Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Aw Man......

I know that I can't expect to be particularly fast at two & a half months in, but today's commute home was a bit of a bummer. There was a horrible headwind for most of the way home (20 miles). I was fighting hard to maintain any kind of pace and twice....(TWICE!).....I was passed by a roadie that left me in the dust like I was sitting by the side of the road.

:notamused:

I was feeling a bit pouty when I got home (ten minutes over my average time).

Oh well. I can console myself with a couple of things. I'm commuting to work w/ a 40 mile round trip. That ain't bad. This weekend I was wearing shirts that have been hanging in the closet for half a decade because I got too fat to wear them a few years back. So, I'm making progress....It's just a bit slower than I would like.

Such is life.

I guess that means I'd better keep riding. :thumb:

I hear you! What type of bike are you commuting on? Do you have stuff you are lugging along with you? Was the roadie just riding w/o a bunch of stuff (backpack or panniers)?

Keep your chin up! Congrats on the extra wardrobe choices.....I know how that feels.

I hear you! What type of bike are you commuting on? Do you have stuff you are lugging along with you? Was the roadie just riding w/o a bunch of stuff (backpack or panniers)?

Keep your chin up! Congrats on the extra wardrobe choices.....I know how that feels.

Thanks on the congrats!

I'm riding a Trek 7100 hybrid. I've got a rack mounted and some fold up baskets attached to the rack. Atop the rack was a trunk bag that had a bike lock and some miscellaneous stuff in there. Truth is, the few extra pounds I was carrying on the bike don't hold a candle to the bunch of extra pounds I'm carrying on my....well...you get picture. :)

Both roadies were riding standard-looking road bikes (no rack, no panniers, skinny 120 psi tires).

I'm not upset or anything. It was just a bit disheartening at the time. I got over it quickly enough. The headwind was enough to make me forget about everything except pedaling before too long.

I totally understand what your saying...I too commute on a hybrid (Trek 7.2 FX). I rode it when I joined my cycling group...and was struggling to keep up. Tires on my FX were 35's and gearing not same as a road bike. People kept telling me..."just wait til you get your road bike, you are going to fly!"

I am still carrying 75 lbs excess weight but I got my road bike and the difference in what I can do on it compared to the FX is rather amazing.

I totally understand what your saying...I too commute on a hybrid (Trek 7.2 FX). I rode it when I joined my cycling group...and was struggling to keep up. Tires on my FX were 35's and gearing not same as a road bike. People kept telling me..."just wait til you get your road bike, you are going to fly!"

I am still carrying 75 lbs excess weight but I got my road bike and the difference in what I can do on it compared to the FX is rather amazing.

I've got a deal worked out w/ my wife. When I lose 50 lbs I get a new bike. Well, another bike. I'll likely go for a C&V road bike. Something from the 80's & made of steel.

Heck, I might even get a touring rig. I dunno.

OK - time for bed. 5:00 a.m. comes awfully early.

Night.

embrace the wind my friend, trust me. When wind comes, just understand it will take you a little longer to commute. Enjoy the ride, spin more and you will get there....and in better shape then the folks in rigs.

Dont worry about the roadies. As soon as the weather hits for winter, they will be locked up on trainers while you enjoy the outside ride!

The fact that it takes a long time to reach your potential is good news.

Not a commuter yet, but I think we all have similar stories. Just this past Saturday was running along at 17+ mph on my hybrid and thinking quite highly of myself when three roadies in a line passed me like I was a turtle and they were riding rockets. :lol:

All this does is reinforce the work I have yet to do and keeps me motivated!

Oh well. I can console myself with a couple of things. I'm commuting to work w/ a 40 mile round trip. That ain't bad. This weekend I was wearing shirts that have been hanging in the closet for half a decade because I got too fat to wear them a few years back. So, I'm making progress....It's just a bit slower than I would like.



If you are commuting 40 miles per day, five days per week, that is better than not bad, that is a training load that will get you fit enough for racing if you use the time right.

You're on a hybrid, sitting in the wind. Someone riding a road bike in the drops will have a massive advantage because on a flat course it is the air resistance, not the weight, that slows you down.

But the most important thing is not to waste time comparing yourself with other people. Unless you're Mark Cavendish, there's always a faster guy/gal out there - lots of them. Just focus on your own performance and on what you need to do to improve. It takes a long time to build the aerobic base that will deliver what you want, but at the mileages you are talking about you'll see steady progress.

+1 on the above

You are doing great. Don't compare yourself to every other rider on the road, compare yourself to the rider you were a month ago.

It never ends. Doesn't matter how fast your riding, your going to get dropped by someone else.

I have come to accept it, and now I just race myself.

Keep in mind also, that some of us NEVER get any faster, we just devlop such stamina that we become ultra-distance riders.
A 40mi RTC sounds like a great beginning.
I don't mind getting passed by a fit roadie in full kit, I get embarrased when I'm passed by some guy hauling an entire trailer of camping gear, or two kids. :)

The more you ride, the faster you'll get and the more you'll at least pass the stragglers. I once caught up to a group ride of roadies while commuting on my hybrid complete with stuffed panniers. I asked if I could draft a bit (strong headwind that day as well). When I told them was 12 miles into my 17 mile commute, they were just "No WAI!" I rode with them a mile or so, then actually passed them. They weren't an advanced group obviously, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel good.

