How Seriously do you take it... « Singletrack Forum

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How Seriously do you take it...

57 posts & 48 voices | Started 6 months ago by Bedds | Latest reply from TimothyD

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Bedds - Member

Biking and fitness that is..

What would you say is your level of dedication to being fit and fast..

How many people watch their diet and follow a fitness plan? or is fitness merely a by-product of riding you bike?

I've battled with this for a few years.

The typical events of the year.. MM 24/12 become a focus, almost to the extent that my riding no longer becomes an enjoyable thing, each ride is a training session. I'm not good enough to challenge for the podium so why the hell do it?

I can get a bit twitchy about food too, I enjoy eating healthily, but I have been known to cut down so much that I start becoming susceptible to bugs.

So, tell me I'm not alone.. or.. tell me I am and to chill out and remember why I started riding in the first place

Posted 6 months ago #
weirdnumber - Member

Fitness for me is a handy bi-product of cycling and rather conveniently the fitter I am the more enjoyable my cycling is. I don't think I could commit to cycling purely as a means to get fit.
As for diet, you know that annoying guy at work that no matter how much he eats he doesn't put on weight? That's me, although to be fair I generally eat healthily but that's more because of taste than anything else.

Posted 6 months ago #
GaryLake - Member

I'd say I'm getting fit and fast... finally managed a top 10 in Bristol Oktoberfest 8hr solo which was only a few minutes shy of being a 7th. I'm doing a charity Wales Coast 2 Coast attempt next year (offroad non-stop: http://wc2c.cyclistno1.co.uk, please sponsor me *cough*) so I need to train pretty hard as it's going to be a comfortably 24hr+ ride.

That said I've got a reasonable base having trained for a 24 solo last year, and did the 3 Day Black Mountains and TransWales before doing Oktoberfest this year.

I can't train properly though, I'd go mental, I'm not cut out for it, I resent the bike when I try. I know I'll never win a race but I'm ok with that. For me my training is all about regularity and the fact that I really like riding. As much as I love road biking, you won't catch me grinding out the miles all winter long sticking to a certain HR zone!

I tend to ride most days. I'm lucky enough that I can do a reasonable MTB commute. 8km of road and 8km of trails, only do the 8km of road going into work, and on pretty all weather trails. So I just tend to go pretty hard to the point where it's fun still and not total flagellation. Every third or fourth week I'll probably skive off a bit.

Other than that, it's all I do!

Posted 6 months ago #
iainc - Member

not seriously enough - ride twice a week, swim at least once a week, but eat and drink too much. weight is just about ok.

New Yr resolution will be.....

Posted 6 months ago #
Gary_M - Member

I do take my fitness fairly seriuosly and watch my weight and what I eat. I'm 44 and don't want to be overweight like the majority of people my age.

Posted 6 months ago #
xcneil - Member

You aint alone, all my riding is training, slave to the power meter but i enjoy it and then theres food as long as i'm 10% body fat in winter & 6-8% in season i'm happy for me i love racing xc & cx. I see this guy every 3 months http://www.sportstest.co.uk/

Posted 6 months ago #
jota180 - Member

I like to try and stay healthy/fit only around 5 hrs in the Winter, mainly running

Cycling is great fun but not my life

Posted 6 months ago #
phil.w - Member

I used to just cycle for fun and fitness was a by product.

I then realised if I was fit mountain biking was more fun so I got a road bike.

I know have a few races I want to do well in (if i qualify for them) so will need to be fit for this. And as such, fast is now the goal. It is still fun though. As soon as it's not I will stop.

Posted 6 months ago #
LoCo - Member

Very, haven't had any of the massive tin of Roses that were sent to me earlier this afternoon

Posted 6 months ago #
thomthumb - Member

i enjoy bikes.

but i also enjoy training.

doesn't make me fast though.

I do watch my food - fly past my face into my mouth at an amazing rate. nom nom nom.

Posted 6 months ago #
njee20 - Member

Pretty seriously, but only because I (largely) enjoy it. If I stopped enjoying it, I'd stop doing it. Definitely helps that I enjoy it more the fitter I am!

Posted 6 months ago #
trickydisco - Member

Since I decided I was going to have a go at road racing this year i've taken it pretty seriously.

