What makes you long distance riders want to ride so much?
10-30-14, 09:22 AM
#51
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>>only partially tongue in cheek<<
It's a way to hide from the rest of life with a minimum amount of negative consequences for at least a few hours. Stuff like aging issues, relationship problems, financial woes, and especially crappy news about politics just don't matter when you're 35-60 miles from home in the middle of a wind/rain/hailstorm.
It's a way to hide from the rest of life with a minimum amount of negative consequences for at least a few hours. Stuff like aging issues, relationship problems, financial woes, and especially crappy news about politics just don't matter when you're 35-60 miles from home in the middle of a wind/rain/hailstorm.
When I began doing "longer" rides (50-100 miles) I couldn't fathom doing them alone, more for fear of loneliness and being trapped by my own head than anything else. But as I progressed as a cyclist and did more rides, the more confident I became riding solo, and the more I enjoyed. I like to take in scenery, and I always carry a camera which I don't hesitate to stop and use. I realized that when I was riding with others, I was beholden to the expectations of the group, and I missed the freedom to stop when I wanted, and detour when I wanted.
Now, I don't really have a preference-- I'm equally comfortable riding solo or in a small group (2-10 riders), but I don't enjoy large groups at all. Whereas a few years ago I wouldn't have dreamed of signing up for event rides without others I know, now I often just show up solo, start riding solo, and fall into small groups based on my pace. I've met a lot of friends this way.
10-31-14, 08:24 PM
#52
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Catskills, dirt, Boston.
Do you know George Swain?
Or, better yet, the Fixie Pixie?
10-31-14, 09:55 PM
#53
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I really admire folks who do long distance riding/training.
Was wondering what it is that makes you want to be on the bike so long and in all conditions year after year, day after day.
The obvious answer would be that you love riding, but I wonder what the other reasons are that keep you going.
I trained solo for the Century I did this year. I had a great time, but felt a little nervous being so far from home and on my own out there on the training rides.
I would love to do some longer Rando type riding, but I think I would need a training/riding buddy to make it more fun and less scary doing it on my own, but I don't know of any Rando groups around me and I don't think I could keep up with anyone anyway as I would probably be considered pokey on the bike (~15mph).
Was wondering what it is that makes you want to be on the bike so long and in all conditions year after year, day after day.
The obvious answer would be that you love riding, but I wonder what the other reasons are that keep you going.
I trained solo for the Century I did this year. I had a great time, but felt a little nervous being so far from home and on my own out there on the training rides.
I would love to do some longer Rando type riding, but I think I would need a training/riding buddy to make it more fun and less scary doing it on my own, but I don't know of any Rando groups around me and I don't think I could keep up with anyone anyway as I would probably be considered pokey on the bike (~15mph).
I strive to achieve pokey. I do not ride for distance or speed. I just like to be out in the world and to have enough stuff with me to enjoy whatever I find. A fully charged cell phone is a good lifeline. Sometimes I find a nice spot that just needs for me to spend the night. I like having the option. My kit includes a small fishing outfit in case I pass a spot that wants me to wet a line. I use the ride as a gateway to other activities and tend to ride more often and farther because of it.
I like to ride slow and take it all in. Some days I start off on a ride to nowhere and find as dusk starts to set in I have gone 100+ miles and the road is still calling to me. Exploring the side roads, the "blue lines", keeps me out for "just one more day". I start each ride like I may be gone for days. Because I might.
I do not look down on those with "the need for speed" that must be in the right outfit and race against the clock. There is room for all of us on the road. Or should I say a road for all of us. I just prefer the road less traveled.
My riding buddy. She is happy to travel the same road I do.
11-01-14, 09:36 AM
#54
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Never met George, but follow his blog and communicated by email a couple of times. Tried to get together for a ride but that didn't happen. I do know Fixie Pixie, lives a couple towns over and I see her and her husband on many local rides. They're a local legend.
11-01-14, 10:43 PM
#55
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I met Fixie Pixie in Feb-2013. I didn't know who she was; apparently others did know.
