You're nuts!
 

That's the response I got this morning when asked about how many miles I rode last night. Just did 25 miles, not enough for some on this board to break a sweat. Non-riders though think I'm riding to the moon and back. In their defense, I remember doing a 5 miler earlier this year and thought I was gonna die.

Way to go! People say the darndest things when they don't know what they're talking about.

25 is a good healthy ride on a weekday. nothing to really brag about, but it's a solid ride for a working person.

:rolleyes: Good to know the elitists are alive and well.

Just to be clear, I wasn't bragging. They asked, I answered.

what was elitist about that? i said i consider 25 miles a good healthy ride.

25 is still closer to my "long" (weekend) rides, considering my longest to date has only been 30 miles. (Although, my regular ride partner and I met up with another lady from BF last weekend, and are doing so again this weekend with intentions of pushing about a 40 miler).

Of course, I'm a working stiff too, so my weekday rides can't be as long as I'd like them. I probably only get in about 15-20 on a weekday ride, but I remember the day being impressed with making it 6 miles before keeling over! ;)

He's happy he did a 25mi ride, and then you come along and say "its nothing to brag about", well guess what, for someone who hasn't been riding long or isn't in the best shape, 25 miles is a BIG DEAL, and you're going to turn people off to the sport if you don't encourage them.

Seriously, if a friend who was relatively new to cycling came up to you and said "hey I just did 25mi last night!", would say "thats nothing to brag about" to them? I hope not. I'm still struggling to find ANYWHERE where you said 25mi is a good healthy ride. You qualified your statement 2x about it being a "good ride" with "for a working man" and "nothing to brag about". :rolleyes:

I get the "you're crazy" quite a bit too; makes me feel good! :) I rode about 30 yesterday to a loop route I used to ride when first starting out 2 years ago. The loop is only about 5 miles long and I remember how tough it was to make it back then - quite a few hills. When I rode it yesterday, I had a huge smile plastered on my face at how easily I handled the hills and how this formerly "daunting" route was only 1/6 of my ride this day...

25 miles is nothing to brag about, especially when thousands of people are better and stronger riders. however, that doesn't mean someone can't be proud to accomplish that. i'm proud when i put in 20 miles after work, but i would never brag about it. i DO consider 25 miles a good healthy ride, just i like i said before. and i would encourage anyone getting started with cycling to be proud about their accomplishments.

For most non-riders, anything over 10 miles impresses them.
For a fellow rider, you need to work a little harder ;)

Usually don't get "you're crazy". Usually get a "wow" or "that's a lot" followed by "how long did that take"

(when I really WANT to impress someone I'll say something like "only 40 miles")

You get even wierder comments when you do 10 miles when it's 20 deg F out :D

You're silly Tim, everybody is at different stages in cycling, why hold people to your personal benchmarks. If someone just did three miles for the first time I think they should brag about it, because it is there new personal best. No need to belittle another's accomplishment to build yourself up, get a foot stool instead...
A

braggin and being proud are two different things. i think everyone should feel proud about what they do on a bike. i don't think that gives them bragging rights though.

brag: To talk boastfully, arrogant or boastful speech or manner.
proud: Feeling pleasurable satisfaction over an act, possession, quality, or relationship by which one measures one's stature or self-worth

but it's a moot point anyway, since the OP never bragged about anything. i was just characterizing the typical afterwork training ride for a distance of 25 miles. which i said (now twice) the OP should feel proud about doing, so i really don't understand the arugment here.

My dad used to always bug me about my cycling: 25 miles, (one way) to my coaching job, then another 5 miles to my desk job. Work 8 hours, then 30 miles home. Sometimes I would even stop at the rowing club for a 45 minute rowing workout.

Even though I was in the best shape of my life, it really bothered him.

