I’ve finally emerged out of my comfortable cave of laziness that I have been in the past 5 months and became a less fit and thicker version of myself. You never realize how much weight you’ve put on until nothing in your closet fits (well) anymore.
Even though I took time off the bike I’d find myself on strava mapping out multi-day tours or big rides that I’ve been thinking of for a few years but never got around to doing. It seems every cyclist whom I talk to is always bringing up a new “biggest ride” achievement. Everyone wants to do a new big record ride every year. I’ve noticed this trend the past few years and a lot more people are doing 300-400km rides than ever before - which is great.
It’s not necessarily the kilometres that matter but the pursuit of getting fit enough where you’re able to ride for what seems like forever. I've always had a fascination with inhumane feats of endurance. It’s hard to explain why anyone would want to ride a bike that long. We ride our bikes every year in the summer, fall, winter, spring and there are only a handful of rides that stand out. This is why I love doing the big ones - especially with friends. Where else do you spend 10-20 hours with someone chatting along getting to know each other? Cycling is such a special sport in this way. I have friends I’ve met a few years ago and I feel like I’ve known them forever.
The truth is I like the unknown when doing these rides. I know how my body will respond on fast rides, on big rides that I’ve done before but never beyond that. Riding bikes should provide a sense of freedom and doing the same roads every day takes away from that feeling. That might explain why I'd change bases every 40 days in Europe. There's just too many roads to ride.
It’s fun to talk about this stuff but what matters in the end is the work you put in - something I’ve finally been looking forward to doing. If these past 3 weeks of riding and getting fit again are just an introduction to this season, it’ll be one to remember.
Even though I took time off the bike I’d find myself on strava mapping out multi-day tours or big rides that I’ve been thinking of for a few years but never got around to doing. It seems every cyclist whom I talk to is always bringing up a new “biggest ride” achievement. Everyone wants to do a new big record ride every year. I’ve noticed this trend the past few years and a lot more people are doing 300-400km rides than ever before - which is great.
It’s not necessarily the kilometres that matter but the pursuit of getting fit enough where you’re able to ride for what seems like forever. I've always had a fascination with inhumane feats of endurance. It’s hard to explain why anyone would want to ride a bike that long. We ride our bikes every year in the summer, fall, winter, spring and there are only a handful of rides that stand out. This is why I love doing the big ones - especially with friends. Where else do you spend 10-20 hours with someone chatting along getting to know each other? Cycling is such a special sport in this way. I have friends I’ve met a few years ago and I feel like I’ve known them forever.
The truth is I like the unknown when doing these rides. I know how my body will respond on fast rides, on big rides that I’ve done before but never beyond that. Riding bikes should provide a sense of freedom and doing the same roads every day takes away from that feeling. That might explain why I'd change bases every 40 days in Europe. There's just too many roads to ride.
It’s fun to talk about this stuff but what matters in the end is the work you put in - something I’ve finally been looking forward to doing. If these past 3 weeks of riding and getting fit again are just an introduction to this season, it’ll be one to remember.
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