indyfabz

Oh boy. Used to be that if you started a thread about him in the Clyde forum it would result in an automatic lock. I was disappointed that the NYT fell for that farce.

BTW...From what he himself has posted on line, it appears he has now lost all of his teeth.

shelbyfv

Karma bites. And how appropriate to be mentioned in this thread.

genejockey 

You can "Keep up with" the Spectrum Ride, but for how long? Last I heard, about 6 miles of what Strava says is a 52 mile ride. That's pretty good, but you're not as fast as that ride, till you've done it from one end to the other.

Years ago, I was riding with PenVelo. I rode Saturdays and Sundays, but with the recreational group led by the Simonetti brothers, not the racer group. Eventually, I got fit enough that I tried riding with the racers instead of Carlo and Luca. I was doing really well, I thought, keeping up with them all the way from Canada through Woodside and Portola Valley, and everything was going great till we started up the climb on Page Mill East of 280. Halfway up, I completely blew up. They dropped me like I was standing still. So, I'd kept up with them by running MUCH closer to the ragged edge of my fitness than they were. I kept up with them for half the ride, and the *POOF!* Done.

Last night I blew past two pretty fit looking women, on Mountain Home. Dropped them like they were standing still. Am I faster than them? Probably not. They were chatting and having a nice easy ride, while I was on what passes for a hammerfest for me. So, I never assume that anyone I pass is going as hard as I am.

seypat

The 2 aren't really that similar activities. If you wnated to compare cycling with running, you would need to put the cyclists on single speeds with identical gearing. That would be a better comparison. It's depends on what genetics your ancestors passed on to you. Even within a particulur sport/endeavor, there will be big differences. Sprinters gonna sprint and distance people are going to go long. There's not much you can do about it, either.

Eric F 

I wasn't one of the slowest runners, but definitely slower than average, even when I worked at running. The mechanical advantage of a bicycle allows my body to work in more optimal conditions for how its built. For me, that tends to be a slightly larger gear than many other riders. When I was racing, there were sprinters who were best with short and explosive efforts at a high cadence. I could not compete with those guys if I waited for a late jump like they did. I was much better making my move earlier, and winding up a big gear.

terrymorse 

I was a middle of the pack runner in high school. Never fast enough to win, but fit enough to hang on and watch the winners cross the tape in the distance. My useless talent was being able to beat anyone in a 20-yard dash (being skinny helped). My other useless talent was the ability to put out a 6-minute mile pace indefinitely (though anything faster was out of reach).

Fast forward 25 years, when I picked up cycling. Uninspiring top end power, unable to stay with the "big dogs" on short efforts, but a pretty decent all-day power-to-weight ratio. I would watch "big dogs" ride away at the bottom of climbs, but I could usually catch and drop them if the climb was long enough. So my "almost useless cycling talent" was tempo climbing for hours. Good for hilly centuries and the Everest Challenge race, not so good for shorter hill climbs.

So it seems my running and cycling abilities are similar: decent all-day tempo, but not much else.

genejockey 

I was a sprinter in high school, and I think that's where I'm best on the bike, but since I don't race (outside of Zwift, and not that much there), it's not that useful. As a sprinter I was good for 3rd or 4th in most of our meets in the 100, 220, and 440, but that was in a conference of 10 small, largely rural schools, so it wasn't like I was up against much competition.

The thing about being a sprinter, though, is that instead of developing those light, stringy legs that can climb fast, I get the big, beefy legs that can sprint, but weigh me down on the climbs.

LarrySellerz

Regardless of how fast I am on a bike compared to the really fast people, I contend that I am "above average" while literally sluggishly slow compared to the kids who self selected to join the soccer, hockey, or tennis teams. Like bottom 1/4 of the group. The idea of competing in a track event is preposterous to me (I think I would get destroyed no matter how much I trained) and the same cannot be said for a cycling race. Also Gene when you saw me chasing spectrum I had excuses (old downtube shifters, gears skipping, tennis shoes)

Black wallnut 

My freshman year in HS I ran a 4:53 mile. My Junior year took second in District JV with a 4:36 mile. Best half IIRC was 2:13. IN CC senior year was 3rd to 5th man on team depending on the race. Then a bunch of years and weight later I became a cyclist. Not fast. Have a few local Strava KOM's flatish several miles long. I have done flat double centuries when other cyclists in better physical condition could not. I tried racing road, had a dnf and think I took last. Raced CX for several seasons, mixed results but usually about midpack. Mostly on the lead lap. Was top ten in MFG Clydesdales series season standing in one of the first seasons with that cat.

