Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - I think i picked the wrong sport

So i have been a bit irked that cant get my average mph above 13. so i have been working at pushing harder and am dead set to get the average at 15mph.

then today comes, and i am feeling good and averaging 13.6mph and decided to go ballz out on the way back home. i end up behind a full kit roadie and since we are about one turn before the steep overpass decide to slow to his pace and follow him up the hill to see how he shifts and gets up it.

well it turned out to be a soul crushing, eye opening, and ego deflating experience. this guy seriously dropped one gear and flew up the hill faster than he was cruising on the flats. he may have dropped another gear but i was so far behind i couldnt tell. i am still replaying this in my head how fast and easily he went up.

i mean geeeeeeeze i know i am out of shape but dang it cant be that bad. my wife the sweetheart she is blamed it on bike.

ok i am slow, 13mph average, and only and get to 22mph in the flats. so i am thinking maybe i picked up the wrong sport and should now switch to darts or bowling.

hell on bro, keep on riding. Dont feel bad that somebody else beat you, make that one of your goals and keep at it!!!

Practice, practice, practice . . .
You did not say how old you are, how much out of shape and how long you been riding.
Again: practice, practice, practice!

Sorry, should I not have done that? ;)
Seriously, though, you now have a goal. I had a similar goal of being able to accelerate UP a few of our "hills" on the lakefront. After a while of steady riding, I can do that and more. The hill at around 47th is good for repeats. Just ride up that thing and repeat it until you drop...you'll get faster.

If you like riding your bike you did not pick the wrong sport. Just getting out and expending your energy is what matters. Keep riding and you will get faster.

Everyone starts somewhere, no one starts out awesome at something entirely new. Keep riding and practicing. That guy probably has a lot of experience going for him aside from fitness as well. These are learned things you cant become good at without repetition; proper breathing, efficient pedaling, knowing exactly what nutrition his body needs for riding, knowing how to set his bike up to exactly cater to his riding style. These things only come from experience, and you will have it too if you keep riding, reading and asking questions (from people like him). But mostly just ride, ride more, then when you get too tired to ride try to figure out why. Did I eat well today? sleep well? Do I feel unusually good or weak today, and if so what did I do differently?

Just try to keep your mindset proper. You need to believe you can do it, because well. . .you can. Period, end of thought process. You just have to learn how.

Good luck to you, but honestly you dont need it, just get out and ride and you well get what you EARN, progress.

i am thinking maybe i picked up the wrong sport and should now switch to darts or bowling.

At least make it lawn darts so you're out in the fresh air.

Ride for yourself, not anybody else. Go at your own speed. You'll eventually get faster.

Wrong sport? Doesn't it beat ridding the recliner in the den?:eek:

What are you ridding? How old are you? What do you weigh? For perspective, I'm 48 years old, weigh around 255lb and average 16-18mph, depending on the amount of hills. This is on a decent road bike ridding solo, and at my weight the hills are killers! There is just no way I can keep up with lighter ridders on long hills no matter what I do. More perspective, I also tour with a Surley Long Haul Trucker and around 80lb of gear and most days touring I average well below 12mph. Point is that I enjoy my ridding weather it's balls to the wall on the road bike, or noodling along on a tour. Keep ridding!:thumb:

Buck up! You're in the clydesdales forum, and lots of us don't average double digits. I live in your area, and yesterday I did 14 miles at a 7.2 average. You would have dropped me like that guy dropped you, or worse. Probably alot worse.

So i have been a bit irked that cant get my average mph above 13. so i have been working at pushing harder and am dead set to get the average at 15mph.

then today comes, and i am feeling good and averaging 13.6mph and decided to go ballz out on the way back home. i end up behind a full kit roadie and since we are about one turn before the steep overpass decide to slow to his pace and follow him up the hill to see how he shifts and gets up it.

well it turned out to be a soul crushing, eye opening, and ego deflating experience. this guy seriously dropped one gear and flew up the hill faster than he was cruising on the flats. he may have dropped another gear but i was so far behind i couldnt tell. i am still replaying this in my head how fast and easily he went up.

i mean geeeeeeeze i know i am out of shape but dang it cant be that bad. my wife the sweetheart she is blamed it on bike.

ok i am slow, 13mph average, and only and get to 22mph in the flats. so i am thinking maybe i picked up the wrong sport and should now switch to darts or bowling.

