Rowan

Maybe I am odd, but the metric that works for me the most is called FUN.

hhnngg1

I used to think FUN would be the main reason for my riding, but now that I'm training (not just riding) seriously, I don't think I'd list fun as the foremost reason I train. It's probably in the top 5 reason why I train (I'm not even exactly sure what the exact top 5 would be), but I know for sure that I'll train through days when I'm beat down, indoors, tired both mentally and physically, when it's anything but fun, and in fact, is one of the least favorite things I want to do that day - but I'll still do it I'm training for a race and it's on the plan.

If I were retired and had all the time in the world to train I think it would be more fun, but maintaining my fitness while holding down a full time job and family means a lot of 5AM trainer sessions in the garage - hard ones, too.

Rowan

The question this raises is: What happens when you have achieved all you can with your traiing?

I suppose your post reflects, to me, one of the issues for many riders. That riding has become like a job because of the training required. Even though the KPIs are self-set, they smack so much of the job.

Then it becomes a matter of what happens when the job is done, and "retirement" from this target-oriented mindset looms. Are you, for instance, hhnngg1, going to become a leisure or utility cyclist? Or are you likely to drop cycling altogether for the sake of another pursuit that has its challenges?

Gluteus

The thing is.....training to achieve a level that allows you to participate in fast group rides or races, allows you to have way more fun.

Gluteus

Then you strive to keep it (but there is almost always, room for improvement).

Machka 

Sure ... for people who want to participate in fast group rides or races.

But for those of us who prefer to ride solo or in very small groups, and not competitively ... there's no point to killing yourself training.

After all, we are in the Road (recreational) Forum here. Not the Racing Forum.

I did the training and racing thing back in the day. But I moved on from that. Now I prefer to relax and enjoy the scenery when I ride. Much more important to me than a tool that tells me how well I'm riding and whether I'm improving, is my camera with which I can attempt to capture the beautiful views I see.

RJM

I disagree. I guess it is "way more fun" if that is what you are into...but there are other aspects of road cycling that are far more appealing to me.

DaveWC

It's just a matter of having different goals. For me cycling fills my goals of getting into shape, losing weight, keeping it off, being active, spending some time outside, visiting friends & relatives and competition. I don't see a time when I won't want to achieve or maintain those goals so I don't see retirement as an outcome. I've done the leisure bike rides with my wife and I don't enjoy riding at that pace with no goal. My butt hurts more and the bike becomes a chore. It just isn't any fun if I'm not pushing myself.

surgeonstone

For you perhaps. For me the real fun is the solitude and quiet of a solo ride. Frankly I can't stand riding in groups. Then again my day is filled with people encounters, which I love, but when I get to be on the bike it is the quiet I seek.
Aside from all that I can tell how hard I am working without data sheets of facts and figures.
It's really quite simple, when I have thighs screaming stop and when I just can't go on then I stop.
The real question is why do I subject myself to self induced pain for rides that are solo and will never end in a race? The answer - I love the speed and this speed is more enjoyably imparted by trees and fields of crops slipping by in the golden light of an evenings ride. Whether it is 1 or 2 mph faster than yesterday is irrelevant and counter productive, joy stealing rather than joy giving.

Campag4life

I am kinda with ya on this one ss. I let my body tell me what is going on and don't really want the feedback of the machine. I do like the idea of riding with a Power meter...but believe I would just like to rent one briefly to see what my nos. are. I have a pretty good idea wht they are without one however...sadly much too average.

This begs the question...what is fun exactly? Do we as human's have more fun with more information? I don't think so. Takes some of the romance out of it..if not mystery. I am a tech guy...build my own computers, bikes etc. So I get the tech. But...I really don't think fun is about knowing all the stat's. I believe fun is partly about mystery and maybe even self deception about how fast we are. I like having a simple computer on my bike for distance and speed. So I like some feedback. One of my riding buddy gives us updates on his Garmin...when I care to listen.

But speaking of Garmin's...I will tell you what I think is one of the greatest inventions ever conceived. A Garmin for an automobile. I received one as a present and this thing is just awesome. Love it.

surgeonstone

Yeah Garmins are well made. I just got a Ford Fusion Hybrid with a built in Garmin-awesome.

Dudelsack 

Some are born slackers. Some are made slackers. And some have slackerdom thrust upon them.

I'm all three. Slow, lazy and undisciplined.

I still like my Garmin. I'm too lazy to work spreadsheets and journals, so I upload to Strava.

It is said that pride goes before the fall. If so I will never fall, because I'm consistently at the bottom of Strava segments.

Sadly, if I ride without the Garmin, I get the nagging feeling that the ride doesn't count. That is called la maladie du petit Garmin.

surgeonstone

Actually this is a frequently misquoted Proverb. It goes " Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall"
The other frequently misquoted scripture is " Money is the root of all evil" The actual verse is " The love of money is the root of all evil" Very different meaning.
Now I'll stop being a smartass. There is after all, that other frequently and accurately quoted verse " The pathway to hell is paved with smartasses"

Dudelsack 

I actually knew that but assumed most wouldn't notice the difference. God helps those who help themselves (2Jude 3:16).