Current world road and CX champion is also a very fast runner. Sprinters are not generally runners in that they don't normally train with distance, speed and endurance are often an either or.

OP unless you have raced in both you don't know how good you are at either.

genejockey 

Hey, I didn't even mention that! But, you know, trying to catch a fast rolling peloton from a standing start is one of the hardest things in cycling. IIRC, the tail end was already 100 yards down the road before you were even turned around had chasing them. It's no wonder you didn't catch them. But kudos for turning around and letting them catch you!

mschwett 

i think that’s a more concise way to describe my “abilities” as well.

smoked at the bottom 1/3 of a hill, catch up and pass a while later, still riding pretty fast after the big dogs are having a beer.

GhostRider62

Speed on a bike on the flat is less related to weight and more to W/m^3 and the way mass scales, TT specialists will tend to be larger riders (large not fat, Larry)

RChung

The relationship between running and cycling for those who do both sports is reasonably high though not perfect. Here is a plot of speeds for individuals racing in a 3k/55k/15k run/bike/run duathlon. The linear correlation between the run and bike splits is about 0.77, which ain't bad considering the correlation between the two run splits is 0.88.

Eric F 

Evenepol is an interesting exception.

GhostRider62

There are always exceptions but I could be wrong

VegasJen

I used to think I was pretty strong on the bike until I started participating (not competing) in triathlon. That put me in my place very fast. I'm an "age grouper", and I do OK, but I'm always middle of the pack on the bike. But I lose *all* my time in the run. Especially after a swim and ride, I'm lucky to maintain a 15 minute/mile pace. The last few triathlons I did, I stayed competitive in the swim and the bike but gave up huge ground in the run. I used to be faster. Back in my military days, I was a 6:20/mile, three mile best. Not smoking fast, but definitely respectable. Today, despite being almost the exact same weight, just 30 years older, I consider anything under 9:30/mile a success.

Ironfish653

Running is one of those “use it or lose it “ activities, that unless you keep up with your training, regularly, if you’re not conditioned for it, it’ll wear you out quickly. You can be in great shape and fast on the bike, but if you’re not used to running, pounding the pavement will beat you up faster than you’d expect.

It’s also one of those things, that as you get tired, and your form falls off, it gets harder, and beats you up and slows you down even more

wheelreason

So like every other sport...

indyfabz

Exactly. As I wrote above, I once rode with 7-11. I also rode with Coors Lite the same morning. But you didn’t see me in the TdF. They were spinning close to 25 mph and chatting. I was was working at the far edge of my ability trying to hang on.

big john

Ironman legend Dave Scott used to say it was important to not be too strong on the bike or the run, so that one wouldn't adversely affect the other.

terrymorse 

Running's not quite like other sports. It beats you up worse than a non-impact activity like biking, swimming, or XC skiing.

genejockey 

After I'd been riding for a couple years, I thought I'd add running to the mix, so I went for a nice, two mile run. It felt pretty good.

My legs were very sore for 4 days.

Redbullet

It’s mostly genetics, I would say. A long time ago, I practiced competitive cycling for a few years for a club, as a junior. Just an “above average” cyclist. But during winter training that kept us far from the road, I always smashed all my teammates with around 15-20% longer distance ran for 1-hour sessions, like a locomotive, without any specific running technique or training.
Funny enough, I don’t run now anymore, I’m cycling… genetics vs. personal preferences.

shelbyfv

If you want to actually know but aren't going to race, sign up for a local organized century. Your bike and kit won't matter much and the distance will even out any special abilities like sprinting and climbing. You should be able to tell if you finish fast, average or slow. Or put Strava on your phone and compare. Hint- if the food and beer is gone when you finish you may want to stick with annoying folks on your commute.

Ironfish653

I find that your conditioning and form fall off faster and farther with running, than with other sports; and there’s not really a good substitute besides, well, running.
The bike is a little more tolerant of if your legs are a little stiff, or you gained a few pounds in the offseason, but running makes it that much harder, from the first step, for every step after that.

The Triathletes I used to train with in my Run Club days were really primarily runners who ride bikes, not cyclists who run. The bike leg is more of a transit stage than a TT; it’s about being efficient, rather than just fast, to save as much as you can for the run. Speed is the byproduct