Originally Posted by
stapfam
But the person I was doing them with has dropped out. He says he is not fit enough. This is a rider that kicks my butt every time I ride with him. Admittedly only on the Sunday rides where we do about 40 to 50 miles but he still kicks my butt. Talking to him- he doesn't think he will be able to blast the rides for the whole of the distance- in particular as both of them have a nasty Hill about 5 miles from the end.
Whether I am wrong or not doesn't matter but I do not understand why someone cannot do a ride --just for the ride. Why does he have to blast the thing in the shortest time possible and if he can't do it in that manner- just not bother.
I know this other rider is competitive but IF I ever get to the state where I cannot enjoy a ride-for a ride- then I will just give up.
A shade judgmental, no? We are all different, we ride for different reasons and we take pleasure in different things. And speaking for myself, I take pleasure in different things on different days.
I enjoy riding just for riding's sake a lot of the time. Almost all the time, in fact. But I can do that any time, on my own or with others. I wouldn't bother entering a race or sportive or any sort of challenge event unless I intended to challenge myself and see how well I could do. And if I thought I couldn't or wouldn't turn in a (to me) decent performance, I wouldn't go. I'd just go out for a ride.
Has it occurred to you that your planned companion wouldn't enjoy this particular ride "for the ride"? That if he wanted a leisurely day out he wouldn't choose this event? That his principal source of satisfaction in participating is the challenge, the taking a break from smelling the roses and, instead, going like hell?