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Old 01-11-16, 04:10 AM
  #5  
chasm54
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Join Date: May 2010
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It's interesting to ask oneself, as a non-racer, whether one still has goals in cycling and if so, what they are? Obviously enjoying being on the bike, but is that enough or do you need something more specific?

I've said in other threads that the data doesn't grab my attention in itself, so I'm not about to buy a PM and set a target of maintaining 90% of my peak w/kg or whatever. I can easily see why others would do that, though. Quite apart from anything else, it would be a good way of ensuring one retained a very high level of fitness, and there's a pretty good correlation, I believe, between keeping the VO2max and staying healthy into old age.

So staying really fit is high on my agenda, and the bike is my favourite form of exercise. It's also a big source of pleasure for me in terms of my mental health and well-being. Long days on the bike have been highly meditative for me. A lot of the time I am riding along acutely aware of my surroundings, and myself, but with my conscious mind largely out of the way. And there's a big link between the two, for me: mens sana in corpore sano, and all that.

So my goals these days, while not strictly quantifiable, are essentially about health and fitness and pure pleasure. I need to stay fit enough to have no problem with five or six hours a day on the bike when loaded touring, and to relish, rather than merely endure, riding in even the most challenging terrain. That'll do.
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