You know your legs are getting stronger...
 

... when you go, "damn, I'm in the big ring HERE!?".

A happy day :)

Congrats! :)

In my case it was when my jeans became too tight to wear comfortably. Congrats!

For me is when I rode 3 minutes slower than the fastest time home. Fastest was with a 35mph tailwind. Second fastest was with a light breeze, and I felt slow the whole way home.

Soon you'll be like this guy!:p https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnX4uaDYyIU

That's when I know there's a nice tailwind. :lol:

Yea, for a few years now I've been having to buy loose fit jeans vs traditional cut hahaha!

& yes congrats on your self-upgrade!!! :)

- Andy

when you look behind and there's never anybody there anymore.

Heh. It was like that in the winter. Some guys are passing me occasionally, now that the weather is warmer.

I knew I was getting better when my waist got smaller and I had gained 5 pounds, the good kind.

Lucky you guys.
I grew up with a bike. Seems like a good childhood, but the problem now is that my butt and hips are not proportional to the waist. That is, a 32 waist relaxed levi's look like lycra pants on me. A 36 waist fit hips perfect, but the jeans fall off my waist and butt :(

When you pass the younger dudes struggling a slight uphill and then you let them catch up or pass you when you slow down coasting going downhill ; so you could do it again on the next uphil climb :-) and meanwhile checking them behind you on your rearview mirrors, priceless

I rode home from the shop with my friend who was on his geared touring bike and I was riding my fixed gear that is running a 53:18 until I swap in a 20 tooth cog... he said he could not believe how fast the bike was and I told him I was idling.

When you breeze past a dude on a carbon roadie on this... (bike with the kid seat)

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=376549

With your 25kg kid in the back eating an icecream and the dude can't keep pace. :) That was a fun day.

I've been in the big ring for as long as I can remember. I only shift out of it for serious hill climbs.

Beast mode engaged!

When you have to ride a bike with fat tires so you can still get a decent workout on the crowded MUPs.

When your right leg no longer looks like this.
http://i.imgur.com/c0fxyZ7h.jpg

What's the story behind the pic? Not much balance there.

I hear you on that one! Last summer there was a fairly in-shape guy in full racing getup on a very expensive looking carbon road bike... I overtook him on my cruiser that had its shifter broken & stuck in first gear since 2009 with fully laden backpack (bout 30 lbs). We must be doing something right! :D

- Andy

That's about a month and a half of a straight leg brace for my busted knee (fractured tibial plateau)
Atrophy happens ridiculously quick. Recovery is a bit slower...

Edit: meant to quote the response, not my post.

Yikes. Takes years to build the muscle and only two months to lose it?

I'm not in lowest gear on that climb anymore.

Holy crap! I hope you recovered all right!

...and serious winds (like the 40 mph headwind gusts last night)