When i started 2 years ago mine was 12 mph now my average is 17 mph, so hang in there all good things come to those who wait.

I've been riding a bike for two months now..... 57, OVERweight, and on a 29 pound bike loaded up with 12 pounds of 'stuff'. In addition to the weight of my bike (and my 230 pounds), I'm sporting really heavy/thick/puncture-resistant innertubes, tire liners, AND Slime (a bit overkill)..... so my rolling resistance is significant.

"RIDE YOUR OWN RIDE" Don't judge your performance based on a younger, more fit, skinny enthusiast on his Carbon Fiber featherweight bike.....

I average anywhere from 12.1 mph to 13.2 mph. When I found myself riding behind an older guy (I tend always to think other people are older than my 57 years....), catching up to him, and passing him because he didn't bother to downshift after we slowed for an intersection.... I thought that maybe I was riding as well as the seasoner riders in their designer outfits and clip-in pedals. NOT! For the three miles prior, he musta been "warming up"..... only to pass me and disappear over the horizon.

I'm pedalling at a rate that allows me to think that I'm getting exercise, likely nowhere near my anarobic HR zone. When the day arrives that I'm using the saddle as nothing more than a referance point to center myself over the pedals.... rarely sitting down, THEN I know I may have arrived at what the pro's take for granted and doing with ease.

We just gotta press on..... much like yesterday when I made my first 30 mile ride (!!!)

I think it's a universal truth that no matter how fast you are you'll eventually find someone faster. Hopefully that will be you.

You did the right thing. Watching and following. New riders will go the the front or immediately pull in group rides. you waited and followed. Even though he walked away from you. You still did better then going hard at the base only get dropped worse. Keep watching and learning. I watch everyone. My wife use to think I looked at women, she knows better now. It is all about the bike, and rider...

How about Olympic level whining! At 13mph average you shouldn't even be allowed to
own a bike! You are a disgrace to all true cyclist. Maybe we could paint you orange and
use you for a road cone. Or yellow and use you for a school crossing marker.

13mph average is great. 22mph on the flats is great. You only have to compete with
your self. Each step up is harder. It takes four times the energy to go fifteen mph
compared to ten mph. And sixteen times to go twenty mph. The tdf riders are only
going about forty mph, crap man, you are half way there.

Keep pedaling brother, it only gets better.

This is from a guy that was happy a year ago when he did ten miles and averaged
over five mph the first time.

I don't know what my average is,no computer. 52,fat bastid and outta shape and live in the hills of West Virginia with a 42/52 crankset. Occasionally I pass younger people on hills. I wave and say hi but inside I'm screaming OH YEAH DROPPED YOU LIKE A HOT POTATO!!!!!!!! It's the little successes that satisfy. :D

I don't consider my bike riding a sport. I do compete against myself and with those that I ride (commute, etc) with but I don't care much for others.

Did he give you 'the look' before droping the hamar?:)
Yesterday, I was climbing a slight grade on my 40 pound ten speed along with my customarily included 80 pounds of fat when a couple of teenagers zipped by on their skinny tired racing bikes. T-shirts, basketball shorts, sneakers.
I've been riding consistently for a couple of years, and experienced big improvements in my riding. I felt the same way as you did.
It's all about the engine. Keep trying.

