79pmooney

I was a bench warmer in all the sports I had to do in my school days except mediocre in cross-country and 2nd string hockey goalie that played every time #1 got hurt. Summer after college, the president of the Quebec Cyclotourist Club in Montreal told me I was a hill climber and that I should show everybody what I could do on the hill the next day. I put the bike in the gear he told me and put minutes on everyone.

Still a hill climber but now a 70 yo who knows he has to focus on walking or risk injuries as I age. But walking up a 150' vertical in 3 blocks with a 25 pound pack? Fun!

Smaug1

You look like a fun dude who doesn't take himself too seriously, and I love the bike and bike set-up. (except that horrible-nasty handlebar-mounted water bottle!)
I'm too young yet, but it makes me want some more funky socks. (I'm wearing my Art Institute of Chicago black dress socks today, with the green lions)

bruce19

Just got off the phone with him. He and another cycling buddy are coming over this weekend for one of our bourbon nights.

Shortwave

That's awesome! Grab some stickers for me!!! (If he has any).
In all seriousness, I really enjoy his podcast, as well as The Bicycle Karma Podcast. Both are great for the bike culture.

rosefarts

In my racing days, I was a climber and a time trialer. I could out sprint the actually good climbers if they were all that was left at the finish line. I was especially good at gravel before gravel. Things like road races around Boulder county that just happened to have significant dirt roads (given names like Koppenberg and Roubaix of course).

Lately I ride my mountain bike a lot more than the road bike with the gravel in second place.

I haven’t raced seriously in almost 20 years.

I sort of consider myself a roadie because of my history but I’m hardly a roadie anymore.

How about team mechanic for myself, wife, and kids?

bruce19

Stickers? I don't know what they are. If he has them I'll mail some to you.

Smaug1

Have you tried a modern endurance road bike? On the 32 mm tires, they are almost as plush as a gravel bike with narrower (38 or 40 mm) tires. And a LOT more efficient over 15 mph than a gravel bike.

bruce19

Does a cross bike interest you?

rosefarts

The thread is about what you consider yourself. Due to my fairly long history as a roadie, I still think of myself as a roadie.

I barely ever ride a road bike anymore. I ride a gravel bike and mountain bike. I ride them in their appropriate environment. Gravel and single track.

Distracted drivers, relocation to a more off road city, and having fun changing things up are the reasons I do more of these types of things. I never said anything about comfort.

So yeah, I’ll call myself a roadie and won’t ride my road bike more than a few times this summer.

Eric F 

I've always been a believer that pretty much any racer doing mass start events should put in work on their sprint, exactly for that reason.

Have you considered doing gravel races? I'm 20 years past my road racing days, and have a history with MTB and CX racing, as well. I've found that gravel races tap into all of those parts of my racing history, and the skills that go with it. The endurance component of gravel racing, however, is a new game for me. I'm really enjoying it.

georges1

Used to race from age 16 to19 before left knee accident, was more a climber than a sprinter . I did three times local MTB trail races back in 2016/2017/2018 and was among the 10 first. Now I enjoy riding the MTBs , the roadies and the hybrid for the pleasures of riding on long distances and seeing landscapes and new towns. But most of the time , I chose to ride the hybrid or the MTBs, the road bikes are only used when the weather is nice and when I know that the roads I am taking have bike lanes.

Ramshackle

A proud recreational cyclist who has no interest in racing or other bike sports. I'm a solitary cyclist who rides for exercise and for a kind of meditation. I don't do group rides since I don't want the pressure "to catch up." Plus, I like to choose my routes depending on my mood. I also like to cycle at my own pace, sometimes fast and sometimes slow. Guess that makes me an antisocial cyclist.

rosefarts

I’ve done a few. My all time favorite is “The Crippler”. I can’t really be competitive anymore but it really is fun to mix it up for a while before getting dropped.

I did a local gravel race that was part of a larger series last year, just did a shorter (70mile) version and not the stage race. It was fun for 40 miles. After that, it became really apparent that I simply don’t have the time anymore to have the sort of fitness necessary to do events like that. I might have been somewhere in the middle of the finishers but I felt like I barely survived.

I can more than hang with the other dad’s I mountain bike with. I’m solid for a couple hours on the road or gravel bike, and right now, that’s all I can really manage. Right now, I’m more content to suffer alone at my own pace than enter an event just to get smoked.

downtube42

Soloist

I aspire to enjoy riding with other people, but rarely does it work out that way.
​​​​

Kapusta

Advanced Slacker.

PaulH

Father Brown.

JonSirrusx4.0

Lycra clad, flat bar gravelish, non-conformist

rsbob 

now the bar has been raised!

Eric F 

I had to learn how to stop trying to compete or compare myself to a level that was unrealistic for me At this point, for me, gravel races are abut doing the best I can, with the fitness I have, on that day. I'm okay with that. I enjoy the event. I enjoy the post-finish banter where we all talk about our ride - the good, the bad, and the ugly - and no one gives a damn who finished before who. If that minute doesn't work for you, no worries.

cyclezen

Love this Thread ! Starting 'Liking' a bunch of posts, until I realized I like all of them ! LOL !
Cyclist ID? Depends which me, over any period of time...
I have been a 'roadie' for all of my cycling lifetime, but also expanding a bit to most other types, but no BMX - not a thing when I was young enough to appreciate or be 'it'.
my son was a BMX'r and succeeded in doing a serious spiral fracture... (takes after dad...) now he's a serious mtb'r and teaches dad how to do spectacular Endo's.... LOL!
I guess I'm a roadie, with leanings...
But if Cycling was a dancer, say Ginger Rogers, I'd be Fred Astaire
and if Juliet, I would be Romeo
or simply, the Boy with The Red Balloon.
Ride On
always
Yuri
cycling is poetry - and we each get to write and experience our own

jadmt

Me, i identify as the town drunk who still doesn’t know what a watt is

Gleis

I love that your friend's insight helped you recognize your strengths and preferences in cycling! It's great when someone else can provide a perspective that helps us better understand ourselves.. But I don't really know how I am, I do my best

jack1111

It sounds like you’ve found your niche in cycling! Embracing your strengths as a lead-out man and time trialist is great. Keep enjoying those aspects of the sport you love!

bald1der

Slow Rider. 10-12 miles a day, 4-5 days a week, average 10 miles an hour. In no hurry and no particular place to go.

andydallas

Last year i was finishing up my ride at White Rock Lake in Dallas, a couple of miles from the end there was a young guy on a beautiful (I think S-Works) bike, pro kit, and MASSIVE TT HELMET. (everything looked brand new) He was off the bike taking selfies,,,,I wanted to bad to see this guy ride and see if he was a really strong rider, or someone that had just opened his credit card up at the bike store,,,,but I didn't wait,,,to this day I wonder what kid of rider he was,,,for me, I'm an old guy, trying to get some decent speed and increasing distance,,,,I'll never be fast or good, but I enjoy it as much as anyone