I’ve run into quite a few enthusiastic “beginner” cyclists the last few years that never rode earlier in life & now they are obsessed.
And that’s great. But a few of them get a sort of “sop****re jinx” where the good things they did at first that moved them into the fold are now insufficient & they are actually being surpassed by others who appear less competitive than them but are actually more cagey, more skilled and with a much more resourceful depth of knowledge of the sport.
(edit ... the sop****re word triggered a filter...)