I quit riding for the same reason 4 years ago. I couldn't keep up or pass kids on coasters. Two years ago, while waiting for my bacon double cheeseburger, fries and double chocolate shake from the drive in I walked into the LBS next door and walked out with my beloved Bianchi. I was forty pounds heavier, grumpier and older. It took me some time to give up on every being in the front of the pack or winning the Tour. Every time I get on my Bianchi or my commuter, it is not about the finish line it's about the journey. 7500 miles and 65 pounds down later, I grin every time I hit the pedals. I am slowly getting faster. Getting faster involves intervals, long slow training rides, rest days and diet. In two years I've gone from 9 mph to 15-16. It doesn't really matter. This truly has been the adventure of a lifetime!

Its possible the guy in front of you didn't know what you were doing and wanted to get as far away of the "creepy" guy following him.

Officer: Excuse me, I need to speak with you
Me: Sure what about?

Officer: I was getting complaints about someone following people
Me: Really, I didn't see anyone

Officer: Interesting, they gave a report about someone matching your description
Me: Are you sure

Officer: Yes, they reported a large man on a bike breathing heavily but never saying a word
Me: :innocent:

I average anywhere from 12-14 average MPH. But yesterday I had to turn that screen off because I was so fixed on upping my average that I was not enjoying myself. Also that damned virtual rider that I am always falling behind to!

I don't have a bike computer, and I don't think I want one. My average speed (est.) is one million miles an hour.

Sorry, should I not have done that? ;)
Seriously, though, you now have a goal. I had a similar goal of being able to accelerate UP a few of our "hills" on the lakefront. After a while of steady riding, I can do that and more. The hill at around 47th is good for repeats. Just ride up that thing and repeat it until you drop...you'll get faster.

I dont get to ride the lakefront anymore. I get to ride for only 1 hour and 15 minutes when my son takes a nap. so its the trail at devon and milwaukee that i get to ride on saturdays and sundays. and when we do ride the lakefront its with the wife and kid on beach cruisers.

Practice, practice, practice . . .
You did not say how old you are, how much out of shape and how long you been riding.
Again: practice, practice, practice!

I am in my early thirties, i didnt know there were levels of out of shape but two summers ago i was running 3 miles 4 times a week, now the only exercise i have been getting is chasing my kid at the park. i started riding in april but that was just to work, i ride 4 miles to work 4 days a week and just recently started to ride the road bike on the weekend two months ago.

I hope you get to be as good a cyclist as you are a whiner!

Were you in a race with this kitted up rider? Did he know it was a race?

You are more than likely correct. It must be the bike! Why don't you go out and drop 10,000 on a full blown race bike with di2.
Guess what? You are still going to get dropped like a bad habit!

IT'S NOT THE KIT OR THE BIKE! It is your lack of fitness.
Riding a bike quickly is a matter of power to weight! You don't have enough of one and to much of another.
You figure it out!

I will give you a hint. Once you get to 15 miles an hour, you will still want to avg 20 miles an hr.
Even if you get there, there still will be a LOT of people who can drop the hammer on you anytime they wish.


Just keep riding your bike. Watch what you eat. Your speed will come.
If you try to push to hard, you will hurt yourself. Then back to square one.

Besides if you took up bowling, you would have to wear stupid shirts, instead of a cool kit!

Everyone starts somewhere, no one starts out awesome at something entirely new. Keep riding and practicing. That guy probably has a lot of experience going for him aside from fitness as well. These are learned things you cant become good at without repetition; proper breathing, efficient pedaling, knowing exactly what nutrition his body needs for riding, knowing how to set his bike up to exactly cater to his riding style. These things only come from experience, and you will have it too if you keep riding, reading and asking questions (from people like him). But mostly just ride, ride more, then when you get too tired to ride try to figure out why. Did I eat well today? sleep well? Do I feel unusually good or weak today, and if so what did I do differently?

Just try to keep your mindset proper. You need to believe you can do it, because well. . .you can. Period, end of thought process. You just have to learn how.

Good luck to you, but honestly you dont need it, just get out and ride and you well get what you EARN, progress.


thank for the great words. went out today as i am not quitting until i average 17mph on ANY ride. its just hard getting spanked THAT bad, takes a bit out of the keep at it attitude. but even with the humidity today i feel good.

