Originally Posted by
martianone
From the various comments,
sounds like my 16 km commute does not qualify as a serious ride ?
propose a new definition- to be serious, your bike has to cost more
than your cell phone and bike only be used for recreational functions.
Here's my take on "serious", I could actually care less about "serious" labels, but if we're going to discuss them, let's discuss:
Self-proclaimed serious cyclist here (road, gravel, mtb, and commuting), and there are ways to be "serious" (sometimes called "avid") without performing looong rides, though I do those too. I have family in the hills east of St Albans, VT, and often ride there when visiting, and it's my opinion that anyone (like you) riding/commuting 20 mi/day in northern VT is likely a serious cyclist, the weather and hills dictate that. BTW: if you can make it up Rt 36 into the hills of Fairfield from St Albans (11% grade for 1 mile), that feat alone will mark you as a serious cyclist, in my book. But, if you are only commuting 20 miles R/T, once a month, only on flat ground, only in fair weather, at a leisurely pace, and don't do much else on the bike, then you are definitely a cyclist, but you'll need to do more to achieve "serious" status.
Serious/avid to me is a moniker based on any number of factors: number of rides/miles per week/year, length of rides, avg speed, power FTP, W/kg, ability to maintain your own bikes, amount of climbing per segment/ride/week/year, learning and following proper riding etiquette, and the extreme weather you intentionally "choose" to withstand (sorry, being caught in a hail storm by "accident" doesn't count). Being extreme in ANY single category can be enough to label you as serious, even if you are completely lax in all other categories. For example, simply commuting 4k-5k miles in a year labels someone as serious in my book even if no ride/commute is longer than 10 miles, and it's all on flat ground, at a leisurely pace. Whereas riding 10mi once a year in a hail storm does not qualify. You can also be serious if you are moderate in most categories, but extreme in none.
Bike worth more than my cell phone?...Heck, my bike Friday (new) is worth more than the 10 yr old German engineered car currently beneath it, and when I have 2 bikes on the roof, my cars value is tripled! IMHO, the amount you spend on cycling gear is not a factor of being labeled a serious cyclist, but it is a factor of being labeled a serious spender. I'm guilty on both charges.