Is amateur bike racing taken more seriously by it's participants than other sports?
#26
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I think part of it also comes from the nature of it, i.e. the danger and risk of injury. If you're doing motorsports or cycling, you're much more likely to be intense about it and take it more seriously than say running, because you're not subjecting yourself to risk from others in the same way.
There are other factors too, obviously, but I've always thought that this was a decent part of it.
There are other factors too, obviously, but I've always thought that this was a decent part of it.
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In my experience, at least for me,it takes more commitment to be a mediocre bike racer, than it does to be mediocre in other endeavors.
I can participate, and be moderately competitive,at least at a low level, on not much effort in golf, tennis, basketball for example.
To even be at a level to be in the game, bike racing takes a much greater commitment for me.
At an elite level, most any sport takes tremendous effort and commitment.
But for bike racing, it seems to me the anty to just get in the game is higher than most others.
I can participate, and be moderately competitive,at least at a low level, on not much effort in golf, tennis, basketball for example.
To even be at a level to be in the game, bike racing takes a much greater commitment for me.
At an elite level, most any sport takes tremendous effort and commitment.
But for bike racing, it seems to me the anty to just get in the game is higher than most others.
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#28
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I think we're no different than any other sport, really, when it comes to taking things more/less seriously.
But I think cycling has more of its population in the middle-serious range, if that makes any sense. For instance, I'm a middle-range cyclist and I'm also middle-range in a couple other sports. The work habits I developed as a cyclist were not present in those sports. Nobody watches what they eat or when they eat. Nobody stays off their feet between games. Nobody practices the fundamentals outside of competition. Nobody hydrates during games. Yet if you were to ask them about their level of dedication, they would all claim to be serious about the game. And for many of them, that was the only sport they play and they play it 4 or 5 nights per week.
But I think cycling has more of its population in the middle-serious range, if that makes any sense. For instance, I'm a middle-range cyclist and I'm also middle-range in a couple other sports. The work habits I developed as a cyclist were not present in those sports. Nobody watches what they eat or when they eat. Nobody stays off their feet between games. Nobody practices the fundamentals outside of competition. Nobody hydrates during games. Yet if you were to ask them about their level of dedication, they would all claim to be serious about the game. And for many of them, that was the only sport they play and they play it 4 or 5 nights per week.
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In my experience, at least for me,it takes more commitment to be a mediocre bike racer, than it does to be mediocre in other endeavors.
I can participate, and be moderately competitive,at least at a low level, on not much effort in golf, tennis, basketball for example.
To even be at a level to be in the game, bike racing takes a much greater commitment for me.
At an elite level, most any sport takes tremendous effort and commitment.
But for bike racing, it seems to me the anty to just get in the game is higher than most others.
I can participate, and be moderately competitive,at least at a low level, on not much effort in golf, tennis, basketball for example.
To even be at a level to be in the game, bike racing takes a much greater commitment for me.
At an elite level, most any sport takes tremendous effort and commitment.
But for bike racing, it seems to me the anty to just get in the game is higher than most others.
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#30
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In my experience, at least for me,it takes more commitment to be a mediocre bike racer, than it does to be mediocre in other endeavors.
I can participate, and be moderately competitive,at least at a low level, on not much effort in golf, tennis, basketball for example.
To even be at a level to be in the game, bike racing takes a much greater commitment for me.
At an elite level, most any sport takes tremendous effort and commitment.
But for bike racing, it seems to me the anty to just get in the game is higher than most others.
I can participate, and be moderately competitive,at least at a low level, on not much effort in golf, tennis, basketball for example.
To even be at a level to be in the game, bike racing takes a much greater commitment for me.
At an elite level, most any sport takes tremendous effort and commitment.
But for bike racing, it seems to me the anty to just get in the game is higher than most others.
With that, I'd say the fanaticism is equal across all hobbies, sports, etc. If people have the $ and the time, they will obsess.