What are you ridding? How old are you? What do you weigh? For perspective, I'm 48 years old, weigh around 255lb and average 16-18mph, depending on the amount of hills. This is on a decent road bike ridding solo, and at my weight the hills are killers! There is just no way I can keep up with lighter ridders on long hills no matter what I do. More perspective, I also tour with a Surley Long Haul Trucker and around 80lb of gear and most days touring I average well below 12mph. Point is that I enjoy my ridding weather it's balls to the wall on the road bike, or noodling along on a tour. Keep ridding!:thumb:

i am riding an 80's Spalding Blade, i am in my early 30's, at 250lbs, and there are no hills where i live. the overpass is the only "hill" we got. i average 10mph on my beach cruiser that i commute to work on and thats my enjoyable ride that i smell the roses.

Buck up! You're in the clydesdales forum, and lots of us don't average double digits. I live in your area, and yesterday I did 14 miles at a 7.2 average. You would have dropped me like that guy dropped you, or worse. Probably alot worse.

do you ride on the street or the trail/MUP? i ride 3 miles to devon and milwaukee and ride the trail to dempster the turn around. if you see a fat guy on a black with red bar tape 80's road bike say hi we will ride together.

When i started 2 years ago mine was 12 mph now my average is 17 mph, so hang in there all good things come to those who wait.

thanks, i am keeping at it, went out today in the humid and hit 24 mph in a nice flat stretch but it taxed me pushing that.

We just gotta press on..... much like yesterday when I made my first 30 mile ride (!!!)

congrats on the 30 miler!!! thats awesome.
one day when the wife takes the kid shopping i am planing a day to see how far i can ride.

You did the right thing. Watching and following. New riders will go the the front or immediately pull in group rides. you waited and followed. Even though he walked away from you. You still did better then going hard at the base only get dropped worse. Keep watching and learning. I watch everyone. My wife use to think I looked at women, she knows better now. It is all about the bike, and rider...

dont lie, we all have slowed down to watch a lady jogger. wait maybe thats why my average is so slow :)

How about Olympic level whining! At 13mph average you shouldn't even be allowed to
own a bike! You are a disgrace to all true cyclist. Maybe we could paint you orange and
use you for a road cone. Or yellow and use you for a school crossing marker.

13mph average is great. 22mph on the flats is great. You only have to compete with
your self. Each step up is harder. It takes four times the energy to go fifteen mph
compared to ten mph. And sixteen times to go twenty mph. The tdf riders are only
going about forty mph, crap man, you are half way there.

Keep pedaling brother, it only gets better.

This is from a guy that was happy a year ago when he did ten miles and averaged
over five mph the first time.

thats the kicker is it takes that much more to raise the average and add to that after 15 mph us "clydes" battle aero so that adds another level of butt kicking.

I don't know what my average is,no computer. 52,fat bastid and outta shape and live in the hills of West Virginia with a 42/52 crankset. Occasionally I pass younger people on hills. I wave and say hi but inside I'm screaming OH YEAH DROPPED YOU LIKE A HOT POTATO!!!!!!!! It's the little successes that satisfy. :D

love that!!!!! its like golf all it takes is one perfect shot to keep you going back :)

is riding a 52/42 bad because thats what i got?

Did he give you 'the look' before droping the hamar?:)
Yesterday, I was climbing a slight grade on my 40 pound ten speed along with my customarily included 80 pounds of fat when a couple of teenagers zipped by on their skinny tired racing bikes. T-shirts, basketball shorts, sneakers.
I've been riding consistently for a couple of years, and experienced big improvements in my riding. I felt the same way as you did.
It's all about the engine. Keep trying.

they guy really didnt even know i was there so no look, but it was more than a hammer it was a anvil.