I started training properly last christmas and loved the feeling of getting fitter and sticking to a plan

I also looked into the idave diet and dropped 6kg which helped my cycling performance.

Love to ditch the HR rate/power on the road and just ride every now and again not be a slave to numbers

Posted 6 months ago #
Duggan - Member

I think I am slightly in both camps here in a weird way. Firstly I'm not really a fitness 'fanatic' in any way at all and mostly ride my bike for enjoyment. I've never entered a race or anything like that.

But...I do tend to also view going out on my bike as a cheaper and more fun alternative to going to the gym. So I sometimes do go out on rides when I can't really be arsed but make myself go out because it's good for me, a bit like going to the gym after work.

If mountain biking was bad for you in the same way as drinking or smoking I'm pretty sure I wouldn't bother doing it, so I guess maybe there is a bit of a 'serious' side to it.

Posted 6 months ago #
Ringo - Member

I just ride its got me fitter but my fondness for a beer and a smoke means I'm never gonna be a top 10

Posted 6 months ago #
The Swedish Chef - Member

Seriously, with regard to training, racing, and the associated lifestyle, however its still "fun".

Once a month or so I ride for the sheer pleasure without the heart rate monitor.

Posted 6 months ago #
midlifecrashes - Member

Quite like the way I can go a bit faster/steeper/longer if I'm riding or otherwise exercising more, but that's as far as it goes. I don't race, but I enjoy riding as much as I ever have. It's good to be reasonably fit and stay a bit in shape, otherwise mrsmidlife will be trading me in for a younger model...

Posted 6 months ago #
mrlebowski - Member

I work at it for sure..On a team this year..but I dont know how long I will keep it up for..Im 40 FFS & training 15-20 hrs a wk is hard not to mention the racing! Still what it does mean is that I can smoke my riding buddies on nearly every ride Seriously though those days which are days when Im just riding for fun have become even more enjoyable...

Posted 6 months ago #
Bedds - Member

I think I can empathise with a fair few of you on this.. I enjoy riding when I'm fit. I really enjoy the events more too.

I get annoyed when I'm not fit but I don't agonise over HR zones, I do always seem to be competing with myself on known loops though..

It seems getting a road bike is the start of a slippery slope that ends wtih power meters..

Posted 6 months ago #
Sue_W - Member

Not 'fit', but it's really important to me to be healthy.

So I ride lots (both road and mtb), swim about 3x a week, head off for a full day hiking in the mountains every week, and try to get to the climbing wall at least once a week. I try to do something physically active every day, but I focus on enjoying the experience / scenery etc.

I don't train, never race, and don't have a HRM etc. For me, that would take the fun out of the activities that I do. But have just had a health check - low BMI, good blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and extremely low cholesterol. So that's good enough for me.

Posted 6 months ago #
Clover - Member

Interesting - I bimbled around behind BF mountain biking (quite like the view, have reasonable strength and base level fitness from farming so it's nice to do) but have got fitter in the last six months because I've been riding to work and back as well - and I've lost a stone in weight.

It's motivating me to get fitter and train (although I'm not entirely sure I've worked out how or what for - partly so that I can do stuff easily rather than struggling). I've also developed a 'cross bike habit which is difficult to kick. That's serious, isn't it?

Posted 6 months ago #
steve_b77 - Member

Don't specifically train, but do ride nearly everyday and get some good road miles in during the summer months (averaged 500 a month this summer) on top of MTB events.

Typically top 50 on CRC marathons and top end silver medallist on sportives, suppose I might give racing ago next summer, on the MTB that is

Posted 6 months ago #
DT78 - Member

As I was plodding round the BM course being lapped by the front runners I was thinking these boys must eat live and breathe training. I mean the top 3 made 7 laps in less time than I took to do 5! Never thought I would be near a podium but pretty amazed at how much quicker the top 10% of racers really are.

I just try to get out on the bike 3 times a week. Think I'll make more of an effort in the new year it is definitely true the fitter you are the more fun riding is.

Posted 6 months ago #
noteeth - Member

I am accidentally fit, at best.

Posted 6 months ago #
radoggair - Member

a mix for me really. I train hard in summer months but then i only race feb -oct, bugger this winter malarky.

Training is a bi-product of my lifestlye i created. I commute 150 odd miles a week
A/ because i like it
B/ saves fuel
C/ gives me time to think about my day/reflect on whats happened.

