It's Official, I've Slowed Down!
 

And loving it. I still keep up with the numbers but I'm completely desensitized to the results. Longer touring has trained me to slow down and absorb the ride.

You?

^ Honestly, that's always been the case for me. I got into cycling FOR the touring ... the other stuff just kind of evolved.

The odd thing is that when I was a teen and young adult, I'd go for long drives in the mountains, taking pix of what I saw. As an old fart, I do the same thing ... just on a bike.

Speaking of which, I'm committing to doing a summer tour this year ... something I can drive to so as to avoid the hassle of the plane flight and shipping the bike. Hmmmm ... Ride the Rockies would be great, but likely full.

I guess that makes three of us. I enjoy doing the speed thing every once in a while but I rather just ride the bike and enjoy the time on the saddle.

well, it's spring. isn't everyone slower in the spring?

I don't have this problem, given I was never faster....

This is starting to hit me now. I'm coming to the point where I don't care if someone passes me up anymore. It would bother me before and then I would try to keep up. But now I will just act my age and do my own thing...

But then again...


:lol::lol::lol:

The older you are the faster you used to be. So, I guess I'm not done yet.

I'm actually picking up speed again. :)

The great thing about cycling is that you can peddle a bit and roll a long distance. You don't even have to rush up a hill.

Even when I got back into cycling at around 45, I was never obsessed with speed. My direction was always to enjoy the ride, and still is.

Sell things along the way?

You've EARNED that! Relish the fact that you did that awesome coast-to-coast last year!!! Me? I'm still the 'Walter Mitty' that wishes he could go on such epic sojourns!

I have never liked racing against other cyclist. However, I do like racing against the clock. Fitness and speed are still cycling goals for me. I'll continue to seek out my personal best. I also enjoy rural splendor and have taken up gravel cycling.

I find myself racing against data on Garmin Connect. I'll also check my results on Strava. I'm trying to be in the top 20% on a few Strava segments on each ride. The bike computer, combined with a heart rate monitor, can be an excellent measure of performance.

Speed and scenic enjoyment are not always perfectly compatible, but I try to enjoy both on most rides.

I'm not as fast as I used to be, but I'm still fighting it -- for at least one more year (again).


In 2011, I was mauled by a chow on a ride. Off the bike for over a year. Then, the comeback!


In 2015, it was a severe shoulder injury (and surgery) and a knee injury (and surgery). Off the bike for several months. Then, the comeback!


Each time, I've felt compelled to TRY to get back to where I was before. 8,000 miles per year. Every day is a scheduled training day. Still doing interval training. Still fighting it. But yes, there's a constant realization that this MIGHT be the last year I work this hard at it. Might be the last year I CAN work this hard at it.


But I've been subject to this compulsion for so long that I'm not sure what life will look like as a non-OCD cyclist. (Is there a 12-step program?)

Gotta join this group. I have been there for years.

That too if you're entrepreneurial. If not, pedaling is still excellent.

Slow ride... take it easy...

Look at it this way. A fast ride just gets you home sooner, and then what do you do.

BTW smart people roll down hill. Obsessed people pedal down hill.

I am embarrassingly slow, but not yet fit, and only been back in the saddle a few months... Last weekend I did and early morning ride starting just after 7.00 am, as I was getting the bike out of the car an even older couple of joggers went past me... the ride is 15 km all up hill rising 581 meters... and steep in places... anyway it was 30 minutes before I passed the couple... then 20 minutes later when I stopped for water they passed me..devils... off I went again and passed them..this continued till I got the the top of the hill and they came in 10 minutes after me... 1 hour 45 minutes in all... my saving grace was that it took me only 31 minutes to get back down...they had to walk it..

So yes I'm in the slow club.. but getting better, the same ride at the beginning of my current quest took me 2 hours 25 minutes up and 37 minutes down.... so unlike you guys I'm getting faster:p

I'm about the same. I haven't raced since I was a midget.

I've never been real fast, but I've gone essentially car-free over the last 2 years. Recently I've joined Strava and have been enjoying some of the challenges.

I've set a few of my PRs at pretty high levels, so they're tough match. And, I had a slow winter this year for a couple of reasons. But I did set a new PR on a hard, but short segment a few days ago, so not all is lost.

Fortunately, in a small city, I can snag a few top 10 and top 20 results.

Hopefully I'll get a faster bike built up this spring. Will that count?

Like many others, I was never fast to begin with thus slowing down has not been an issue. What I did find in the last few years is that I've been watching the odometer more than the world around me.:( So this year in an attempt to negate that temptation, I've removed the bike computers from all 3 of my bikes. Take that OCD!:p

Speed is relative. At 52, my gauge for a "relaxed" pace is the ability to talk more or less naturally, which is around 30kmh. A riding buddy, same age, can do so at 38kmh. So while we can say, "enjoy the ride", we do it at different speeds. Which is perfectly ok.

RtR is full (lottery) but Bike Tour Colorado the following week has plenty of room. If you can find someone to volunteer for a week you can do Tour de Wyoming which is a GREAT value. They need more volunteers so you can still get in if you can do that. It's 350 riders which is a really good size.

I'm going through that right now at age 70. It's been difficult because I was a serious athlete (college football and baseball scholarship athlete) and have a spent a lifetime being trained to be "competitive." But, this year I think I've finally gotten over it. Way too long in coming.

Have you ever done Bike Tour Colorado? I would be inclined to do that sleeping in the gymnasiums and eating in the towns along the way (instead of the pre-paid meals), but I have no idea how many people they usually attract. A large number could easily overwhelm any cafes along the route.