"In the beginner's mind there are many possiblities, but in the expert's there are few."
Shunryu Suzuki

That is not to proseltyze any religion (actually I have never thought of Buddhism as a religion).

But, as much as I respect (even revere) -- and appreciate -- the opinions of those on this 50+ forum who have vast amounts of knowledge and experience, I wonder if sometimes it is not better to return to the simple days of:
"Let's jump on a bike and see where it takes us?"

Forget the CF's and SPD's... Just ride and enjoy... And whatever contributes to that enjoyment is the right choice...
... Or are those days gone for us?

Just sayin'


... Now I'll go look for my fire extinguisher. I have a feeling I'm gonna need it!

You are barking up Denver's tree. Smiles not miles.

We have this discussion at least 2 times per year. The answer is "Live and let live." (I thought, in fact, that we just went down this route a few weeks ago)

In any event, bicycling is one sport/activity where one can very easily make one's own decision about the rules of the game and how one wants to play.

In many ways, they are gone for me. I still love a good ride, and even most bad ones. But I sadly will neer recapture those days before there was such things as training, cadence, form, fitness, clips, clip less, so on. Even the teenage days of where ya riding today? I don know, see how I feel on the road.

However, the good side is being able to ride worry free, I know I can handle whatever a ride throws at me. But I miss the feeling of the adventure.

PS Denver - In my case its internal not external.

Ride a bike without SPD's? Too dangerous.

Ok for trips into town or round to my daughters but I don't feel secure without being clipped into the bike.

Then depends on the ride I have planned. Hills and it is the bike set up for them with the triple and lightweight wheels. Going to be a faster ride with the lads and it is the 15lbs L/w Aluminium that handles well. Just an ordinary ride that doesn't do more than 3,000ft of climbing and speed will not come into it- it is the Pinnie.

But if I did not enjoy riding- I would not be doing it.

[QUOTE=GeorgeBMac;14911986


"Let's jump on a bike and see where it takes us?"

[/QUOTE]

Every ride.

OK, Thanks...

With as much respect as I have for the people on this forum, perhaps I was thinking that they needed some changin'...

Stapfam (not to pick on him) as well as others is quite clear about what he 'enjoys'. And for me to suggest that there could be ANYTHING wrong with that is disrespectful and just plain wrong...

Thanks for clearing that up...

“You must understand that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain”
― Miyamoto Musashi, A Book of Five Rings

Just remember that not everyone comes to bicycling from the same place. Look at the Bike Forums. The Bicycle Mechanics and Classic & Vintage forums are full of people who love to tweak on their machines. They can spend hours researching just the right components for their bike.

The various racing forums have a lot of people who are not happy unless they are at max speed with their heart pounding and their legs on the verge of oxygen deficit.

The utility cycling forum has folks who want to do the most mundane tasks on their bicycles and buy or make some very strange bikes to haul stuff around.

The Clydesdales & Athenas forum has a lot of people whose main goal on a bicycle is to lose weight.

Then there are a lot of young folks in Alt Bike Culture and other places who like a bicycle for stylin'.

A lot of it depends on what you want out of bicycling and why you do it.

Sooooo..... what WERE you hoping for? Any history reading this forum would show that not all people here are committed to carbon and clips.

Painting with too wide a brush results in painting a lot of what should not be painted.

But I like reading all the Hi-Tec data and super tec observations of these people.
Like, I just looked over a riders computer print out of his whole 67 mile ride, all kinds of data, calories, speeds, elevations,

Very cool stuff !

The Bits and pieces of useful data I get from these riders often enhances my riding ability.

Yeah I ride for excersise but I really do It for fun.

My experience is the opposite - I took it too seriously and did not enjoy bicycling as much in my younger days (note that I didn't say cycling was horrible, I said "didn't enjoy it as much"). Now that I'm about to turn 60 I'm enjoying cycling much more, and for the very reasons you describe. Every mile is an adventure, and there is so much to see! I ride slower though. I actually did switch from SPDs to platform pedals about a year ago, but I don't think that makes the ride any less or more enjoyable.

I returned to cycling after a gap of 30 years and found that I enjoyed it in much the same way I did as a youngster. I now ride mtbs, which I never did before, and the fun of taking that detour trail, or the muddy bit, or the path along the coast often just makes me smile as I ride. ( I've even been known to sing out loud as I ride )


The falling off isn't as much fun though.

I have that very thought at least once each season, usually when I'm putting on my cleated shoes and helmet, and wish things were simpler like when I was a kid. But I still go ahead and "kit up" anyway.