I quit riding for the same reason 4 years ago. I couldn't keep up or pass kids on coasters. Two years ago, while waiting for my bacon double cheeseburger, fries and double chocolate shake from the drive in I walked into the LBS next door and walked out with my beloved Bianchi. I was forty pounds heavier, grumpier and older. It took me some time to give up on every being in the front of the pack or winning the Tour. Every time I get on my Bianchi or my commuter, it is not about the finish line it's about the journey. 7500 miles and 65 pounds down later, I grin every time I hit the pedals. I am slowly getting faster. Getting faster involves intervals, long slow training rides, rest days and diet. In two years I've gone from 9 mph to 15-16. It doesn't really matter. This truly has been the adventure of a lifetime!

should i try doing intervals, and other training? right now i just either ride a constant push, or some days go ballz out till i am spent then coast and slow pedal till i recover then back to ballz out till i am huffing and legs are burning then i coast and recover.

should i go about it like lifting, with a schedule and plan?

Its possible the guy in front of you didn't know what you were doing and wanted to get as far away of the "creepy" guy following him.

Officer: Excuse me, I need to speak with you
Me: Sure what about?

Officer: I was getting complaints about someone following people
Me: Really, I didn't see anyone

Officer: Interesting, they gave a report about someone matching your description
Me: Are you sure

Officer: Yes, they reported a large man on a bike breathing heavily but never saying a word
Me: :innocent:

awesome, love this LOL

I average anywhere from 12-14 average MPH. But yesterday I had to turn that screen off because I was so fixed on upping my average that I was not enjoying myself. Also that damned virtual rider that I am always falling behind to!

i never look at average or distance on my comp until i get home, i just have it on speed and what time it is. but kudos that virtual rider guy is fast and never coasts he is hardcore ;)

I hope you get to be as good a cyclist as you are a whiner!

Were you in a race with this kitted up rider? Did he know it was a race?

You are more than likely correct. It must be the bike! Why don't you go out and drop 10,000 on a full blown race bike with di2.
Guess what? You are still going to get dropped like a bad habit!

IT'S NOT THE KIT OR THE BIKE! It is your lack of fitness.
Riding a bike quickly is a matter of power to weight! You don't have enough of one and to much of another.
You figure it out!

I will give you a hint. Once you get to 15 miles an hour, you will still want to avg 20 miles an hr.
Even if you get there, there still will be a LOT of people who can drop the hammer on you anytime they wish.


Just keep riding your bike. Watch what you eat. Your speed will come.
If you try to push to hard, you will hurt yourself. Then back to square one.

Besides if you took up bowling, you would have to wear stupid shirts, instead of a cool kit!


i think if you read my original post as "tongue in cheek" then you may my premise different. sarcasm on the internet is hard to pull off, sorry.

i wasnt in a race with him, and no he didnt know i was watching him either, i know if ti was a race it would have been was worse.

shoot if it was a race i would have caught up to him on the down side anyway ;)

You can't gauge yourself on other people, that's just not how it works. You have to set your own goals and your own pace and keep at it. Nothing is gained without practice, cycling and other physical activities are no different. The harder and longer you work at it, the more dedicated you are, the better you get at it. Comparing yourself to someone else won't do you any good. Instead compare yourself to yourself last week and improve from there.

So i have been a bit irked that cant get my average mph above 13. so i have been working at pushing harder and am dead set to get the average at 15mph.

then today comes, and i am feeling good and averaging 13.6mph and decided to go ballz out on the way back home. i end up behind a full kit roadie and since we are about one turn before the steep overpass decide to slow to his pace and follow him up the hill to see how he shifts and gets up it.

well it turned out to be a soul crushing, eye opening, and ego deflating experience. this guy seriously dropped one gear and flew up the hill faster than he was cruising on the flats. he may have dropped another gear but i was so far behind i couldnt tell. i am still replaying this in my head how fast and easily he went up.

i mean geeeeeeeze i know i am out of shape but dang it cant be that bad. my wife the sweetheart she is blamed it on bike.

ok i am slow, 13mph average, and only and get to 22mph in the flats. so i am thinking maybe i picked up the wrong sport and should now switch to darts or bowling.

