View Poll Results: How did covid impact your riding?
Very little. Less than 500 miles different
27
28.13%
Increased by 500-1000 miles
15
15.63%
Increased by 1000-2000 miles
17
17.71%
Increased by more than 2000 miles
22
22.92%
Decreased by 500-1000 miles
6
6.25%
Decreased by 1000-2000 miles
3
3.13%
Decreased by more than 2000 miles
4
4.17%
Changed a lot but not due to Covid
2
2.08%
Voters: 96. You may not vote on this poll
How much did Covid impact your riding in 2020?
#26
I'm good to go!
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Very little impact as other than a few organized rides, I typically only ride solo or with my son. Our big organized ride was postponed from May to October, but I did participate. The other ride I normally do was canceled entirely as were other rides I'd wanted to try prior to COVID being a thing.
There were of course the opportunities to ride routes that I might normally have avoided since for a while motor vehicles where off the road. And the MUP was so ridiculously crowded every one of those initial days that I avoided it entirely for almost two months. (dog walkers being an entire comedy themselves, but that's another story to long for here) But once the initial stay-at-homes were over, things got back to normal quick, though my nearby riding trail stays more crowded on weekends and I ride the state roads and Natchez Trace more than previous years.
Incidents with newbs on the MUP doing stupid stuff increased. Loitering and browsing at the bikes shops decreased. Put off longer the desire to join in on the regular group rides some of the shops still have going.
The impact was more on other parts of life than cycling. Big one for me was fully retiring so I wouldn't bring something home to my wife that had chemo for cancer a year or so before the beginning of COVID. She works from home for her company and has been for over ten years. And that was a good strategy for us till I messed up and am now in day 6 of my quarantine.
There were of course the opportunities to ride routes that I might normally have avoided since for a while motor vehicles where off the road. And the MUP was so ridiculously crowded every one of those initial days that I avoided it entirely for almost two months. (dog walkers being an entire comedy themselves, but that's another story to long for here) But once the initial stay-at-homes were over, things got back to normal quick, though my nearby riding trail stays more crowded on weekends and I ride the state roads and Natchez Trace more than previous years.
Incidents with newbs on the MUP doing stupid stuff increased. Loitering and browsing at the bikes shops decreased. Put off longer the desire to join in on the regular group rides some of the shops still have going.
The impact was more on other parts of life than cycling. Big one for me was fully retiring so I wouldn't bring something home to my wife that had chemo for cancer a year or so before the beginning of COVID. She works from home for her company and has been for over ten years. And that was a good strategy for us till I messed up and am now in day 6 of my quarantine.
Last edited by Iride01; 01-03-21 at 01:21 PM.
#27
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With the COVID disruption, I added five miles a day to my rides. Not much longer on a daily basis, but five miles a day over most of the year adds up.
#28
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I canceled my gym membership in March (just before they shut them all down here) so ended up riding just about every day. Plus, during the summer I decided to increase my normal ride length so ended up with almost 3000 more miles than last year. Started this year with another distance increase and hoping to increase it another 2000+ miles in 2021.
#29
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My total mileage is down slightly, but hours ridden is greater than past years. This is probably due to the fact that I'm mountain biking 4-5 days a week, and road biking 2-3 days a week. In the past, all my miles were on the road.
#30
Sunshine
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#31
Not actually Tmonk
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Not sure, I'd say probably slightly more, but certainly less hammering due to the lack of racing. This includes routine Tuesday Night ATRA racing at the San Diego Veldorome.
I picked up a smart trainer (Saris H3) in Feb. and I've been about 1/3 - 1/2 indoors since then. It's not as good as riding outside but it isn't that bad, and is worlds better than the old days of wheel-on "dumb" trainers.
I picked up a smart trainer (Saris H3) in Feb. and I've been about 1/3 - 1/2 indoors since then. It's not as good as riding outside but it isn't that bad, and is worlds better than the old days of wheel-on "dumb" trainers.
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#32
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I logged more miles this year. I am semi retired but still work, just less hours with a bit more cycling. We missed Eroica California and there is a good chance we could miss it again this year. COVID has altered my routes by taking me off bike paths and keeping me on the side of the roads. I see some riding in groups and my personal feeling is that we should be more responsible. I know we all must make sacrifices to do the right thing. I lost approximately 30% of my income but I am in a position to survive ok. I felt the time was right to cut back on work and not let anyone in my shop . I work alone and lock my door. I take the same approach when cycling with my ten meter rule. I have had relatives and close friends catch this virus , some spending time in the hospital for extended stays. With the vaccine there is hope so hopefully we can all get back to some form of normal in the future. I think it is important to exercise and stay fit , just be smart and responsible.
