Originally Posted by Eric F

I hung up my racing wheels in 2004, and was off the bike for 15 years. Back at it for 3 years, my habit of having some sort of training intent for most of my rides still exists. I have worked at doing the things that make me faster and stronger on the bike because the feeling of being strong and going fast is part of what I love about it, and I am not averse to doing the work it takes to get better. Doing it on a high-performance lightweight bike is part of the experience for me, as well. I’m targeting doing a big gravel event in April that will be a significant stretch of my abilities, and my only goal is to finish. I will train as intelligently as I can, with the limited time I have available, and will optimize my bike for the event as much as I am able. Maybe that qualifies me as a “competitor”. However, I’ve been working on improving my fitness since well before a I decided to do this event, and upgrading bike parts is part of the fun of the game.