A full kit roadie could be anyone from the guy with more money than he knows what to do with and an expensive bike and kit that he bought just because he could, to a guy who spends his life racing.

There's really no shame in getting dropped by a guy who could be significantly lighter (since you're posting in the Clydes area I'm assuming you're a larger rider like the rest of us in here), and significantly fitter. Some days I blow past people on my mountain bike, other days people blow past me. Usually the roadies leave me for dead, every once in a while I get to burn past a roadie but not very often. I just use them as a benchmark to see how I'm doing on any given day, and sometime as a target to encourage me to push a bit harder.

I don't have a bike computer, and I don't think I want one. My average speed (est.) is one million miles an hour.

Lightweight. I'm glad I'm a Clyde because if I were much lighter I fear my estimated speed would be enough to break clear of the Earth's gravitational pull.

:P

Lightweight. I'm glad I'm a Clyde because if I were much lighter I fear my estimated speed would be enough to break clear of the Earth's gravitational pull.

:P
:lol:
It's a constant worry.

i am in my early 30's, at 250lbs, and there are no hills where i live

Some of us have planned a September tour in Southern IL and I think we will see some hills there!;) Better yet. Come on down to Metropolis for next years Super Trek ride, there is only one hill on the metric!:thumb:

I just want to encourage you to keep ridding, keep ridding, keep ridding! The laws of physics just work against us big ridders.;)

Hey I'm new here and just got back into cycling last July. I also just turned 50 this past May. In that time I've watched my average speed go from less than 10mph to just over 14mph on any given commute to work that is a 14.4 mile round trip ride and I've dropped over 20+lbs and working on that last 10.

A couple of weeks ago I did a mid week ride to a steak night that is 18 miles back to my house. For kicks I decided to see how fast I could get home thinking it would take about 1.5 hours but was stunned when I pulled in the drive 1 hour 4 minutes later. I felt great and was very happy with my effort. When I did that same ride a month after getting back on a bike it took over 2 hours to do and it felt like it was up hill both ways! Today it's nothing to have a 30 or 40 mile relaxing day in the saddle. I never dreamed I would have rode over 3000 miles in that time.

Than reality hit a few days later. There is always someone who will be faster than me. As I'm riding home on the trails this little ol' lady, and I do mean little ol' lady, blows by me like I was sitting still. I've been passed by lots of people young and older like me. But that one was a real ego crusher! After a couple of miles of shaking my head in disbelief I just started to smile and think, God bless her!

Now I just laugh at it and keep working at riding better getting my legs and cardio stronger. I feel better than I have in years from the exercise and am truly enjoying commuting to work everyday. I've even picked up the golf clubs again after 20 years away from the game and I suck just as bad as I ever did. But it is fun and I'm determined to get better, I'll just have to keep working on at it.

As others have said keep working at it. But most of all keep having fun! Once the fun is gone than maybe it is time to go buy that new bowling ball.

fasthair

should i try doing intervals, and other training? right now i just either ride a constant push, or some days go ballz out till i am spent then coast and slow pedal till i recover then back to ballz out till i am huffing and legs are burning then i coast and recover.

You already are doing intervals, maybe without the structure of time or distance but intervals nonetheless.


should i go about it like lifting, with a schedule and plan?

If you want to make a plan go for it, but keep in mind that if it becomes too much like work, it won't be fun and you'll quit. The cycling road is littered with abandoned bikes of those who made it too much like work and forgot why they were even riding in the first place.

I'm speaking from experience, I used to be one of the download the data, stick to my training plan type of guys. I did get alot faster but it was no longer fun. It became about the next workout, the next data point. It even got to the point where I stopped calling my riding buddies because they would slow me down and screw up my training. I eventually burned out and quit for 4 years.

A couple of years ago I rang up my old riding buddies and we went for one of our old rides. I didn't bring the bike computer, and didn't really care how fast we were going or how long it took and I had an absolute blast. I am now back to using a computer and HR monitor on my bike but thats more so I can gauge my improvements against myself and not to dictate how fast/hard I am going to ride. I ride how I feel, if the numbers look good after the fact, cool. If not, that's also cool because I got to ride.