#33
Arizona Dessert
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First year in over 20 I rode less than 5k miles( (~4900), In past years I put in 8-10k miles.
Two main reasons:
1. No commute which was over 4.5k each year. I rode these as hard workouts.
2. No group rides which were always longer than my solo rides. I get bored riding over 40mi alone.
Two main reasons:
1. No commute which was over 4.5k each year. I rode these as hard workouts.
2. No group rides which were always longer than my solo rides. I get bored riding over 40mi alone.
#34
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My riding went up this year, but only partly due to Covid. I normally ride to work, which gives me about 200 km per week without doing any other rides. For most of 2020 I was working from home, which freed me to do group rides in the morning, and then work in the afternoon. I probably got in 350 of riding with various group rides during the week, and then there'd be bigger rides on the weekend. It was the big weekend rides that I was lacking the previous years, and that meant anywhere from an extra 150-300 km more.
Previous high was around 10,000 km. In 2020 I got over 19,000 km.
Previous high was around 10,000 km. In 2020 I got over 19,000 km.
#35
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Total miles were down a little from 2019, but that wasn’t the major effect. One, I usually get most of my rides (but not miles) from commuting. And I get most of my focus from racing. So neither of those things happened this year.
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#37
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Numbers aside, COVID has impacted me in the way I ride.I no longer ride with my club or in groups of more that 3 or 4. In fact, almost every time I rode this past year it was with my gf or solo. And, honestly, I've enjoyed riding much more.
#38
Senior Member
Due to daycare being closed I didn't get on the bike until August. I just didn't have any spare time to ride between work and child care. Once daycare reopened it was still less than I wanted because then I was playing catchup at work.
#39
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I left my place of employment due to the pandemic and had much more time to ride. Five times a week I would drive out to the country and ride for 2 1/2 hours. It was a good summer and autumn.
#40
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I barely ride because of COVID giving me Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, although in 2020 I was hoping to hit the three highest paved peaks on a 300 mile loop starting and ending at my front door.
Muscles contraction are powered by the energy released when adenosine triphosphate loses a phosphate. 36 ATP molecules can be produced from one glucose molecule through aerobic glycolysis in the mitochondria, or 2 in the cellular cytoplasm. CFS causes aerobic glycolysis to fail leaving you with just anaerobic, which radically reduces power output and means even the easiest rides lead to chronic over training. The Stanford CFS clinic thinks it's because the mitochondrial membrane becomes porous and unable to maintain the gradients needed to move molecules across it.
Officially I'm supposed to keep my heart rate below 120 bpm, although exceeding my new aerobic threshold of 70 Watts at 110 bpm or riding more than 30 minutes is all it takes to trigger Post Exertional Malaise where the symptoms worsen for days, weeks, months, or more.
Over doing it may have caused a permanent reduction in what I can do - I still haven't recovered from a June 20th, 2020 two hour ride at 140 bpm which was my aerobic threshold.
I also had left side chest pain with a heart rate of 180-200 while my pulse was just 110-140 which the ER cardiologist thought could be viral myocarditis, although that resolved.
Muscles contraction are powered by the energy released when adenosine triphosphate loses a phosphate. 36 ATP molecules can be produced from one glucose molecule through aerobic glycolysis in the mitochondria, or 2 in the cellular cytoplasm. CFS causes aerobic glycolysis to fail leaving you with just anaerobic, which radically reduces power output and means even the easiest rides lead to chronic over training. The Stanford CFS clinic thinks it's because the mitochondrial membrane becomes porous and unable to maintain the gradients needed to move molecules across it.
Officially I'm supposed to keep my heart rate below 120 bpm, although exceeding my new aerobic threshold of 70 Watts at 110 bpm or riding more than 30 minutes is all it takes to trigger Post Exertional Malaise where the symptoms worsen for days, weeks, months, or more.
Over doing it may have caused a permanent reduction in what I can do - I still haven't recovered from a June 20th, 2020 two hour ride at 140 bpm which was my aerobic threshold.
I also had left side chest pain with a heart rate of 180-200 while my pulse was just 110-140 which the ER cardiologist thought could be viral myocarditis, although that resolved.
Last edited by Drew Eckhardt; 01-15-21 at 09:10 AM.