"... a couple days before the ride, a woman I did not know posted to the NC-rando-list-serve that she was looking for a fixie ride of any sort, preferably starting in or near Durham. Confident the unknown woman would reply "no thanks", I let her know that JP would be doing the Bahama Beach perm-pop on his fixie, starting at 10 on Saturday. I copied JP on the e-mail. I now suspect, but did not at the time, that JP knew who the recipient was, as he chimed in seconding the invite. Surprise on me -- she accepted.
"While preparing to send her some information, I decided I had better check that her RUSA membership was up-to-date -- better a tad late to check, than never. Membership up to date; that's good. ... ... ... While actually typing the e-mail with info on where to find the start, where to find a Ride With GPS map, etc., I finally happened to notice the RUSA number. ... ... ... 12 ... ... ... Oh, golly.
"Apparently JP wasn't the only one who knew this #12 person, as MikeD signed on for the ride, and Branson, too."
After the perm-pop ride was completed, Fixie Pixie gave me a lift to a local bicycle shop (the newbies were much slower than I expected & I was already late for a meeting with another another cyclist at the shop; the other cyclist never showed). While chatting en route and at the shop, I had to interrupt a couple times with "background please, remember I never heard of you until yesterday." "While preparing to send her some information, I decided I had better check that her RUSA membership was up-to-date -- better a tad late to check, than never. Membership up to date; that's good. ... ... ... While actually typing the e-mail with info on where to find the start, where to find a Ride With GPS map, etc., I finally happened to notice the RUSA number. ... ... ... 12 ... ... ... Oh, golly.
"Apparently JP wasn't the only one who knew this #12 person, as MikeD signed on for the ride, and Branson, too."
=======================================================
BTW, Fixie Pixie's report on that Feb-2013 ride is much better written than mine.
I have not met John.
11-02-14, 12:16 AM
#56
Senior Member
I have not met George, either. But I am sometimes jealous when I see photos he posts.
I met Fixie Pixie in Feb-2013. I didn't know who she was; apparently others did know.
=======================================================
BTW, Fixie Pixie's report on that Feb-2013 ride is much better written than mine.
I have not met John.
I met Fixie Pixie in Feb-2013. I didn't know who she was; apparently others did know.
"... a couple days before the ride, a woman I did not know posted to the NC-rando-list-serve that she was looking for a fixie ride of any sort, preferably starting in or near Durham. Confident the unknown woman would reply "no thanks", I let her know that JP would be doing the Bahama Beach perm-pop on his fixie, starting at 10 on Saturday. I copied JP on the e-mail. I now suspect, but did not at the time, that JP knew who the recipient was, as he chimed in seconding the invite. Surprise on me -- she accepted.
"While preparing to send her some information, I decided I had better check that her RUSA membership was up-to-date -- better a tad late to check, than never. Membership up to date; that's good. ... ... ... While actually typing the e-mail with info on where to find the start, where to find a Ride With GPS map, etc., I finally happened to notice the RUSA number. ... ... ... 12 ... ... ... Oh, golly.
"Apparently JP wasn't the only one who knew this #12 person, as MikeD signed on for the ride, and Branson, too."
After the perm-pop ride was completed, Fixie Pixie gave me a lift to a local bicycle shop (the newbies were much slower than I expected & I was already late for a meeting with another another cyclist at the shop; the other cyclist never showed). While chatting en route and at the shop, I had to interrupt a couple times with "background please, remember I never heard of you until yesterday." "While preparing to send her some information, I decided I had better check that her RUSA membership was up-to-date -- better a tad late to check, than never. Membership up to date; that's good. ... ... ... While actually typing the e-mail with info on where to find the start, where to find a Ride With GPS map, etc., I finally happened to notice the RUSA number. ... ... ... 12 ... ... ... Oh, golly.
"Apparently JP wasn't the only one who knew this #12 person, as MikeD signed on for the ride, and Branson, too."
=======================================================
BTW, Fixie Pixie's report on that Feb-2013 ride is much better written than mine.
I have not met John.
A long-distance legend is one ideal way to describe Pamela.
11-02-14, 01:26 AM
#57
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It's like being a drug addict. It takes more and more to get high. I don't really feel satisfied unless I get 100 miles or more.
Not sure why, but short, intense rides don't do it for me. That's part of why I don't race. I'm not so great at that, so I feel like a loser when I don't place well. But somehow on a long ride I get a sense of accomplishment no matter how fast I go.