Looigi

Not exactly true. The original weren't spoken/written in English. You're merely quoting somebody else's translation/interpretation.

surgeonstone

Okay so you 1 upped me on the smartass factor. Quite correct, a revision of the King James bible.

Dudelsack 

Well if we're going to be sticklers about it: I wasn't quoting the Bible. I was careful to say "it is said", which is completely accurate.

I know the exact quote in Hebrew, but I haven't installed the alphabet on my iPad yet. In fact, I read all literature in antiquity in the original language. Learning the Sumerian language was a bear.

Bacciagalupe

If you like riding without using devices to keep track of things, go for it.

From what I can tell, a lot of runners are moving away from using devices. They may not know precisely what HR zone they're in, but can estimate effort levels well enough to do intervals as needed.

RiPHRaPH

I'm sure you are odd, just not for this reason.... seriously, outside of work or a sponsorship, who would knowingly do something that wasn't fun? I guess that since I have fun each and every time out, I don't think it is important to mention... like breathing....

RiPHRaPH

I know I need to be more specific when posting. All other things like fun, challenge, camaraderie, fitness are already implied. I was only answering the person who says that he was so into his milage that he would circle the block to get an even 50 miles for example... I was trying to be funny and say that without a Garmin he would still be the guy who would go around the block to get an even 3 hours...

Fitness is measured in time, not miles anyway. Surely a LSD cyclist like yourself would see that...

Rowan

Yeah, but, there already is one poster who puts the fun factor down several notches.

There is a tendency for people to become slaves to technology. In a way, there is a need to go out and ride to achieve the figures, which become all-important, not the ride itself.

And exhibit the rider who, when asked "did you see that couple copulating on the roadside", says no, because he had his head down reading the second-by-second change in his Garmin's numbers.

Oh, and the guy who says that last 10 miles dragged... well, doh! If you keep watching the computer tick over, of course it's going to drag*!


* Yes, guilty of both scenarios, but only with an ordinary little ol' bike computer on randonnees and training rides I didn't really want to be on.

Machka 

I'm not a LSD cyclist, and the only time I really pay attention to time is when I'm trying to get in before a control closes on a randonnee. Otherwise I ride to see a particular area, to get in a bit of exercise that day, and for distance.

On our 70.62 km ride yesterday, I was most interested in the route (scenic with a lot of variety) and secondarily interested in the distance. As for the time ... I've no idea how long it took us.

surgeonstone

You're kidding right?

hhnngg1

I definitely have hit all my PRs at some point in my life already, and I'm not even middle-aged yet. I was never ever close to a stud national-level or elite athlete, and never will be, although I've definitely trained hard enough to know pretty much where my theoretical limits lie. (In my life as a marathon runner, I've RUN 80+miles per week for a year, and well over 70 for several years before that, and have run up to 120 miles per week in running, so I know that I'm not going to get much better from what my PRs are.)

My training is more often than not, NOT fun.

Reasons for this:
- The timing sucks. I do most of my cycling in my garage, at 5AM in the morning, since there's no other time to ride. Even though I live in cycling heaven (Norcal.)

- It's near-agony most of the time I do it. I do most of that indoor training on TrainerRoad with a powermeter, so there's no real slacking off or 'smelling the roses.' My performance on the benchmark races I do (in cycling, mainly TT and triathlon on the bike) matters to me a lot more than to fun just going on a ride.

- Every second I spend training, even the time in the early AM, is time taken away from my family to do it. THe early AM stuff is ok, but does take a small toll on your energy reserve during the day and also means you're not going out to late dinners or events with the spouse. And on the weekend, you also can't just socialize and kick back, when you know you've got a 4 hr workout on Sat and a 3hr workout on Sunday more often than not.

But the reasons I do it, day in, day out, and have been for 20 years now, and which count more than fun for me:

- Being in excellent shape. This alone is worth the suffering and lack of fun. I do not have enough time now to just enjoy cruising around on a bike. Maybe in retirement I will, but right now, with a small kid, and a wife who works more than I do, I gotta make every second of workouts count.

- Mental discipline. THis is as important to me as the in-shape component. I know somebody's going to say that I should get my mental discipline from a hard job, etc., and I can assure you that my job is plenty hard, and was extremely difficult to even get in the first place. While there's no shortage of mental discipline required of me at work, it's a different type of mental discipline that allows you to put mind over BODY and that's something I don't get in work or other activities.

- The rare day where everything works out and I can actually use the hard work I've built up - yes I love those days, such as when I can get out on that group ride and hammer it with the pack, or on race day, when I know I've put in the hours and hours of training, and I better upon my own results.


I'm totally ok with most people's admittedly far more 'normal' attitude of riding because it's fun, and not doing it if it's not fun. It's just not the reason that I ride (or workout in general.)

Dudelsack 

Yeah. Sumerian wasn't really that difficult to learn.