View Poll Results: How much time per week do you devote to this sport?
0 - 5 hrs
1
2.33%
5 - 10 hrs
13
30.23%
10 - 15 hrs
15
34.88%
15 - 20 hrs
8
18.60%
20 - 30 hrs
3
6.98%
30 - 40 hrs
2
4.65%
40+ hrs
2
4.65%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 43. You may not vote on this poll
How much time do you spend per week on this sport/hobby/activity?
02-16-16, 02:04 PM
#1
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How much time do you spend per week on this sport/hobby/activity?
This is an informal anonymous survey. We all can see the results, but not who posted what responses. Feel free to post your survey responses in the discussion thread below the survey if you so desire.
If you want to change your answer, just PM me. I can't see who posted what, but if you tell me where your original answer was I can move that count into another bucket. So, I'll -1 one column and +1 another.
I'd like to know how much time we spend on Road Cycling related activities per week. From Sunday - Saturday.
So, to try to remove some ambiguity:
- This is NOT trying measure training load or volume or anything like that. Basically, how much time would your significant other say you spend doing "bike stuff of one sort or another".
- Choose the time period that corresponds to your most busy month of the year. So, if you are training and racing a lot in mid-summer, choose a value from then. Not from mid-winter when you aren't as busy with the sport. OR if you are really busy training in the winter (swimming 3x/week, lots of LSD rides) but racing season is less intensive, then choose the winter months. So, what would a typical week look like in that busy month?
- Please consider all prep, setup, travel, and break-down time in your estimate, not just saddle time.
For example, on a typical day: if you take 15 minutes to load your car, travel 30 minutes to your favorite long stretch of road, do a 2 hour workout, travel home 30 minutes, then 15 mins to unload your gear, that is 3.5 hours for that day: (15 + 30 + 120 + 30 + 15 = 210 mins = 3.5 hours). Same for a road, gym, or swimming workout, if those are part of your training .
- If you are gone once/month for a weekend of racing, then count every hour but sleeping in your average. (you'd sleep at home, too). Assuming you sleep 8 hrs, the other 16 hrs you are still generally not available to do anything else (mow lawn, play basketball, go hiking)...so that's time spent on this sport.
- Also count any other related activities that you do as part of your training for track (gym, jogging, criteriums, cx, mtb, track racing, swimming). If you primarily do that activity to enhance your Road Racing ability, please count it.
- Some things to consider that are relevant activities:
- - On-bike time
- - Trainer rides
- - Travel time to/from the group ride, gym, road rides, etc...
- - Time spent evaluating power files
- - Time spent with coaches
- - Time watching videos, reading forums, etc...
- - Time spent on bike maintenance and repairs. Time spent in bike shops.
- Do not include unexpected things like:
- - Your wheel broke and you built another from scratch and it took you 10 hours. That's an unusual circumstance. However, gluing on tubulars should be a regular maintenance activity.
Remember, it's just a rough estimate.
Maybe this thought exercise will be as enlightening to yourselves as the results are to everyone else
I first posted this in Track Racing and I recall that a user that is in both forums mentioned that Roadies probably spend more time in their sport than Trackies do. So, that's why I'm asking.
If you want to change your answer, just PM me. I can't see who posted what, but if you tell me where your original answer was I can move that count into another bucket. So, I'll -1 one column and +1 another.
I'd like to know how much time we spend on Road Cycling related activities per week. From Sunday - Saturday.
So, to try to remove some ambiguity:
- This is NOT trying measure training load or volume or anything like that. Basically, how much time would your significant other say you spend doing "bike stuff of one sort or another".
- Choose the time period that corresponds to your most busy month of the year. So, if you are training and racing a lot in mid-summer, choose a value from then. Not from mid-winter when you aren't as busy with the sport. OR if you are really busy training in the winter (swimming 3x/week, lots of LSD rides) but racing season is less intensive, then choose the winter months. So, what would a typical week look like in that busy month?
- Please consider all prep, setup, travel, and break-down time in your estimate, not just saddle time.
For example, on a typical day: if you take 15 minutes to load your car, travel 30 minutes to your favorite long stretch of road, do a 2 hour workout, travel home 30 minutes, then 15 mins to unload your gear, that is 3.5 hours for that day: (15 + 30 + 120 + 30 + 15 = 210 mins = 3.5 hours). Same for a road, gym, or swimming workout, if those are part of your training .
- If you are gone once/month for a weekend of racing, then count every hour but sleeping in your average. (you'd sleep at home, too). Assuming you sleep 8 hrs, the other 16 hrs you are still generally not available to do anything else (mow lawn, play basketball, go hiking)...so that's time spent on this sport.
- Also count any other related activities that you do as part of your training for track (gym, jogging, criteriums, cx, mtb, track racing, swimming). If you primarily do that activity to enhance your Road Racing ability, please count it.