Not sure why, but short, intense rides don't do it for me. That's part of why I don't race. I'm not so great at that, so I feel like a loser when I don't place well. But somehow on a long ride I get a sense of accomplishment no matter how fast I go.
11-02-14, 07:37 AM
#58
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This turned into an interesting thread, thanks everyone
11-02-14, 09:21 AM
#59
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I agree. The more I ride the more I can. The fitter I get the further I have to go to find that limit. I ride out to the limits. A fast/hard ride is ok, but not nearly as satisfying as riding a 380km fleche or just riding 240km through the night over all the hills you can find... just because.
11-02-14, 06:50 PM
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I'm starting to feel the same way, albeit not having reached the endurance levels you have. I'm too find that I don't feel "satisfied" until I ride long enough to push my endurance limits (which currently hover around a flattish imperial century or a mountainous metric century). And it is like a drug, where it seems to take more and more to get that high. I also find that the more fit I get, the longer it takes to warm up and get into "the zone", that feeling you reach shortly into a ride where you feel you can go on forever, like the oft-cited runner's high (currently the warmup is around 20 miles or something over an hour). No matter the fitness level, before I get my warmup miles in, my body tells me I'll never be able to finish the distance I set out to do. And then that changes. Amazing how the pain receptors, and the pleasure receptors, all get stirred up and change the signaling in the brain throughout the ride. Each ride becomes not only a trip in the literal sense, but also in the metaphorical mind experience sense.
I can do 100km at 28-34kmh on the flat (flat bar touring bike) and 20kmh climbing with very few stops. Its not fun. Good exercise and I hurt for hours afterwards, but it doesn't feel like enough. If I go a bit slower and just keep riding till I run out of time,food, or money I can see new places, and test my limits. I used to train to ride fast. Why? Because everyone else was. Then it came to me that in my desire to go faster I was missing the journey. These days I'll ride a bit slower, stop every few hours or at places that look interesting, and actually enjoy the journey. If needed I can still ride out to the limit but its quite frankly dangerous and not much fun.
I find randonees to be great fun. They put a time cap on how long you have so you have to hold a certain pace or fail. Makes motivating yourself easier. The last fleche we did we covered the last 40km ion an hour and a half over the steepest hill of the route after riding for 22 hours. Amazing what a time limit does for motivation!
Last edited by krobinson103; 11-02-14 at 07:01 PM.
11-02-14, 07:29 PM
#61
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For me, the long distances don't do it alone--I need climbing along the way. If I have both of those I'm happy. Separating the body from the brain happens most consistently when I am truly winded.
11-03-14, 06:52 AM
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"Was wondering what it is that makes you want to be on the bike so long and in all conditions year after year, day after day".
I wasn't gifted with the genetics that makes exercise 'enjoyable' and it takes a cattle prod or threat of death to keep me at it. As a consequence I gained almost 100lbs working a sedentary job. I discovered that loosing the weight was easier than keeping it off long term. Randonneuring became the best possible solution. I sign up for a 1200k or two every year- each one a harder and more daring ride than the year before. I'm not a strong rider and having something so monstrous dangling over my head keeps me training in one form or another year around in a highly structured way. I have to train progressively year after year and I'm constantly working on my alpha weakness which is climbing. To maintain the kind of training demands I have gotten really discliplined about eating a clean and appropriate diet. Even with riding 7-10K miles/yr, I still find that I have to manage my weight and health and keep the naughtiness to a minimum.
Yes there are good and occasionally great days on the bike. Riding a historic route through France or Spain is certainly worthy of envy. But frankly it's a heck of a lot of grinding work. I've learned more through this process - cycling, sports physiology, tactical planning, you name it- than it would have been possible to learn if I was just riding centuries or riding for 'fun'. The up side has been learning the discipline of the lifestyle, learning to take outrageous risks and of course the feeling of having accomplished a 1200K ride. I think it's true that it's impossible to communicate that feeling unless you've accomplished something like it. It changes the reference for a typical day.
best wishes on your journey
Sekhem
I wasn't gifted with the genetics that makes exercise 'enjoyable' and it takes a cattle prod or threat of death to keep me at it. As a consequence I gained almost 100lbs working a sedentary job. I discovered that loosing the weight was easier than keeping it off long term. Randonneuring became the best possible solution. I sign up for a 1200k or two every year- each one a harder and more daring ride than the year before. I'm not a strong rider and having something so monstrous dangling over my head keeps me training in one form or another year around in a highly structured way. I have to train progressively year after year and I'm constantly working on my alpha weakness which is climbing. To maintain the kind of training demands I have gotten really discliplined about eating a clean and appropriate diet. Even with riding 7-10K miles/yr, I still find that I have to manage my weight and health and keep the naughtiness to a minimum.
