I am glad I am still flexible enough to look up, and look around while riding a drop bar bicycle.

What does that even mean?

It means [MENTION=191655]rydabent[/MENTION] hasn't yet learned how to properly ride a diamond-framed bike.

I can’t speak for someone else, but I can speak of how I see it.

In a group, it can be different due to your awareness of the other riders around you.

But riding solo over the same routes over and over, hundreds and hundreds of times, generally does not lend itself to “taking in the scenery” per se. There are sections that can be a bit sketchy with cars, long stretches of monotony (same telephone poles, open areas, etc), fun downhills, etc.

It may not be just staring at the front wheel, but I know the grinding over the same miles, looking at the road and my computer. And there are also really cool sections that you really take in.

But, there are also miles that are just ridden pretty obliviously, except for the splits. For some it becomes point a, point b, etc.

John

Ride your own ride. Ride what works for you and ignore what doesn’t.

I find riding fast enjoyable. Whether it’s riding hard with a tailwind or riding in a tight pace line with other riders. Best of all is a small group of 4 to 6 riders all on the rivet.

Must agree on this one. Yesterday was riding a backroad with a good tailwind and it pushed me, with a bit of pedaling, to 22-23 MPH for a couple of miles. I felt like Superman and a 30 year old again (am 66). From the responses to this thread, different strokes for different folks, but for me, it is a brief way to recapture a bit of my youth and enjoy the thrill of speed using my and the winds’ power. Now going down a winding downhill at the same pace as the cars is another thrill, but then I used to ski race many years ago and don’t mind taking moderate risks (skydiving and mountain climbing are out, though).

It would seem that your riding buddies have bought their way into aero & rely on eachother to go 20-22mph for 14mph worth of effort.

You, OTOH, seem to have put in at least some amount of "dues." Enough so to at least strengthen your core for proper hill climbing technique & have some cardiovascular capacity to feed your muscles longer. Longer than your buddies, at least.

Hills are what seperates the strong from the weak.

Take the praise. Ride near the front where the slingshot/slinky effect of group dynamics doesn't eject you off the back.

I will not tolerate those who ride at higher or lower rates of speed than I am at the time that I am riding, nor do I have tolerance for those that will inevitably choose to engage in heated discourse with me regarding my very firm stance on the matter.

TL;DR - Only posers and noobs and dweebs and Freds ride faster or slower than me.


Don't bother arguing. I have you on IGNORE.

Okay, Carlin...

Interesting thread. My personal "goals" for road riding are speed and endurance. I like riding timed century events with plenty of climbing. I simply like the challenge and riding with like-minded people. But when I go mountain biking I chill out much more and enjoy the tranquility and interesting terrain. No timing, no power meters, just riding the forest singletrack. It's a whole different mentality. I find riding slow on the road a bit boring if I'm honest. That's not to say I don't enjoy a slow recovery ride, but I wouldn't want to be doing that all of the time. So I expect I will migrate more toward mellow off-road riding as I get older and slower on the road.

You sound very much like me, but I'm just a little younger (53). I also ski and love the thrill of speed on skis and bike. But also draw the line at skydiving and climbing - I'm scared of heights!
I see you are in Seattle. We have a ski condo over the border in Big White (haven't been in the last couple of seasons for obvious reasons!). I love that general area around Seattle, Vancouver and interior BC.

The need for speed.....

Hmm, I have yet to see a person riding a bicycle walk it down hill so they don't go fast.

On the contrary after interviewing a bunch of hills on the downhill side. The hills declared that the advocates against speed are full of used food.

ignored

Have skied Big White and just about froze my @$$ off. Head to the top, ski down to the lodge to warm up. Get back on the lifts to the top, ski down and warm up at the lodge all day long. Couldn’t feel my face or my toes. Man was it cold! Good mountain though. Really enjoyed the runs.

Done some rides up along the boarder. Never forget scaring about a dozen blue Herons out of a very long culvert which was very cool.

That's a good attitude. I don't care what other cyclists think about how I do things. I don't ride with groups because they are always out for blood. I don't do technical mountain biking anymore because I can't afford to get injured. I embrace the supple life. I mostly ride on dirt roads and national forest and BLM roads at moderate to slow speeds. I too like to enjoy the scenery and stop to look at things. Plus I'm always scouting out good camp sites when I ride because I like to bikepack.

There are plenty of groups that are not “out for blood.”

What group did you ride with? The Medellín Cartel Tuesday evening ride?

I started riding more with a group and they definitely want to always go very quickly on the flats (around 24+ mph). It's not for everyone - clearly. For medium rides, it's fine for me but for century rides, I prefer to enjoy the scenery and slowing down but riding in a group, you are always so focused on keeping up (and drafting as much as possible) and looking down-not looking up.

But, honestly, when I observe the other riders, I don't really see people enjoying riding in a group; I see people just barely keeping up.

My wife has been encouraging me to try yoga. Maybe someday.

If they don’t enjoy it, why do you think people go on group rides?

We probably all think (if it weren't a point of contention in this thread) that most group rides are motivated by a few guys who like to hammer, and a lot of people who want to keep up .... all of whom put a premium on their ability to "suffer." "Sufferfest" is not a word invented by slow riders.

Not saying Every group is "out for blood," but on almost every group ride I have ever been on, even the "Recovery Ride" or "New Rider" rides ... the fast guys got bored and the competitive guys chased.

And while a lot of cyclist like to go slow and at least glimpse the roses ... a lot of riders see riding as highly competitive, and judge the quality of the ride by how long they were able to ride so hard every moment was incredibly unpleasant. There is a huge group of ridders---we all know it--who really do value painful riding.

That is fine, too. If they see the bike as a tool for testing their ability to exert themselves to ever higher limits, ... nothing wrong with that. Some people walk, some jog, some run, some race. Some people do a morning warm-up/tune-up with three-pound dumbbells, some try to maintain a pretty good level of muscle but not bulk up, some try to get stronger and stronger, and some go for max effort--and some are actually into body-building. All good.

I don't do many group rides because it is hard to find a group that feels like I do on any given day. Not the the group's fault, not my fault, nobody's fault. I do what I do, I accept that others can do the same.

Not all groups ride at 24+ mph. In fact, most do not.

Does the group the OP rides with include some fighter pilots with nicknames like Iceman and Goose? Maybe a guy named Maverick? Just wondering.

Try it. You might like it. I used to make fun of yoga thinking it was just glorified stretching but after my first hot session, I was hooked.