- Some things to consider that are relevant activities:
- - On-bike time
- - Trainer rides
- - Travel time to/from the group ride, gym, road rides, etc...
- - Time spent evaluating power files
- - Time spent with coaches
- - Time watching videos, reading forums, etc...
- - Time spent on bike maintenance and repairs. Time spent in bike shops.
- Do not include unexpected things like:
- - Your wheel broke and you built another from scratch and it took you 10 hours. That's an unusual circumstance. However, gluing on tubulars should be a regular maintenance activity.
Remember, it's just a rough estimate.
Maybe this thought exercise will be as enlightening to yourselves as the results are to everyone else
I first posted this in Track Racing and I recall that a user that is in both forums mentioned that Roadies probably spend more time in their sport than Trackies do. So, that's why I'm asking.
Last edited by carleton; 02-16-16 at 02:41 PM.
02-16-16, 02:07 PM
#2
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My personal inspiration for this post:
Again, I'm trying to get a real estimate of how much time we devote to this sport, and conversely, how much time we "get back" when we move on from this sport.
There were times when I was wholly consumed by track racing. I was "all in". My days, weeks, and months were planned around training. Every bite I ate was considered (even if what I ate was not on the program). I studied videos, scholarly papers, books, training plans, power files. I studied photos of racers that I admired noting their positions on the bike, cleat placement, components, what they chose, what they didn't choose (i.e. running steel bars instead of carbon or 2-bolt stems over 4-bolt). I thoroughly researched equipment. I am an information sponge. Oh, and I trained on the bike or in the gym 5-6 days/week as well...including 2-a-days at one point.
It was like a 2nd job...it was a passion.
When I stepped back and made myself take a break, I was astounded at how much I had committed to the sport...the hobby.
If someone had asked me how much time I spend per week on my track hobby, I would have said, "maybe 10 hours" from the hip, just adding up my on-bike time. But, looking back, it was much, much more than that.
I've noticed that some of you "get it" and add all of your time together. But some of you folks just round down and simply add up the saddle time. That's like a professional baseball player quantifying his time on the sport by adding up the time he's actually on the field playing in a game. His time commitment is much, much more than that.
He's on the field actively playing for maybe an hour total. The game may be from 6-9PM. But he left home at 1PM to get there in time for a team meeting and warmup and didn't return until 11PM after shower, TV interviews, post-game meeting, drive home, etc... In that scenario, I'm not looking for 1 or 3 hours, I'm looking for that total time commitment for the day of 10 hours.
There were times when I was wholly consumed by track racing. I was "all in". My days, weeks, and months were planned around training. Every bite I ate was considered (even if what I ate was not on the program). I studied videos, scholarly papers, books, training plans, power files. I studied photos of racers that I admired noting their positions on the bike, cleat placement, components, what they chose, what they didn't choose (i.e. running steel bars instead of carbon or 2-bolt stems over 4-bolt). I thoroughly researched equipment. I am an information sponge. Oh, and I trained on the bike or in the gym 5-6 days/week as well...including 2-a-days at one point.
It was like a 2nd job...it was a passion.
When I stepped back and made myself take a break, I was astounded at how much I had committed to the sport...the hobby.
If someone had asked me how much time I spend per week on my track hobby, I would have said, "maybe 10 hours" from the hip, just adding up my on-bike time. But, looking back, it was much, much more than that.
I've noticed that some of you "get it" and add all of your time together. But some of you folks just round down and simply add up the saddle time. That's like a professional baseball player quantifying his time on the sport by adding up the time he's actually on the field playing in a game. His time commitment is much, much more than that.
He's on the field actively playing for maybe an hour total. The game may be from 6-9PM. But he left home at 1PM to get there in time for a team meeting and warmup and didn't return until 11PM after shower, TV interviews, post-game meeting, drive home, etc... In that scenario, I'm not looking for 1 or 3 hours, I'm looking for that total time commitment for the day of 10 hours.
02-16-16, 02:17 PM
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It was a bit of a joke, but I'll try to sum my time up for in season bike racing time:
hours on the bike: 7 (average for the year is a bit lower, but during the training to racing season this is pretty close)
traveling to rides/races plus waiting around for race starts: 3 (weeknight races I ride to so that is part of hours on the bike, 2 weekend races per month in season within 1.5 hour drive)
analyzing power files: 0.5 (usually look at a ride for 5-10 minutes at most)
BF time: 2? This is usually in 10 minute or so bursts, often when eating or some other multitasking
Bike maintenance: 1
Total ~15 hours. Meaning less than 1/2 my bike racing time is spent on the bike. That feels off, but I'll go with it.
hours on the bike: 7 (average for the year is a bit lower, but during the training to racing season this is pretty close)
traveling to rides/races plus waiting around for race starts: 3 (weeknight races I ride to so that is part of hours on the bike, 2 weekend races per month in season within 1.5 hour drive)
analyzing power files: 0.5 (usually look at a ride for 5-10 minutes at most)
BF time: 2? This is usually in 10 minute or so bursts, often when eating or some other multitasking
Bike maintenance: 1
Total ~15 hours. Meaning less than 1/2 my bike racing time is spent on the bike. That feels off, but I'll go with it.