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#41
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I hadn't ridden much for the previous 2-3 years. I picked up a smart trainer and have been riding regularly on it since late June. So, I went from 0 in 2019 to ~3600 in 2020. I rode outside 3 times, 1x on the MTB and 2x on the road bike.
And went from ~220 lbs at the beginning of 2020 to ~135 lbs by the end.
And went from ~220 lbs at the beginning of 2020 to ~135 lbs by the end.
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#42
well hello there
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Cycling a bit less, because working twice as hard for half as much.
Plus, a bunch of friends in my gang are cycling more. So they're getting faster and fitter, while I'm getting fatter and slower.
It's a vicious cycle.
Plus, a bunch of friends in my gang are cycling more. So they're getting faster and fitter, while I'm getting fatter and slower.
It's a vicious cycle.
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#43
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I stopped commuting, but started longer casual and exercise rides and actually got more use of my bike so definitely impacted my cycling positively.
#44
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The biggest change I perceived was that because the gyms were closed, there were a lot more sketchy novice riders (and their even sketchier kiddos) out there on the multi use paths (MUP) that I prefer to ride on than rather than the roads. So because of that, I tended to ride MUP routes that were more hilly, as to keep the riff-raff away (no offense to novice riff-raff, since we were all novice riff-raff once).
#45
Me duelen las nalgas
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Pretty much the same mileage: 5,800 miles, I was aiming for 6,000.
More hours, because I added walking and jogging later in 2020. I already have more hours walking and jogging by mid-January 2021 than I had in all of 2020. And only two road rides this year.
Lots more solo rides in 2020. Zero fast club rides after February 2020 when the Super Cooties Apocalypse seemed imminent in Texas. The fast clubs continued riding as usual, but at age 63 I can't afford to take chances. Those guys and gals are all at least 20 years younger.
Only three or four casual group rides in summer with reduced risk of swapping airborne spit and snot. And I wore a surgical mask on most of those, not a problem with zone 1/2 rides. Never wore a mask on solo rides since I might see one person in 20-40 miles where I ride.
And I did more walking and jogging by autumn, 3-5 miles a few times a week, so my overall hours increased, although foot-oriented exercise doesn't add much mileage.
More hours, because I added walking and jogging later in 2020. I already have more hours walking and jogging by mid-January 2021 than I had in all of 2020. And only two road rides this year.
Lots more solo rides in 2020. Zero fast club rides after February 2020 when the Super Cooties Apocalypse seemed imminent in Texas. The fast clubs continued riding as usual, but at age 63 I can't afford to take chances. Those guys and gals are all at least 20 years younger.
Only three or four casual group rides in summer with reduced risk of swapping airborne spit and snot. And I wore a surgical mask on most of those, not a problem with zone 1/2 rides. Never wore a mask on solo rides since I might see one person in 20-40 miles where I ride.
And I did more walking and jogging by autumn, 3-5 miles a few times a week, so my overall hours increased, although foot-oriented exercise doesn't add much mileage.
#46
I eat carbide.
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Very little change at the annual level but on a month by month is has changed it drastically. I spent half the year working 12-15 hour days fixing every bike brought in. Then I started riding as much as possible and loved it. Then my wife - a nurse in an immediate care - ended up bringing covid home in november. We were hit hard and I haven't been on a bike since.
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#47
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Covid had a big impact. First of all, the obvious- no group rides, no racing, so my motivation for rides longer than 2 hours dwindles without the social aspect.
Second of all, the fact that I actually got Covid and then developed a blood clot in a leg as a result (started a thread about this a couple months ago). I'm still on blood thinners, and on my doctor's recommendation I've had to avoid any outdoor riding because of the risk of bleeding out if I were to fall or get hit by a car. All of my riding since mid-October has been on the trainer, and will remain so until maybe March. I still managed 290 hours on the bike in 2020, but that was almost 100 hours down on 2019, most of that due to Covid.
Second of all, the fact that I actually got Covid and then developed a blood clot in a leg as a result (started a thread about this a couple months ago). I'm still on blood thinners, and on my doctor's recommendation I've had to avoid any outdoor riding because of the risk of bleeding out if I were to fall or get hit by a car. All of my riding since mid-October has been on the trainer, and will remain so until maybe March. I still managed 290 hours on the bike in 2020, but that was almost 100 hours down on 2019, most of that due to Covid.
#48
Senior Member
I usually ride alone, by choice. I'm too fast for the slowest group of my club and not fast enough for the 2nd slowest.
I think it was safer, though, because of less traffic.
I think it was safer, though, because of less traffic.