Yes there are good and occasionally great days on the bike. Riding a historic route through France or Spain is certainly worthy of envy. But frankly it's a heck of a lot of grinding work. I've learned more through this process - cycling, sports physiology, tactical planning, you name it- than it would have been possible to learn if I was just riding centuries or riding for 'fun'. The up side has been learning the discipline of the lifestyle, learning to take outrageous risks and of course the feeling of having accomplished a 1200K ride. I think it's true that it's impossible to communicate that feeling unless you've accomplished something like it. It changes the reference for a typical day.
best wishes on your journey
Sekhem
Re-reading Sekhem's post now, I believe every word written. However, I also know that Sekhem is a strong rider with a strong mind. Anyone that can finish a 1200, riding half the last day (maybe more) dealing with Shermer's Neck, and then a few days later, go JRA along the Blue Ridge Parkway, is tough: mentally and physically. I do hope that Sekhem can stop riding out of fear and start riding for the enjoyment of it all.
Actually, I dis-believe that Sekhem rides out of fear. I think Sekhem uses a "positive negativity" attitude and comments to keep away those that don't pay careful enough attention to what Sekhem is actually saying.
=============================================
BTW, Sekhem, you are at least one-half of my four proudest randonneuring moments, in chronological order:
- dragging, pushing, cajoling Ricochet Robert's butt through the 2011 Raleigh Region 600, so Robert could qualify to go to Paris,
- sticking with Mick the last 50-miles of the 2012 Raleigh Region 600 when his body was letting him down,
- riding with BikerBob the last day of the 2013 Raleigh Region 600, after Bob had come off the worse for wear in an encounter with a dazed fox sitting in the middle of the road -- I'm not sure this one should make the list as I missed a turn while day-dreaming some 25-miles from the finish, and Bob did the hardest 20-miles of the ride by himself, and
- calming Liz at the end of the first day of the 2013 ToC when we had temporarily misplaced her drop bag & assisting BikerBob with the Shermer's Neck bungee cord "fix" on the last day of that ToC (although I'm not convinced that our "fix" was very successful).
=============================================
One more BTW, Sekhem: that photo at the end of a particular blog post -- that is my favorite rando photo of me.
Last edited by skiffrun; 11-03-14 at 06:56 AM.
11-04-14, 01:29 PM
#63
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@Sekhem Rocks.
I ride a long time because I'm able to ride a long time at a fairly decent clip. Who doesn't like to do something they're pretty good at?
I ride a long time because I'm able to ride a long time at a fairly decent clip. Who doesn't like to do something they're pretty good at?
12-03-14, 04:42 PM
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This is a great topic to keep alive. Distance riding is funny in the sense that you really become part of the surrounding landscape. Unlike traveling in a car, the bike is pretty much pedestrian in scale and your exposed to everything. This little human-powered machine will take me out and get me back. The whole endeavor is very rewarding. Determination, self-sufficiency and pride are all great motivators.
Last edited by Zap Hassellhoff; 12-04-14 at 10:39 AM.
04-17-15, 10:10 AM
#65
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I am not a competitive person by nature. The only competition I have ever enjoyed was trying to outdo myself. I learned in the Army that you can almost always do more than you think you can. So I have always wondered just how much I can do. My body seems to do well at endurance events. I have never been good at any kind of organized sport. I am too heavy to race. The few times I have tried it didn't suit me at all. I have always had the ability to be able to suffer more than others. I can outlast most people. I can't ride as fast as some, but I can ride farther than most. Its just a philosophical difference.
04-18-15, 03:38 PM
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I guess everyone is running from something.
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sstang13
Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling
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09-02-12 01:12 PM