#31
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But, are you just out playing golf or are you competing in a tournament? I've done both (bike race and tournament golf) and both are equally demanding in my experience. Prior to cycling, I'd be at the range for 3-5 hours a week on top of the 3-6 hours of rounds on the weekends. I'd liken going out to play golf and being moderately competitive to going out on a local fun group ride. You can hang in both, but it's not quite the same as a race or a tournament.
With that, I'd say the fanaticism is equal across all hobbies, sports, etc. If people have the $ and the time, they will obsess.
With that, I'd say the fanaticism is equal across all hobbies, sports, etc. If people have the $ and the time, they will obsess.
Obviously playing competitive tournament golf takes either a lot of time or a lot of talent.
But there are a number of ways to play golf competitively that would be roughly analagous to the Cat 5 bike racing, i.e. Member Guest tournaments, all sorts of handicapped local tournaments.
I can go out and play to a 15 handicap, and compete in handicapped events , playing 3-4 rounds a year, have fun, and be competitive with others at my level.
If I tried to race, even Cat 5 only riding 3-4 times a year that wouldn't work so well.
My point is that in many other sports, there's a level of competition that allows you to play the game with less effort than it takes to get in the game of bike racing.
Same thing in Tennis, I used to play local tournaments and league tennis at 4.0 level (probably analagous to being a Cat 3). I worked pretty hard at that. But I could go out and play tennis competitively on an hour a week by just slotting down to to 3.0.
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You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
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But, are you just out playing golf or are you competing in a tournament? I've done both (bike race and tournament golf) and both are equally demanding in my experience. Prior to cycling, I'd be at the range for 3-5 hours a week on top of the 3-6 hours of rounds on the weekends. I'd liken going out to play golf and being moderately competitive to going out on a local fun group ride. You can hang in both, but it's not quite the same as a race or a tournament.
With that, I'd say the fanaticism is equal across all hobbies, sports, etc. If people have the $ and the time, they will obsess.
With that, I'd say the fanaticism is equal across all hobbies, sports, etc. If people have the $ and the time, they will obsess.
#33
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But, are you just out playing golf or are you competing in a tournament? I've done both (bike race and tournament golf) and both are equally demanding in my experience. Prior to cycling, I'd be at the range for 3-5 hours a week on top of the 3-6 hours of rounds on the weekends. I'd liken going out to play golf and being moderately competitive to going out on a local fun group ride. You can hang in both, but it's not quite the same as a race or a tournament.
With that, I'd say the fanaticism is equal across all hobbies, sports, etc. If people have the $ and the time, they will obsess.
With that, I'd say the fanaticism is equal across all hobbies, sports, etc. If people have the $ and the time, they will obsess.
The comparison to golf is just inaccurate. When have you vomited from the effort of training/playing golf? Having played golf, I just don't buy that 11 hour weeks of training/playing golf are as taxing as 11 weeks of training for racing on a bike. Having said all that, maybe the difference in effort isn't the point.
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I think Merlin is right on this one along with the OP. To be OK you have to be pretty serious. I would guess that those who are discounting the level of dedication either are ignoring the amount of work they've put in or are taking for granted their natural talent for racing, which a lot of us don't have.
The comparison to golf is just inaccurate. When have you vomited from the effort of training/playing golf? Having played golf, I just don't buy that 11 hour weeks of training/playing golf are as taxing as 11 weeks of training for racing on a bike. Having said all that, maybe the difference in effort isn't the point.
The comparison to golf is just inaccurate. When have you vomited from the effort of training/playing golf? Having played golf, I just don't buy that 11 hour weeks of training/playing golf are as taxing as 11 weeks of training for racing on a bike. Having said all that, maybe the difference in effort isn't the point.
Also, yes, you have to put in time and effort to be good at racing, but that requirement isn't limited to cycling, but is a common theme among pretty much any competitive endeavor.
Last edited by hack; 06-02-14 at 10:18 PM.
