clothing and bikes aren't manufactured with me in mind, unless you have a lot of money. I don't. Still, I've made progress. I compete against myself. I do what I need to keep myself motivated, especially when I am pained at breaking yet another spoke, due to my size and the fact that I cannot afford stronger wheels. I challenge myself to go farther, faster, take more hills, ride in rain, keep a good cadence, etc. i appreciate the tech I can afford, as it helps me measure my progress. I take joy in any small victory. I also enjoy the sights. I stop and take pictures, when I remember to. I also joined a cycling club, but cannot participate in many of the rides because they ride much farther, at a faster pace, than I am currently capable of. I look forward to the day I can. The first and foremost ingredient is, of course, to just ride...

I ride to escape the kids, family, work etc. most of the time I record the ride and thats because I like to be able to work out where I went and when.

I say stop at the top of the hill, unclip and enjoy the view.

Lovely piece, but let's not all get carried away. Riding with Garmin, uploading to Strava, even secretly starring in your own romantic movie or enjoying the hyperbole of suffering - all of these are better than NOT riding. And riding by feel, without a care, is not necessarily always better, it's just another way to enjoy the bike. You can have both - we should be wary of disparaging either. If you personally feel to get some 'just ride' miles in, do it. It's not necessary to pronounce one style of riding as good, pure and worthy by denouncing another as naff or embarrassing.

Epic, on the whole, is a particularly poorly used word nowadays. A bit like awesome, it is best saved for irony...

...or the truth that is racyrich's post.
How did the cycling community cope before somebody thought to put a 'feed' after 25miles?

We used to define 'epic' bike days as ones that only had 2 changes of clothes. Pyjamas to bike kit and back again.

My last 2 rides have been on roads I have never rode before. All I have is a small page with a few notes jotted down for direction, stuffed into jersey pocket (so only a little planning required) The latter was the best ride I've ever had. The mileage was long (but that's not the point) and the scenery was immense. Over the toll bridge for free, witnessed the raw beauty of the swollen river beneath, and rode straight under a massive bird of prey, that watched me pass by from it's tree branch perch. Rolling fields under the rays of a rare sunshine. Does this count for 'just a ride'....man I love cycling!

Spent most of last year just relying on the phone to log rides, I do like to keep track of where I have been, I don't really care about how fast or any of that side of things. Just managed to have the phone flat on a few occasions and Amazon flogging Edge 500s for £90 means I now have one on the bike. Still don't really care what it says, but it does mean I can see the time easily.

I have the same train of thought every time I realise I've forgotten my GPS too

Best article in a long time.

I must admit to having been stressed for forgetting to start my garmin before setting off or being fixated watching my heart rate to keep it in zone 3 so much so that I miss the beautiful scenery around me......then I realise i'm being a plank and vow to go back to what I took up cycling for in the first place.

Looking back I recall my disdain at the thought of fitting an avocet, now look at us!

As for sportives, never ridden one, never intend to. If I want to ride an 'epic' ride I'll go and do so without parting with £25.....unless I hit the cake shop hard whilst taking a rest.

I still like to record my miles to see my own improvement.....or decline..... but I think the garmin mount is coming off and the back pocket is calling. Am I going 22 or 23 mph.....why do I care.....is my heart beating.....yes it is.

Good stuff Jo.. did you jus loose a KOM?

What a great perspective on a nice sunny day perhaps that's all we need to clear our heads and get the endorphins moving.

Marvellous, just marvellous. Well written.

Freedom and pleasure.

Yes, there are a lot of 'epic challenges' about, many of which featured on this site, and I completely agree with the sentiment that sometimes it's good to just go out for a ride.That's what most of us do anyway..

I think what you're complaining about is perception, not reality. How cycling is portrayed in the media, and how much promotion these commercial sportive organisers do, to get people signed up, not to mention the charity events which receive huge publicity.

This has resulted in an increase in cycling exposure and popularity. On balance this is a good thing. So what if a middle aged fat guy wants to ride a 60 mile sportive? Good luck to him I say. 60 miles may not be epic to you, but might be to him. (not that I've ever seen a 60 mile event described as 'epic')

'just get out and ride' is a good sentiment. Cycling snobbery is not, however! I hope that's not what this is...

Triathlon/Cycling is the new golf. The middle management 'what's your handicap' bores have morphed into equipment-obsessed, Strava-waving dicks.

I ride for the space it clears in my head.

hear-hear.

[pedant](ps. subs, it's derring do)[/pedant]