On 2018-07-13 13:35, jbeattie wrote:
On Friday, July 13, 2018 at 1:09:16 PM UTC-7, duane wrote:
On 13/07/2018 3:49 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Friday, July 13, 2018 at 9:29:23 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2018-07-11 13:47, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 7/10/2018 5:04 PM, Joerg wrote:
On 2018-07-09 12:48, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 7/9/2018 12:12 AM, Tim McNamara wrote:
European cities have some tendency to be more compact
with shorter rides (1-2 km) for work and errands.
American urban areas tend to be spread out so that we
can all have our half acre of lawn or more.
Where I live, a 2 km ride will get me to and from the
library, our dentist, the post office, the pharmacy and
one convenience/beer store. Hardware, groceries,
restaurants, credit union or anything else is further.
I'm fine with that, but most Americans (probably like
most Europeans) will never ride 10 miles to get to and
from their credit union.
The Dutch and Belgians used to be different. 10mi, 20mi,
big deal. But can't say about today as this was 30 years
ago.
Sorry, but if you mean that most Dutch and Belgians used to
ride something like 20 miles per day, I don't believe you.
Note that I didn't say "most of the population". Most of my
friends, yes. Or rather, nearly all of them. Most of the
population I can't say, of course.
Very popular was the "kroegen tocht" (pub run) by road bike,
especially among Belgians which is why I preferred to ride with
them. 30-40mi with here and there a beer. Dutch road bikers
were often too competitive and only concentrated on the sports
aspects, many wouldn't ever consider visiting a pub because
that cost "valuable minutes".
Those Dutch guys should be stopping every five miles for a beer.
What are they thinking?
And when we're talking about "the Dutch and Belgians," the
assumption is that we're talking about a country average and not
your cohort of pub-crawlers. I could say Oregonians ride hundreds
of miles a week because that's what my friends do, but it hardly
describes the state average.
Wait, I thought most people in northern California went to work on
single track fighting saber tooth er mountain lions, equipped with
only a largish rock and a roofing nail as tools but carrying
multiple growlers of the local plonk. Isn't that what they do "out
there?"
I figured I was much too competitive to to be wasting "minutes"
stopping for a beer. We usually do that after the 100k or so...
Then you likely missed a lot of great pubs. We often plan our routes so
we hit a brewpub towards the end of the ride. Like the Fair Oaks Brewpub
yesterday:
https://s3-media3.fl.yelpcdn.com/bph...SJMs97RQ/o.jpg
The obvious premise is that "if you don't ride like me, you're a
fanatical dope." I feel the same way now that I'm old and slow. When
my son rides me off his wheel (every ride), I just say "oh, you only
care about the sports aspects . . . I'm enjoying the scenery. Look,
a flower!" The funny thing is that being super fit, he sees far more
flowers than I do. I mostly see his rear wheel fading into the
distance -- and that dark place just before heart failure.
How is it that someone can get a two minute gap in about ten seconds?
It's bizarre. I'm going out with the old guys this weekend. It will
make me feel better about life. With them, "talking pace" means
actually talking and not gasping for air.
Admit to yourself that you, I and probably most others in this NG are
now in the geezer category. Past prime, or whatever. No matter how hard
we train we will plateau sooner than we hope for. So just enjoy that flower.
When I ride with friends I always tell them that should I pull away from
them not to redline themselves, I'll wait. Also to ask for a break
anytime they feel it would be good. It's not a race.
Sometimes it's not just the young whippersnappers who disappear in the
distance. I have a client where the president cycles and he is well
above 60. I rode with him. Once. He really puts on the coals and after
going at 25mph for about 25mins my tongue almost hung on the handlebar.
Yet he looked like he just did a walk in the park. So I politely bowed
out and rode the rest of the trip by myself, slooowly. I was done.
--
Regards, Joerg
http://www.analogconsultants.com/