cryogenic

I'm thinking that's about what I am, more or less.... I don't consider myself your average roadie by any stretch of the imagination other than the simple fact that I ride a poseur-ific road bike on the roads.... I mean, let's look at the facts, k?

1. I don't wear spandex (MTB baggies for me!)
2. Team kits make me want to vomit
3. I carry a backpack at all times
4. I stop and eat fast food mid-ride
5. I have never laid out a pre-planned route
6. I have never ridden without stopping at a store, restaurant, bike shop, etc.
7. I wash my bike.... at the car wash!
8. My actual saddle time is often <50% of the total amount of time I'm gone
9. I make sure my legs never burn/hurt and I'm never out of breath

I mean, there are a few other reasons I could think of if I put the time into it but you get the idea. I don't go on rides... I just ride my frickin bike. Most of the time I ride, I have a specific destination in mind but no idea how I'm going to go about getting there. I've never averaged over 17mph on a ride. I don't recall ever getting back home from riding and being out of breath. Sweaty, yes... out of breath, no. I've done 40 miles in a day twice recently and both times it's been just randomly riding around, stopping places, eating, doing stuff and it just so turned out to be 40 miles. I want to do 100 miles in a day... not because it's 100 miles but because Chattanooga is 100 miles away and I want to go there. I just wonder... am I the only one here like that? Am I the only one here that just plain rides and doesn't care where, how, when, how many miles and how fast? I have a cycle computer, but mostly just for morbid curiosity more than anything.

pedex

well I dont think you have to worry about the OCP club sending you an invitation


no your not alone if thats what your wondering

velocipedio

oh my god! you are just so cool. i wish i could be like you.

cryogenic

you left out the <sarcasm> </sarcasm> tags

TexasGuy

I've recently converted over to a road bike after riding a mongoose xr-100 14k miles in 2 1/2 years onthe road. And I'm wearing spandex now and I carry a kit with a spare tube for the first time .

Phantoj

I am the exact opposite for each point you mentioned...

If you eat fast-food midway through a ride, that makes it a hamburgerfest rather than a hammerfest.

cryogenic

Hey, I carry a spare tube, a frame pump and a crank bros speed lever. I don't see anything wrong with that. And hell, I'm not trying to be "cool". I've just found that it seems that as soon as my heart rate gets way up, my legs burn/ache, and I get out of breath that's the precise moment I stop enjoying the ride.

cryogenic

Oh man... NOTHING hits the spot like a Wendy's triple cheeseburger value meal biggie sized with a Dr Pepper while I'm out riding. I can't remember the last time I went for a ride and didn't end up stopping to eat at SOME fast food restaurant. Last time I did 40 miles, it took me almost 8 hrs of total time though only 3 of it was actually spent riding. I ate TWICE during that ride, stopped at random points along the way for no good reason other than to surf the internet on my cellphone and text message a few people.

velocipedio

but i was being dead serious.

55/Rad

I envy your type. The guys that can take the time to enjoy the journey and the scenery and the things you encounter along the way. I wish I was more like that.

My riding time is limited, so I feel I need to get the most out of it. I need to have set goals and come away with the feeling of accomplishment. I plan things out but always leave room to improvise if I meet somebody along the way. I wear spandex and jerseys, but rarely a kit. I love the sight of a "rabbit" in the distance and I love it when the roles are reversed. I love winning and I don't mind losing - cause in this sport, nobody wins all the time and there are lots of things to learn from losing. I like riding with people of like mind but don't mind sauntering about once in awhile with somebody who isn't.

55/Rad

galen_52657

I am assuming your rides are solo? From the discription of your rides and personal information, its sound like maybe you march to a different beat. Nothing wrong with that unless you morph into an anti-social Unibomber sort.

I like to ride with my friends on singles or gurlfriend on single/tandem. I like to do standing club training rides or semi-organized rides with 1-3 regular buds where the route is discussed as we role along. I wear my team/club kit 80% of the time because that's what you are supposed to do to support your club.

Tandem rides with my gurl are more relaxed with more stops, mostly to feed farm animals and rest our butts or see the sights and refresh ourselves. I think some touring shorts with pockets would be a good thing sometimes for tandem rides.

