Road Cycling - Speed

There are a zillion threads about speed. Why is it so important?

Unless you are a racer, who cares? Is it just for the ego and bragging rights that going fast is important? Perhaps it is just the fullfillment of some prehistoric
competition to see who is top-dog in the clan.

Personally, the pleasure of being on a well maintained bike and the thrill of the passing landscape is reward enough. (I should probably mention that 99% of my riding is in rural areas where the scenery is awe inspiring.)

me like go fast!

Speed, and suffering send chemicals through my body that I can't get by just looking @ scenery.

because some people use the bike as a work out... what good a work out is it if you take one hour to do one mile...

Because nothing matters but speed.

Screw this touring, looking at all the pretty flowers stuff.

It's just a nifty way to bring up a topic, wait for a few replies... then blow them away!!

Would you rather people just gloated without attempting to be humble? I don't think a 'I am better than you' thread would get many views. :)

I prefer farther than faster myself. That's not to say I'm not getting a work out. Nothing wrong with a 75-80 cadence at a gear combination that makes pedaling comfortable. If that combination is 30 mph or 8 mph it doesn't really matter to me. I know I'll be doing it for 3-4 hours.

(I should probably mention that 99% of my riding is in rural areas where the scenery is awe inspiring.)

Same here. Awe inspiring. Never fails to thrill me. BUT . . . rural areas are great for riding fast, training in the heart rate zones, and building up speed. No traffic signals, few stop signs, little traffic, and freedom to let loose safely. The giant redwoods inspire me to hammer to the top of my favorite hill ride and they also inspire me when I rip down the other side. It inspires me to work hard on the agricultural flats, pushing against the onshore winds. The terrain around here is mostly fairly challenging, but as I develop more strength and speed I just enjoy it more both as a cyclist and lover of the outdoors. You know what else is great? No matter how much road cyclists increase their speed they do not damage or pollute the environment.

Rich

Cadence not speed is important.

For me speed equals a group ride or a I need to catch up before I am dropped into a ride by myself ride.

I think its Type A's vs Type B's. I compete only against myself (strongest competetor I know of -GRIN) and just don't enjoy a feeling of accomplishment unless I'm "flying". When I want to go slow and enjoy the scenery - - - - well - I've never wanted to do that.

There are a zillion threads about speed. Why is it so important?

Unless you are a racer, who cares? Is it just for the ego and bragging rights that going fast is important? Perhaps it is just the fullfillment of some prehistoric
competition to see who is top-dog in the clan.

Personally, the pleasure of being on a well maintained bike and the thrill of the passing landscape is reward enough. (I should probably mention that 99% of my riding is in rural areas where the scenery is awe inspiring.)

It takes a while for me to go 5 miles if I'm just cruising for the scenery. I prefer to go as fast as I can, suffering, AND enjoy the scenery. I ask about av. speed on this forum to get an idea of my fitness level. I don't think its for ego or anything becuase I know I'm disabled and I'll never go as fast as most of the serious roadies here... even though I'm slow, I still love to push myself. Like someone else said too... I check speed to compare me to me.

I think a lot of people use speed as a benchmark of how much progress they've made- if they're able to keep up with their group rides, if they get dropped by someone coming up from behind, if they bring speed up from X miles per hour to 3X miles per hour...

I think it helps to have goals as a motivating factor to keep on training. For a lot of people, they don't have very many ways to quantify their improvements except through speed. So for them, improvement on speed is the goal, and that's perfectly ok.

It's all good...

Koffee

my greatest competition is myself. it is gratifying to know that you're getting better at something.

and no, cadence is not more important than speed... power output is more important than speed. i could probably spin 110 rpm in 39-23 all day, and i wouldn't really call that a good workout ;)

bac said well what makes me want to push... I like the feeling of the incredible mood I am in for many hours after a good HARD ride. Speed lets out the good brain juices for cAPS. ;)

Then why is there a bicycle race? When I wanna discuss scenery, I go to the touring or the classic & vintage forums. Those are the times I enjoy riding my fixed gear or tourer. And when I'm on my road bike, I look for speed and fast group rides.....I don't even know what street I'm on.

George

Some very interesting responses, Thank You. Most of you seemed to be saying you just like to ride fast which seems to imply it is an ego thing. It makes you feel good; gives you a sense of pride in your accomplishments. And I don't knock that. Whatever motivation you have for riding is a good thing. The more people that ride, the better it is for all of us.
I also liked the "Type A & Type B" response. I'd guess myself to be a "C" because I don't ride for fitness or for health but just for the freedom being on the bike provides to explore and enjoy the scenery. Whether that's at 4mph or 24mph is of no consequence.

Some very interesting responses, Thank You. Most of you seemed to be saying you just like to ride fast which seems to imply it is an ego thing. It makes you feel good; gives you a sense of pride in your accomplishments. And I don't knock that. Whatever motivation you have for riding is a good thing. The more people that ride, the better it is for all of us.
I also liked the "Type A & Type B" response. I'd guess myself to be a "C" because I don't ride for fitness or for health but just for the freedom being on the bike provides to explore and enjoy the scenery. Whether that's at 4mph or 24mph is of no consequence.

Well, I think there is another side to this. I recall reading that the reason we have classes in public schools is that most people learn best in "social" situations. They have to have a bunch of their friends there. Most of the cyclists I know, ride only in group rides. Of course, given the competitive nature of our society, group rides often turn into impromptu races or a series of them. So that is why people focus on speed.

Actually, speed can be strongly affected by conditions. I used to commute 11 miles. I recall my slowest average speed was 7 mph into a big, big headwind. I was upshifting twice on hills because they blocked the wind. My highest average speed was 27 mph with a big tailwind. So average speed, while fun to fool with, really is not a great indication of anything by itself.

Apparantly, a small minority of people are independent learners. They don't need a bunch of other people around to learn something, they can learn from a book by themselves. To translate this over to cycling, it sounds to me that you are an "independent" cyclist. You like going out on your bike and having fun.

Speed, and suffering send chemicals through my body that I can't get by just looking @ scenery.

MEGA DITTOS dude!

MEGA DITTOS dude!
WHATEVER.That sounds more cool then it is.