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A few years ago I played on a world champion online FPS team and we put in crazy hours for that. It took us two years to hit the top and during that time we probably averaged 12 hours a day, but it was a video game. If I played any less than that, it was noticeable. For me its apples to oranges, because although I love cycling, I have to do things I don't really want to do to be good at it (cycling on a trainer, in the rain, sub 50 degree temps, etc). That isn't even counting the nights I go to sleep hungry (although fatties seem to have no issue winning crits).
Some people can get on their bikes and do well, especially if they are athletically gifted or coming from another sport. If someone who just got off the couch asked me what they needed to do to win a Cat 5 race, it would be a pretty tall order. Cycle 10-20 hours a week, $3,000 on equipment, lose weight, group rides at least once a week, and call me after you hit 10,000 miles.
Some people can get on their bikes and do well, especially if they are athletically gifted or coming from another sport. If someone who just got off the couch asked me what they needed to do to win a Cat 5 race, it would be a pretty tall order. Cycle 10-20 hours a week, $3,000 on equipment, lose weight, group rides at least once a week, and call me after you hit 10,000 miles.
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And I too played golf in high school - four years on the varsity team. Now, I play a couple times a year. I can usually play well for the first nine holes, but the back nine is a disaster largely because I get tired. It may not seem like much, but it does take conditioning to swing a golf club consistently for a full 18 holes. Even more if you want to do it multiple days in a row.
I'll also add that my brother was a scratch golfer before he got married and had kids. Now that he only plays about once a week, instead of 3-7 times, he has fallen to an 8-10 handicap.
#37
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20 handicap bike rider is doing the club B ride, and doesn't have a prayer actually racing.
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You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
#40
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The demanding thing with cycling (or endurance sports) isn't the amount of hours you do per week. It's two things really that kind of separate it from other sports: 1) Consistency. If you miss an extra day or two each week, that will show up in races. The biggest way to gain fitness is just to be consistent. And to be consistent with that many hours a week, means you have to make sacrifices. And those sacrifices make it seem like we take it very seriously, because to us, those sacrifices are worth the price to be "good" at bike racing. 2) Off the bike. Our training doesn't end when we are off the bike. We can't take the time we spent on training or racing from sleeping. Matter of fact, we have to sleep more than the average person, to recover. We also have to eat like crazy. If you skip a meal, or eat improperly, at some point, you'll feel that on the bike. There's even more sacrifices you have to make here, which again, makes it seem like things are very serious.
I personally took cycling way too serious. Realized it wasn't getting me anything. And I decided those sacrifices I were making were not longer worth it. So I just ride when I feel like it now. But I know I can't race, even for fun. Because I'll suck. And if I suck, I'll want to do better. And if I want to do better, I'll take everything serious again. It's an endless cycle (pun intended).
I personally took cycling way too serious. Realized it wasn't getting me anything. And I decided those sacrifices I were making were not longer worth it. So I just ride when I feel like it now. But I know I can't race, even for fun. Because I'll suck. And if I suck, I'll want to do better. And if I want to do better, I'll take everything serious again. It's an endless cycle (pun intended).
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#44
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It's definitely an addiction. When did I become someone who, when hanging out with friends on Saturday night, drinks mostly water, leaves at 10 pm and limits alcohol to 2 beers all nig- I mean evening?
#46
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Yup.
I made a thread about this on slowtwitch when I put a halt to training, if anyone wants to read it (it's kinda long, and no one really responded, just kinda needed to put that out somewhere at the time lol): Exercise Addiction: Triathlon Forum: Slowtwitch Forums
I made a thread about this on slowtwitch when I put a halt to training, if anyone wants to read it (it's kinda long, and no one really responded, just kinda needed to put that out somewhere at the time lol): Exercise Addiction: Triathlon Forum: Slowtwitch Forums
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You went out with friends at stayed up until 10pm. That's a step above where I was at when I was training haha.
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#50
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