So i have been a bit irked that cant get my average mph above 13. so i have been working at pushing harder and am dead set to get the average at 15mph.


Note that riding the same every day will let you go farther but not make you any faster. Trying to go faster every day also won't produce any speed improvements, although you'll stay slow and be tired because of the over training.

You need to have rest days (at least one a week), weeks (traditionally one in four), and months so that you're fresh enough for your hard days to be tough enough to make you faster.

With hard fast intervals on tough days you'll get faster, much faster quickly when you're not yet in good shape.



then today comes, and i am feeling good and averaging 13.6mph and decided to go ballz out on the way back home. i end up behind a full kit roadie and since we are about one turn before the steep overpass decide to slow to his pace and follow him up the hill to see how he shifts and gets up it.


It's more about how much power you can produce and how much you weigh.

A little structured training can make huge power improvements when you first start working on getting stronger. A minute with 50% more power than you can manage at your lactate threshold or 30 seconds at an extra 100% will let you keep a lot of speed on little bumps.

Low weight (up hills it's all about a power to weight ratio) also helps a lot. When it's too steep for aerodynamics to be a big drag a third less weight will get you to the top with nearly 50% more speed.



ok i am slow, 13mph average, and only and get to 22mph in the flats. so i am thinking maybe i picked up the wrong sport and should now switch to darts or bowling.

With a few (500, 1000, opinions vary) base miles in your legs it doesn't take a lot (a couple months) of training to get much faster; although just riding a hundred miles a week however you feel like won't help (racers call those "junk miles"). You need tough hard days (perhaps two a week) with the rest of your riding leaving you fresh enough for those to be intense enough to produce training adaptations.

Since you are here I will assume you are a clyde. Dude, that is what hills do to us:notamused:

You could have taken him on the run out on the other side:thumb:

I had the opposite happen this morning. I ride a 10 mile fire trail in the local forest as my go-to ride. There are a couple of very steep climbs that have become second nature to me. Granny gear @ 2.7mph, but just part of the ride nonetheless. This morning, I came to the bottom of the climb at the same time as a couple of skinny's came along to start the climb, I moved over and nodded them around so as not to disrupt their flow. (as a clyde, I have become overly courteous on climbs. i know I am slow and completely cool with it).

About half way up, I was stunned to see both of them come off their bikes and start to walk:twitchy: They did not have enough weight and gravity combo to keep from spinning out, and they were posers who did not understand the physics of gravel and incline. Anyway, my fat arse just crept right past them, and in order to get back some of the self esteem I have lost over the years by being the "slow guy", I waited for them at the top to chat it up:p

thats the kicker is it takes that much more to raise the average and add to that after 15 mph us "clydes" battle aero so that adds another level of butt kicking.

The limit is only in your mind!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g25G1M4EXrQ&feature=related

I have told this story several times here. Just over a year ago I got
up early and set out on an eight mile ride, the longest I had tried
since I got my first bike in May. It took me two hours to do the
first four. I turned around and two hours later I was still two
miles from home and hurting bad. I rested for half an hour
and intended to return the bike that day because I couldn't
do it. I walked the bike most of the two miles home.
Did not ride for several days.
Fourteen months later, over eighty pounds lighter, I did
a century in six and a half hours a couple weeks ago.
I did a twenty in under an hour. I am averaging over
seventy miles a day for July. I have ridden over thirty five
hundred miles since April 23 this year.

Now quit your whining and go ride your damn bike!

My hopes and prayers are with your every mile you do.

do you ride on the street or the trail/MUP? i ride 3 miles to devon and milwaukee and ride the trail to dempster the turn around. if you see a fat guy on a black with red bar tape 80's road bike say hi we will ride together.

I'm out near Elgin, but maybe some day. I spend most of my time on the Fox River Trail.

Darn near everyone passes me.

I never feel bad, because I am not racing anyone...