As long as you are having fun, do your own thing!

smoke

"... am I the only one here like that?"

yes. you're the only one like that. lol sometimes i wish i could be like that, but i'm too type 'A'

Retro Grouch 

My fun time is limited, so I feel I need to get the most out of it. I avoid having set goals and plan only to come away with the feeling of enjoyment.

cryogenic

I think part of it is the simple fact that my bike is my only source of transportation. So it's basically an integral part of my life. If I want to ride in new scenery, I have to ride to get to the new scenery. Almost all of my rides are solo. Occasionally, I ride with my friend Pwrd but I'm so used to riding solo at my own (~16mph) pace that I end up leaving him half a mile behind and having to sit and wait. Even the times when I do just go for a joyride in the country, I don't lay out a route ahead of time, plan for a certain distance or any of that stuff. I don't do intervals, sprints, etc. I have no idea how fast I can go on a flat... I take every opportunity to coast, especially on downhills.

In all honesty, it would be really nice to have someone to ride with but my chances of finding someone who can deal with my haphazard, loosely-defined rides might be easier said than done.

53-11_alltheway

This is funny, but you will get flamed for this

I do stop at stores at the end of a 30 mile ride usually. That's my rest break then I'll ride back. It's fun doing this too. I walk into all kinds of stores at the halfway mark of my ride. That's an advatage to dressing "versatile".

I do try to make my legs hurt though. That's the only way to increase the lactic acid threshold.

galen_52657

Different strokes...

I love to ride hard, challenge myself and my riding buds, sprint for county line signs, climb long, steep hills and come home sore and tired. I love a four man paceline on flat-to-rolling roads flying along in the 14 -13-12 tooth cogs. My legs are sore about 4 days out of seven. If my legs are not a little sore, then I have had an off week.....

53-11_alltheway

That's why I am getting a fixed gear bike for recovery days.

cryogenic

See, that's the type of stuff I care absolutely 0% about. Every once in a great while, I'll hammer up a hill for no good reason but then I'll follow it with 10-15 minutes of light spinning and recovery time. I absolutely never push very hard for any length of time. I have no clue what my max heart rate is, what my lactic threshhold is and blah blah blah. I'm somewhat curious as to what my heart rate is on an average ride, but only because I'm somewhat of a numbers geek. However, my desire to improve on whatever numbers I would glean from said information is basically zero. I ride bikes... that's about it... I ride for fun, enjoyment and transportation.

Boogs

No matter what I'm doing, it almost always bothers me if I'm not "good" at it - that's why I push myself these days. Biking used to be the only thing I did absolutely aimlessly, but lately I want to be able to bike faster and longer, and it frustrates me that I suck.

Guitar is the closest thing I have now to an aimless pursuit, unless you consider making a lot of noise an "aim".

Digital Gee

I think we're all bozos on this bus.

cryogenic

I've found that I'm getting better lately without even really putting any effort into it. Heck, my average speed on my commute home went up 2mph in 2 days with my new shoes and pedals. Amusingly, I barely broke a sweat and my legs didn't hurt at all on my entire ride. It's like I can't even FORCE myself to actually exert myself while riding. I always settle back into just spinning along cruising at whatever speed feels comfortable.

va_cyclist

Different people have different goals. Yours seem to be to enjoy the ride and get to fast food restaurants. Others want to improve their performance or lose weight. I'm out there for fun & fitness. I don't typically ride with any destination in mind, I mostly do out-and-backs. I never push to the point of throwing up, but a little burn in the legs and lungs feels good to me, especially when I get back on the bike a few days later and I'm able to go a little farther or faster.

cryogenic

I hate pain... I hate sweat... I hate the burning feeling in the legs. I try to avoid all 3 as much as possible. However, in most cases I have no choice but to ride when it's 90 degrees outside. Therefore I do what I can to mitigate the profuse sweating whenever possible. In all honesty, I'd say I go all-out for maybe 5-10 minutes a week, tops. The rest of my riding is done at 20-40%. That's generally the story of my life.. Only do as much as absolutely necessary to get the job done.

ggg300

cryogenic: that was what I did for a few years when I was in College. I even got rid of my truck and used my bike and the bus b/c I wanted it simple, but that only lasted a year or so. I know what your talking about and it is some of the best riding I have done. I remeber going on rides in the rain just so that I could get a cup of joe to warm up from riding in the rain.

Enjoy

cryogenic

Yeah, I actually use the bus pretty regularly as well. All of our buses have bike racks, so it works well.