02-16-16, 02:27 PM
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As the saying goes, "There's no such thing as a 'free' puppy." I'm getting at (very roughly) measuring the Opportunity Costs for participating in these sports. Meaning, the free time that you are devoting to this activity is time that you don't have for another.
When I was "all in" with Track, I looked back over those years and noticed that I had let all of my other long-time hobbies fall to the side.
I once had a conversation with a guy (regional level road and track racer) who had met a babe that was also a road/crit racer. "YES!", he thought, "A woman who understands me!" Then he told me that it was like pulling teeth to get to hang out with her because she was always either working, training, or racing. Things like: She couldn't go to dinner, movies, and drinks on Friday night because she had a race the next morning. So, she had obviously chosen racing over nurturing a relationship.
02-16-16, 03:24 PM
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I'm guessing:
- 3-5 hours on bike
- 1-2 hours prepping (dressing, undressing, moving laptop to bike room, figuring out what DVD to put in player, packing car, whatever). 10-30 min per ride, 2-4 times a week.
- 1-2 hours post ride (10-30 min download SRM file, peek at some values, Strava/FB post it, move bike back inside if race day, 2-4 times a week).
- In season? 3-5 hours a week driving to races (1:30 for round trip to Tues Night worlds, usually 1:30 for common venues, up to 4:00 for the furthest one).
- bf. I'm going to say 7-15 hours a week. 2 hours a day is realistic on a bigger normal day, 1 hour is light for me. Usually while I eat or SRM file or whatever, but still. Right now it's a slight bit higher. Latter part of 2015, less. In 2008? A LOT.
30 hours?
- 3-5 hours on bike
- 1-2 hours prepping (dressing, undressing, moving laptop to bike room, figuring out what DVD to put in player, packing car, whatever). 10-30 min per ride, 2-4 times a week.
- 1-2 hours post ride (10-30 min download SRM file, peek at some values, Strava/FB post it, move bike back inside if race day, 2-4 times a week).
- In season? 3-5 hours a week driving to races (1:30 for round trip to Tues Night worlds, usually 1:30 for common venues, up to 4:00 for the furthest one).
- bf. I'm going to say 7-15 hours a week. 2 hours a day is realistic on a bigger normal day, 1 hour is light for me. Usually while I eat or SRM file or whatever, but still. Right now it's a slight bit higher. Latter part of 2015, less. In 2008? A LOT.
30 hours?
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02-16-16, 03:43 PM
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If I include bike forums time it jumps from the 15-20 bucket to the 20-30 bucket.
Including the time spent just thinking about bike racing, it could easily be the 40+ bucket.
Just the other day I was thinking about how it is almost a part time job, this whole bike racing thing.
Including the time spent just thinking about bike racing, it could easily be the 40+ bucket.
Just the other day I was thinking about how it is almost a part time job, this whole bike racing thing.
02-16-16, 03:52 PM
#9
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If I include bike forums time it jumps from the 15-20 bucket to the 20-30 bucket.
Including the time spent just thinking about bike racing, it could easily be the 40+ bucket.
Just the other day I was thinking about how it is almost a part time job, this whole bike racing thing.
Including the time spent just thinking about bike racing, it could easily be the 40+ bucket.
Just the other day I was thinking about how it is almost a part time job, this whole bike racing thing.
Then there are things that are hard to measure like the extra rest needed. Whenever I'm training hard, it's really tough for me to get out of bed in the morning. I'm always barely making it to work on time. When I'm not training hard, I arrive early.
02-17-16, 06:15 AM
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What if the only bike related stuff I do is bike forums ?
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03-26-16, 02:11 AM
#11
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should I include the time I use to put on my cycling gear, fix my bicycle(s), shave my body's various parts, shower after a ride, watch gcn on youtube?
03-26-16, 05:32 AM
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How about time spent while drifting off to sleep, thinking about the finish of a particular course? I actually find myself looking forward to that some evenings.
03-26-16, 01:54 PM
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it depends on the time of year for me. I put in less hours on the bike during race season but at the same time spend more time hanging around at bike races as a spectator or waiting for my next race.
I'm pretty good with time management. I always have my bike stuff organized and ready to go. I do many of my rides in the morning and shower at work. The biggest time waster for me is the coffee shop stop lol.
I'm pretty good with time management. I always have my bike stuff organized and ready to go. I do many of my rides in the morning and shower at work. The biggest time waster for me is the coffee shop stop lol.
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