Fifty Plus (50+) - great training aid

I was in the cool down portion of my ride today (ride alone always) and I was spent but just working my way back to my car when a young guy on a carbon Trek blew by me real close with a loud "LEFT". I guess something clicked in and I stayed with him for the next 3 miles. Now I am sure he didn't even know I was back there but it forced me to work really hard and it was a good thing..as soon as the hill started to rise I got the "call 911" feeling so I dropped back but I tell ya..it was fun and maybe I should start riding with someone but the problem is I don't like anyone. :)

I was in the cool down portion of my ride today (ride alone always) and I was spent but just working my way back to my car when a young guy on a carbon Trek blew by me real close with a loud "LEFT". I guess something clicked in and I stayed with him for the next 3 miles. Now I am sure he didn't even know I was back there but it forced me to work really hard and it was a good thing..as soon as the hill started to rise I got the "call 911" feeling so I dropped back but I tell ya..it was fun and maybe I should start riding with someone but the problem is I don't like anyone. :)

I used to do this regularly. Pick someone or a group, hang about 50 yards or so behind them, and try to keep the same distance away. They never know, and you get a good workout, and you don't have to meet them.:)

My kind of guy..hey Denver, you coming out here soon? Find a place yet?

Mike

My kind of guy..hey Denver, you coming out here soon? Find a place yet?

Mike

We are working on it - some emergency type things going on with one of my sons - standing by.

Not until I started riding in groups did I start improving my riding stamina and skills. There are some self motivated cyclists that can push themselves without the challenge of staying with a group or other rider, but I dare say they are very few and very far between. I perfer group riding, my brother perfers a riding partner, but we agree that solo training takes more self dicipline than most people in the world have.

It's easy to spend most of your time riding at a comfortable pace, riding alone. That's no way to get stronger.

maybe I should start riding with someone but the problem is I don't like anyone. :)

This sounds like something I would write.


I think the best motivation is when someone flies by me without saying a word, then "its on".

Nothing like a large/mad dog at the foot of a hill to get you motivated.

It's not that I don't like people, it's just that I feel better when I'm not around them.

it was fun and maybe I should start riding with someone but the problem is I don't like anyone. :)

All the more reason to ride with someone just to "crush their soul".:D Try it sometime, it really feels good.

All the more reason to ride with someone just to "crush their soul".:D Try it sometime, it really feels good.

:roflmao2: I'm the most mellow rider on the planet, I say hi to even dogwalkers on the MUP's! Still one day, on the uphill portion of our longer "main" east/west MUP, I got blown away by a pure roadie wannabe in full kit!:twitchy: She was riding a very high end road bike and kinda giggled at me with a smirk, now I know this MUP like the back of my hand, at the bottom of the hill is a rough patch with a small drainage ditch, so I geared up and as she had to slow to a crawl on the fancy road bike, I BLEW her door's off on my MTB basicly clearing the small ditch with both wheel's, told her have nice day and did a "SEE YA" with one hand:D She never caught up before I turned off the MUP towards home, ya I know it was childish but YA it did FEEL GOOD!:D

For training rides, I like riding with a group. I push myself a lot more than I would on a solo training ride.

For recovery rides, just the opposite. I recover better on a ride by myself, or with some one who doesn't ride any faster than my "recovery" pace.

Plus, re:OP, I do generally like people, almost everyone.

Rick / OCRR

When you draft someone and they do not know it, the proper etiquette is to say "on your wheel". Hopefully, this triggers two reactions. If he or she has been to a skills clinic, the leader knows you are there and points out hazards and he/she will know that if he/she stands the bike drifts back several inches and the rear rider's front wheel may hit the back wheel and cause a crash. So the leader should announce standing prior to standing.

It is very civilized, safer and more fun.:)

When you draft someone and they do not know it, the proper etiquette is to say "on your wheel". Hopefully, this triggers two reactions. If he or she has been to a skills clinic, the leader knows you are there and points out hazards and he/she will know that if he/she stands the bike drifts back several inches and the rear rider's front wheel may hit the back wheel and cause a crash. So the leader should announce standing prior to standing.

It is very civilized, safer and more fun.:)

I don't quite know to which post you refer, but I don't think 50 yards behind someone quite qualifies as "drafting!"

I don't quite know to which post you refer, but I don't think 50 yards behind someone quite qualifies as "drafting!"

Clearly not yours.

Clearly not yours.

That's good news. I was worried for a minute or so!:D

That's good news. I was worried for a minute or so!:D

That is good news...worrying about anything I say is too long.:D

... on the uphill portion of our longer "main" east/west MUP, I got blown away by a pure roadie wannabe in full kit!:twitchy: She was riding a very high end road bike and kinda giggled at me with a smirk...

No self-respecting roadie/racer would be training on a MUP, so she was obviously a poseur. That's not to devalue your victory, but only to say SHE DESERVED IT!!! :lol:

I do believe that if you are riding even a few feet off someone's wheel it would be best if you announced yourself. One reason is for your own safety. If the lead cyclist does not know someone is there he/she might do many things that are OK if riding solo, but could cause problems for a drafter. I occasionally have a drafter on my wheel and I am not aware. I fear causing problems for that person even though I am not aware. Announce yourself, please.

I suspect you would like the ER doctor who shocks you back to life ...

For training rides, I like riding with a group. I push myself a lot more than I would on a solo training ride.

For recovery rides, just the opposite. I recover better on a ride by myself, or with some one who doesn't ride any faster than my "recovery" pace.

Plus, re:OP, I do generally like people, almost everyone.

Rick / OCRR

I generally like people too. :) I can usually pick a group ride to fit my recovery needs, and I actually like group rides for recovery - it's on those rides that I can actually talk with people the whole ride.

Being 50+ is actually very cool. If you ride with the slower folks, they really don't expect you to hammer. If you ride with the fast boys, all they care about is speed. If you can keep up, everything is good. And, as a mature adult, you can just choose to ride by yourself. 50+ - the best of all worlds!

Riding in a group challenges one to respond to other riders and pushes one's boundaries. As long as you are relatively well matched with a given group, the rewards, in both fitness and socialization, are priceless.

My Wednesday ride (http://www.veloweb.ca/storypages/wodensride.html) is the hub of my training week.