Viewing 22 posts - 1 through 22 (of 22 total)
  • Miles or smiles?
  • CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    I’ve noticed something recently. When I’ve been out for a ride, and mention that to friends who are also cyclists, I’m greeted with two very distinct questions.

    Those who are mountain bikers ask some variant of, “Where did you ride?”, “How was it”, “Did you ride that bit down from the tops? Fun, isn’t it?” or just, “How was it?”. Basically, questions about the quality of fun that was had.

    Those who are roadies – “How many miles did you do?”. Never anything else.

    The first format of question is easy to answer. The second, well I just don’t care how many miles I did, as long as it was fun.

    Bregante
    Full Member

    I concur.

    Road Bike = Miles
    Mountain Bike = Smiles

    But oddly, I’m beginning to enjoy both equally 😕

    Edit

    “. Never anything else.

    Not even “how much climbing?”

    Sorry I forgot. You live in the south 🙂

    mrblobby
    Free Member

    You really don’t want to ask a serious turboer then! It’ll be questions about duration, Normalized Power, Training Stress Score, Intensity Factors.

    andysredmini
    Free Member

    A friend and I had a similar discussion the other day. We have a few friends that say things like I did a 50 miler ( mtb). But when we go out with them on one of our routes they are knackered after 15. We found out after following one of them that their rides are very different to ours. Mainly flat or fire roads avoiding any fun ups and downs. The stuff we try and fill our whole ride with.
    Andy

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Miles aren’t relevant in mountain biking, you can do 50 easy miles or 20 horrible miles and be equally tired. Altitudes are more interesting but still give false impressions. And time is meaningless because we spend 70% of our time eating haribos, faffing with imaginary mechanicals, and waiting for our mates to finish fixing a puncture before discovering we also have a puncture, and talking absolute inane bollocks about nothing

    In much the same way as descents can be measured in grins rather than distance or height or time, I reckon climbs need to be measured in grimaces.

    CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    Bregante, we have hills here. Paved with gold, obviously. 😉

    atlaz
    Free Member

    You’ve sort of missed the whole point of road cycling CFH. A 5-mile road ride is basically a waste of time as you’ve just warmed up and a big climb to start a ride is bloody miserable.

    A bit of fun can be had on a 5-mile MTB ride if you get it right.

    CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    Atlaz, am well aware of the point, I just question the questioning. The road question is never about enjoyment or quality, just about quantity.

    MoreCashThanDash
    Full Member

    I keep a record of how many miles I ride (3,014 so far this year, thank you for asking) but I know from my lack of weight loss and lack of speed/fitness that while I may have quantity, there isn’t much quality. And I don’t really care.

    But I do know that tonight I went for an easy 11 mile local loop on the mountain bike with a couple of mates, which we ride either on it’s own or part of a longer loop, most weeks. And we had a great time. And may or may not have earned the pint of Jaipur at the end….

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    Both on either bike, if you’re not smiling what’s the point? The longer you ride the longer you’re smiling for

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    Wrong.

    Maybe you’re just riding in the wrong places.

    CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    Scotroutes, when I ride road around here, I really enjoy it. I plan out a nice route around good scenery, nice roads etc. Again, quality, not just quantity.

    chip
    Free Member

    Since giving up running due to a knee injury I have put on a lot of weight.
    And It has put me off my mtb, I don’t know why, I just feel a bit too tubby at the moment.
    So have been riding my my hack/hybrid more and more on the roads instead.

    It may have something to do with the heavier I have got the more seriously I have injured my self on crashing.

    hilldodger
    Free Member

    Miles = smiles, but sometimes not until after

    thestabiliser
    Free Member

    yeah and they never say ‘hello’.

    drofluf
    Free Member

    Realised this morning that it’s all about the smiles.

    Went to bed last night planning to do 30 miles on the road bike before work but woke with a massive case of cba. Instead got out the fatty and did a very gentle 9 miles, took in the views and took it easy.

    cinnamon_girl
    Full Member

    Polite request for the Cap’n to head over to this thread:

    http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/trails-near-old-sarum

    Thanks. 🙂

    JoB
    Free Member

    you’re speaking to all the wrong roadies, all the ones i know ask where you went and comment on the nice lanes

    unless you were just broadly generalising to make some sort of internet point

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    It does keep reinforcing the miserable roadie stereotype. There is some pleasure in achieving distance but it’s much better to get the smiles from fun trails.

    Philby
    Full Member

    I always ask roadies where they’ve cycled rather than how far as a 50 miler round the Mendips is more challenging and scenic (IMO) than 50 miles on the Somerset Levels. By asking where they’ve cycled you have some idea of the distance they’ve ridden as well as the nature of the terrain and the scenery.

    ChunkyMTB
    Free Member

    JoB – Member

    you’re speaking to all the wrong roadies, all the ones i know ask where you went and comment on the nice lanes

    unless you were just broadly generalising to make some sort of internet point

    yup, what you said

    Malvern Rider
    Free Member

    Touring, keep fit regulars, commuting, trekking, bimbleing, traling, blasting, even shopping/cargo runs thru bridleways and alleys – all smiles, all miles. I’m at happiest mixing up as many types of riding as possible, especially exploring new places ie a trekking/touring specced hybrid mtn bike that’s happy on and off road. And who hasn’t leftt early or arrived home late having taken detours on a commute? Sometimes looong detours, 😀

    nb overheard two roadies conversing behind me in pub garden, presumably post-ride. One (more experienced) alpha male, one beta. The alpha was talking loudly about times and sections, beta was trying to sound interested but occasionally tried talking about somewhere he’d been, actually physically describing somewhere. The alpha would ignore him everso fluidly and continue his own numbers jibberjabber, unconcerned. Was amusing but you prob had to be there. ‘Hey, quit yo’ stravajabber one second and look at the world around you for a while!’ (Someone may have thought. Allegedly)

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