...on a flat course it is the air resistance, not the weight, that slows you down.

It's both, actually, and there's simply no way around the physics of it. It is what it is.

But I agree with the intent of the post. The work you're doing is great and will benefit you hugely. And it really is pointless to compare yourself to others unless that's what you really want to do. To do that, though, you need to make sure all the other variables are equalized (like riding similar bikes), and even then you're going to be disappointed a lot of the time.

It's both, actually, and there's simply no way around the physics of it. It is what it is.



Yes, OK. I should have said it's the air resistance more than ​the weight. Both matter. But most people underestimate the importance of the former, it's the reason why riding faster is so much harder than riding further.

Thanks, y'all. I appreciate the encouragement.

@Chasm: Honestly, I'm not sure how to "use the time right". I guess it depends on the goal. My goal is simple - get in some kind of shape other than round.

I've been setting short term goals along the way.

1: Make the commute (done).
2: Make the commute and have enough gas left to actually be productive at work (done)
3: Make the commute and have enough gas left when I get home to do something more than lay on the couch and moan (done)
4: Don't coast so much - pedal the whole way there (done)
5: Move on to the next harder gear, rinse and repeat (in progress)

@Myosmith: I've seen significant improvement since I started doing this. It's just a bit of a bummer to look at a retreating rear end while I'm busting my rear end trying to make my commute.

I know that no matter the endeavor, there will always be someone better/faster/stronger/smarter. There's only room for one guy @ the top - and at nearly 50 years of age there's no chance in the world that it'll be me.

However, I do try to maintain a competition w/ myself. I want to be faster than I was last month. I want to be stronger than I was last month. That's why I keep setting small goals for myself. If I see the goal as attainable, then I'll likely keep trying to achieve the goals. As long as I keep trying, I'll likely keep seeing results until my overall goal is achieved.

It's like the wiseguy said. "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!"

Again, thanks, one & all!

embrace the wind my friend, trust me. When wind comes, just understand it will take you a little longer to commute. Enjoy the ride, spin more and you will get there....and in better shape then the folks in rigs.

Dont worry about the roadies. As soon as the weather hits for winter, they will be locked up on trainers while you enjoy the outside ride!

Not here! I can ride year round. :p

I do not like the wind... I do not want to embrace the wind. I do like turning around after riding into the wind!

40 mile round trip each day is truly impressive!

Congrats on the wearing smaller shirts! Riding into the wind SUCKS!!! Congrats on the 20 miles each way, that's impressive. (Actually I may start my smaller commute now after reading this). Keep it up, you will be "that guy" soon enough!

Before y'all gush about the length of my commute, you have to remember that I live in Houston.

Houston is as flat as a table. Around here an overpass = a hill.

Hat's off to you guys that live in mountainous/hilly regions and do a five mile commute. The hills would kill me.

'S'ok. I had a 5-year-old on a tiny bicycle blow by me when I first got my bike. I was totally humiliated. I'm pretty sure now that I could keep up with him. Maybe. :roflmao2:

Hills...oh, hills. I'm teaching myself how to ride hills. Sure will be easier 80 lbs from now...

I was able to break out an old Tie-dyed shirt. My teenagers were jealous. COOL!

Congrats on the commute. Use the fire of those who pass you by for digging in and grinding harder. I have seen the butts of some many good riders that I know most of them by their backside. I now admire them. I realize what it takes to get in that kind of shape. I still have high hopes of passing them one day.

Skippy,

Don't worry about it! A 40 mile commute is great!

You could have had my commute this afternoon... I got chased by a golf cart while going up hill and into the headwind. I burned every match I had trying to stay ahead of him but he caught me anyway...

Semper Fi

Before y'all gush about the length of my commute, you have to remember that I live in Houston.

Houston is as flat as a table. Around here an overpass = a hill.



LOL. For a year or so, four/five years ago, I had a commute that was 29miles each way with a decent climb in the middle. I didn't do it every day - there are occasions when spending three and a half hours a day on the bike isn't practicable. But I did four days, most weeks. I got pretty fit. One has to bear in mind, though, that I am slightly unhinged.

I really don't understand why people hate getting passed. You're commuting, the roadie is riding for sport. If you were lycra'd up and racing him it would be one thing, but you weren't so just relax, forget about it and enjoy the ride.

LOL. For a year or so, four/five years ago, I had a commute that was 29miles each way with a decent climb in the middle. I didn't do it every day - there are occasions when spending three and a half hours a day on the bike isn't practicable. But I did four days, most weeks. I got pretty fit. One has to bear in mind, though, that I am slightly unhinged.

Holy Mackerel! That's almost a metric century p/day, isn't it? I imagine you did get quite fit.

I just got home from my evening commute. My stepdaughter was here. She was just leaving. I hadn't seen her in a month or so. She looked at me and said "wow...you are getting smaller."

1 Hr 41 Min to go 20 miles. That's one minute over average. It rained. I got wet. That's OK. I might not get wet tomorrow.

At least not from the rain.