I alwyas use to reply "if it doesn't bother me, why should it bother you"

I could never understand why it bothered him so much

I went to a family reunion over Labor Day Weekend. It was 112 miles away and i rode my bike up there. My wife followed later in the van with the bike rack on back to haul me home at the end of the weekend. At the reunion, one of my cousin's saw my wife letting the bike rack down to access the back of the van.

"You should have made him (me) ride all the way up here," he joked to my wife. "He did," she replied. He just laughed and walked on. He didn't believe her! :D

Secondly, don't get caught up in the Mileage Juggernaut. A good ride is one that you actually get to take. Unless you are unemployed or independantly wealthy it is hard to find time to ride much more than 20 miles per day.

Or more specifically it is hard to find more than an hour and a half to ride. I usually ride my mountain bikes in the early mornings this time of year. I am lucky if i get to ride more than an hour and one half. Actually I am lucky that i get to ride every morning. Many don't.

Don't listen to what others tell you is a "good ride." Eventually your body will outgrow your watch. IOW, you will be able to achieve distances fairly easily every day that exceed what you have time for. I try and stretch my rides to 2 hours on my mountain bikes every chance i get. I can get in a little over 25 miles on dirt/gravel roads. I have done it sooooooooo many times that I don't even really get a workout. But i do love watching the sun come up and seeing nature unfold before my eyes every sunrise.

The OP was commenting on the "responses" received from "non-riders." I didn't detect any intent to brag to forum members about a 25 mile ride.

I too find people's reactions amusing. I also find them mostly encouraging and complimentary. Many non-riders though are indeed incredulous when more than 10 miles are involved in a single ride.

Some folks who feel a need to devalue or ridicule another's efforts do so out of a mistaken belief that their accomplishments are embelished when others' are denigrated. Believe me. I do not ride in any different manner on a given ride because I worry that another member of this forum may be going farther or faster than I at the same time. Nor, as I write down my daily statistics after a ride do I lament or rejoice that others may have better or worse performance records than I.

What we all should "brag" about is that we use some of our otherwise "spare" time to exercise. :)

mhm, ive gotten a couple of those. When i told my history teacher about my ride this past sunday that was like 60 degrees, maybe less. He was like in shock. I felt superior :D

We more or less did it!!

A new length record for me @ 38.3 miles today. :)

25 miles is about 25 more miles then 98% of the people in America ride!

Actually, when goals are clear (more miles), negative feedback is more effective than positive feedback in getting people to fulfill the goal. Though, this is contentious.

I think that definately depends no the indivudual. Two weeks ago I did 25 miles for the first time. It took me FOREVER!, 3.5 hours (with some rest stops; I averaged 10.5mph...nothing to brag about...true). If after doing that someone had said to me "eh, you must not have been really pushing yourself, after all 25 miles is not that far compared to what others do" my knee-jerk reaction would be "You are right...I should give up...I can't do this".

Now, I know my reactions are not the "norm", but they are not singular to me either. Possitive re-enforcement along with helpful critique is a better motivator for most of us that are not athletic.

After my 25 mile ride someone refered to me as the "studly bicycling chick"....LOL.

Alys

I'm getting that remark from my parents right now. I'm in Chicago for the week, and I took my folding bike in. But in order for me to get to the airport every day, I'll need to at least ride in sometimes. They are totally "no way!", and I'm telling them that it's no biggie... which it isn't. But they just think it's too far away. They're even offering to give me a ride and wait until I'm ready to go... 5 hours. No thanks.

Koffee

I love watching jaws drop when I tell people (non-riders) how long my rides are. Whether it be a 'short' ride (20-25) or a 'longer' (40+) the reaction is the same: I'm a nutcase :lol:

Of course, my jaw drops when I talk to a runner or triathlete about what they do....

I was commuting about 20 miles a day for 2-3 days/week during the summer, then went on the road for business for a month. When I got back, 6 miles almost killed me. Last night I did 10.5 and it was not too bad. I do not think I will get back into the commuting since the snow is right around the corner, and the roads here are crap in the winter.