Outside of that i try 3-4 rides a week in winter and prob 6-7 in summer ( race time). I don this because
A/ i like it
B/ keeps me out the house
C/ i feel guilty doing bugger all

I'm also thankful that i'm pretty good at what i do and thats down to training/beleiving in yourself and the hand your dealt with. Some people are just naturally gifted to do things, whether tennis /IT / politics etc, mine is cycling

I also enjoy the buss of speed and the fitter you get the higher that buzz becomes as you search for being quicker and quicker. Most of all, i love biking, road and mtb. I'm really glad i eventually landed on a sport ( after many others tried, tested and a few successes) that i really enjoy and dont mind doing daily and that i dont mind spending money on ( well, wish i had more)

Posted 6 months ago #
Northwind - Member

A little bit, but not very. Til recently I rode bikes despite the fitness benefits. Now, some of what I want to do does need a bit more strength and fitness than I have, so I've tried to do some more intense riding and I've done a fair bit of gym time. But still, I'm never going to work hard enough at it to become uberfit.

Posted 6 months ago #
derekrides - Member

I used to be mental about it, taking it a bit easier these days, but still have a bit of a diet fest, I'm due one soon, probably after Christmas. Was a bit troubled the other night when fatigue set in on the dance floor, not used to that, so maybe it'll be back out pounding the pavements as well as upping the ride distance.

Posted 6 months ago #
bamford - Member

not as seriously as i'd love to, i ride 8miles everyday to work (that's there and back) and maybe 20miles over the weekend!

i second the roses comment, resisting temptation is difficult, i've better chance plaiting air than keeping myself away from a tin of them!

Posted 6 months ago #
chiefgrooveguru - Member

I'm more bothered about the skills/technique side of riding but I'm aware that if I don't go for a proper ride at least once or twice a week then the fitness drops and the fun diminishes.

Posted 6 months ago #
Rusty Spanner - Member

Couldn't care less, tbh.

If cycling was like cigs (ie, every time you rode your bike, it knocked five minutes of your life expectancy) I'd still ride, as often as I could.

I just like riding bikes.

Posted 6 months ago #
fasthaggis - Member

I have stopped taking it as serious,and I am kinda looking forward to an easy Winter ,with the commute keeping the fitness level ticking over.
If I am off the back in the Spring ,so be it

I will still do the 'TARGET ACQUIRED' voice in my head,when I catch some one on the road thoughbut

Posted 6 months ago #
crikey - Member

Um.

I used to be Mr Obsessed, 150-250 miles a week whatever. That's WHAT-EVER....

Train from 26th of December, first race was in March. Everything was about cycling, all my eating, all my reading, all my clothes. Out in all weathers, minus whatever didn't matter. Raced as often as work allowed, went to bed for 6 months of the year with legs that felt like wood, woke up with aches and pains every morning.

Chased every cyclist I ever saw, chased every 50cc moped I ever saw, including a 25 mile epic sitting behind a lady in Belgium, took me ages to ride back..
Used to take my bike into work to wash on nights, used to get up at 5am, do an hour and 30 mins on the way to work, go the long way home from work, in the dark.

My 'holidays' were going racing abroad, every family holiday involved me taking a bike and riding it at least 5 days out of 7.

My entire clothes collection fits into 8 bin bags. 5 of them are still just cycling stuff.

I was an obsessed fool.

Posted 6 months ago #
Bedds - Member

bloody hell Crikey.. thats properly obsessed! Do you still do as much? i'm guessing not from the tone of your post?

Posted 6 months ago #
crikey - Member

Ooo no. Probably why I'm mad these days!

I met one of my old cycling mates a few years ago and he still does most of it. It dawned on me gradually that I was completely mental to the point of obsession.

Posted 6 months ago #
amplebrew - Member

I just love getting out on my bike.

I don't train or have any particular diet, it would start to lose the fun for me if it got too serious.

I cycle 14 miles a day round trip to work and then just get out on my days off.

The length of my rides is very much dependant on the weather and how I'm feeling at the time.

Posted 6 months ago #
keavo - Member

from about 16 - 26 year old, i took cycle racing far too seriously. now (i'm 44) its all about staying healthy, active, fit and happy. riding and racing are more enjoyable now.

Posted 6 months ago #