Some days I feel a bit like this myself. I am a relatively new enthusiast. Up until a couple of years ago, my bike was a rusty old Sears MTB which collected rust on the back of the RV.

Now I have restored some old bikes, ridden a metric century, own some new bikes and even converted some friends and family with my newfound enthusiasm.

I also started viewing "Bike Forums". Always entertaining, but sometimes almost annoying in a high school "peer pressure" sort of way. The North American preoccupation with so-called "race bikes" and "high end" sometimes spoils the fun for us "unracers" (thanks G.P., for the definition). Putting a $$ value on everything seems to be a human malady these days.

Just remember, define your own "bike lifestyle" and be proud of it. See our latest "unrace" bikes attached.

For those looking for a less "intense" experience on Bike Forums, I would suggest the Recreational and Family forum - (a forum Joe and I started years ago) - or the hybrid forum, among others.

This is an interesting perspective - how does what someone else is doing spoil the fun for you? I'm a racer type, but you unracers don't spoil my fun, so I'm curious who is spoiling yours, and how they are doing it.

To me I think that it has mostly to do with clothing. Shoes, shorts, helmet - also, how am I going to carry my wallet?

I sometimes yearn for the days when I'd just jump on my bike in whatever clothes I happened to be wearing. My beater bike has double sided pedals so I can ride it comfortably without cleated shoes but Mrs. Grouch yells at me when she catches me riding to the hardware store without a helmet.

Okay, here goes an weak attempt to explain myself. Perhaps I'll use some examples.

I posted a garage sale bike, which my wife actually bought for me because it was near my birthday. I had never had a old style "ten speed" and excitedly posted it on C&V. I now know what "dork discs", "turkey wings", "gas pipe" and "Fred" mean! As an aside, on a recent RT ride a stick put my chain up against the dork disc and may have saved the day by protecting my spokes

Folks go on endlessly about paint, powder coat and scratched finishes but totally eschew the solution to most of those problems, the lowly kickstand! It makes your bike stand up all by itself! Other, bordering on rude comments have been made about mirrors, bells, racks, etc.

I recall a thread where a poster told someone they should get rid of their beloved "POS" (I figured that one out by myself) and get a "decent" (high end) bike.

These type of comments don't really "spoil my fun" as much as they reflect disappointment in fellow cyclists.

I'm in favor of simplicity but would not want to over do it. In the world of cycle racing the goal is speed, not simplicity. If touring across Asia, a principal requirement of the bike is reliability. A bike, like any other machine, has to succeed at its intended purpose. Human nature being what it is, some will have stupid ideas as to how you should go about fulfilling your cycling goals. Pay no attention to stupid people at all.

It seems to me that each person should have a fairly clear idea of what they want to get out a riding a bike. This does not mean that the initial idea can't evolve. In my case, I began with an old beater bike that was fine for knocking around town. Now I ride a bike that is lighter, quicker and will accept a rack and panniers for light touring, which I did with another Forum member and his wife this past summer and will do more next summer.

I was a fanatical runner into my early 40's: shorts teeshirt, shoes and go run with very little concern for HR zones, nutrition, etc. I suppose all runners today wear GPS, carry things like goo and fret over how much time they spend in Z4. Our lives our filled with gadgets in cars, in home entertainment, in every manner of mobile information access and connectivity. Why should cycling be any different? It is all about deriving enjoyment out of cycling whether on a throwback, un-instrumented steel ride or a tricked out, power measuring, lightweight CF wonder bike. When I retire I'm going to build-up a single speed, all that I will need for the 12-13 mile round trip to get a cup of coffee, but I'll keep riding my "30" speed Volagi and "40" speed daVinci with a few more bells and whistles when the mood or need strikes.

I hear you. That kind of stuff can be irritating when you read it (we racer types get that in reverse, and of course some people think anything not exactly like them is off), but at least it doesn't meess with our rides.

At our age why does anyone take the stuff that some say or type so literally or let it bother them? I stay out of any forum that I know will be a problem as far as expecting you to adhere to some fashion or mechanical dictate. Ride the bike you enjoy using and that suits your wants and needs. Wear what you want to wear when you cycle, you are not in high school trying to impress anyone in to a date or to mark your territory. Want to keep the spoke protector (my R500 still has its spoke protector, so what) than keep it, like the convenience a kick stand gives you, use it (I don't because I don't want any stays bent from one or by some idiot sitting on my bike with one down,) it is your bike and you paid for it, Ride it as you see fit. Your last sentence says things better anyway.

You have 2 very nice looking Raleighs there, I would be proud to ride one of them and I am sure you are. Ride Lots and Ride Safe.

Bill

I'm keeping my spoke protector...couldn't care less about what others think about it.