Originally Posted by
hack
But, are you just out playing golf or are you competing in a tournament? I've done both (bike race and tournament golf) and both are equally demanding in my experience. Prior to cycling, I'd be at the range for 3-5 hours a week on top of the 3-6 hours of rounds on the weekends. I'd liken going out to play golf and being moderately competitive to going out on a local fun group ride. You can hang in both, but it's not quite the same as a race or a tournament.
With that, I'd say the fanaticism is equal across all hobbies, sports, etc. If people have the $ and the time, they will obsess.
With golf, you also compete with a handicap. I wish we had the same thing in cycling, that way I could start climbs a couple minutes ahead of the fast guys, but we don't have those. I'm not saying it makes it easier to be at the top as I think golf is probably one of the hardest and most frustrating games, but you can "compete" in a weekly league with a 20 handicap and still be competitive after that's factored in. Not so in bike racing.