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I'm similar to the OP.
I think of the road bike as a tool, rather than something to be enjoyed. It allows me an easy way to get more miles into my legs & get out regularly on a bike
There are the occasional glimmers of enjoyment, I will admit & the whole shebang is greatly enhanced by going out with a couple of mates, rather than riding on my own.
I suspect that my location has something to do with it. Living on the edge of the Fens, in probably the flattest part of the country certainly doesn't help & the strong winds & straight roads can be very de-motivating.
I have managed to find more twisty, quieter roads & more varied routes that have helped make it more interesting.
I suspect that my location has something to do with it. Living on the edge of the Fens, in probably the flattest part of the country certainly doesn't help & the strong winds & straight roads can be very de-motivating.
I also also live on the Fens (Ely), I really enjoy longer rides to South Cambs and Suffolk which have hills, beds and hedgerows, trouble is its 20 miles riding each way just to get to them. Strava makes it more interesting
For rides in the Fen the only way to make it interesting is to go full beans all of the time, as soon as the speed drops it's dull and boring.
Previously I lived in Bristol and didn't appreciate how good the local riding was (road and mountain).
As a kid growing up cycling out to Burbage on my road bike on a nice day was awesome, with birds to see and sheep to see and hear, and rabbits running across the fields as I cycled down country lanes, and pheasants flying across my path with the trees rustling in the warm summer breeze, and then the cool feeling of satisfaction once I got to Burbage to be rewarded by amazing views, all with the enjoyment of extra speed which comes from riding a bike with narrower wheels & tyres.
How could any of that be boring or weird (for the people making generalisations)? 🙂
If you don't have the Peak and narrow country lanes on your doorstep, I can see why A & B roads would start to become dull though.
I enjoy it more than mtb
But i do go slow and steady
I get to see lots of lovely places i might not otherwise see. In fact my mtb is for the school run only now
I'm not sure anyone can ever 'make' themselves like anything.
I love road riding on days when I can't be arsed with all the faff of MTBing. Particularly if the weather's crap, or it's cold, or I just want the convenience of leaving straight from my door to go.... somewhere.
It's a completely different head-space to MTBing. There is no real regular thrill of excitement - that addictive sensation of speed we get with the flow of a downhill trail - even when travelling at the typically sub-road bike speeds we actually do off-road.
The road biking headspace I find is one of meditation, quiet concentration, the feel of the landscape and its great expanse. Inwardly, the mind focuses on breathing, stamina, feeding and drinking, keeping the machine oiled to fulfill your body to its destination.
I'm guessing you are either able to find that space, or not.
Oh, and ditch the Lycra. It's not a requirement... 🙂
I think of the road bike as a tool, rather than something to be enjoyed.
Stumpy has it.
Good thing about roads is that there are many more of them, and they go to most places. So there are some lovely spots to be found that might well be pretty near your house, but you don't know about them cos you never have to drive down those lanes 🙂
Choose your roads carefully and explore. Also - 30 mile rides are only good for fast training efforts. To enjoy a road ride it has to be long and go new places.
Langlauf, thats worse IMHO. Its like scalextric for skiers. Dull to the power of 3
Heretic! Winter can't come soon enough so I can get skiing again. It can be hard or easy, off tracks in the backcountry or on maintained tracks, classic or skate, solo rides or in a big event so it's never boring.
Road biking I enjoy for occasional training ride but not much more. Bought a road bike 14 years ago and typically ride it mostly in April and May when the trails are wet. I think it is a CAAD4 frame, current ones seem to go eleven at least. 🙂
Sell the road bike and get a CX bike, mix up the the road with bits of off-road, even the most gentle bit of MTB trail is a whole new experience on a cross bike.
I love road riding.
Kit on, iPod on, and just head out there.
All good.
If you don't like something, then don't do it.
Simples.
no_eyed_deer has it right, it (road biking) is different from mountain biking and you need to approach it with a different mindset.
Mountain biking is much more than just blasting down technical man made trails.
Buy a book on hedges and learn about all the interesting things in them. Because you see A LOT of hedges. And learn to enjoy a stiff neck.
And learn to enjoy a stiff neck.
Or learn to set your bike up properly 🙂
I suspect that my location has something to do with it. Living on the edge of the Fens, in probably the flattest part of the country certainly doesn't help & the strong winds & straight roads can be very de-motivating.
I did the Circuit of the Fens sportive, it was the single most mind numbing experience of my life. I pretty much stopped road riding for a year. It was the wind noise that done it in the end, like an advanced method of torture.
Also forgot to add, find some hills and ride em on the full sus mtb with chunky off road tyres. Even more fitness gains and added potter off the side shoot offroad action if desired.
Opens up a lot of new doorstep riding options too loving the roads. Can get into the heart of the peaks, without using car which is always a bonus.
Road riding didn't click with me straight away, but I really enjoy it now (and still love my mountain bike).
My riding normally goes to both extremes, either short flat out 20miles ish or steadier 60-100 milers. I avoid crap busy roads and stick to quiet back roads, the enjoyment level is night and day different if you are riding the wrong route, same as mountain biking in natural riding spots.
I would find someone else or a group to ride with that knows the roads well, someone faster will be a bonus as it should force you to get quicker. Learn to love the climbs and treat it as a challenge, use Strava to keep a track of your times and aim to beat your PB each time you hit the same climb.
I know plenty of people who ride the more extreme end of mountain biking and really enjoy road riding too, it's not for everyone but it's okay to enjoy both! 😀
Riding a new route gets me out the door. Linking up where poss with a Sustrans makes navigation easier.
Definitely find some very steep local hills and totally beast yourself on them.
You certainly won't find it "boring", and it will do wonders for your physical conditioning.
This is my local, which hits a maximum gradient of 18%
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If I am feeling like I need a proper workout before breakfast I will ride it 10 times in a row; at the top you turn left, come back down a very fast hill with speed bumps (fun!) and then turn left at the bottom and back into the climb.
Ever increasing intensity on each ascent, by the end your legs are "sore" to say the least!
Last weeks road ride started at 730pm. An hour or so later all the bike lights were on. Rattling down small country roads, hearing the crunch of gravel and dodging moths and bats was superb.
Stay off the main roads, the small country roads are awesome
I didn't really get it till I went over Honister with a couple of mates. Nice quite evening and you could cut every corner on the way down. Fantastic feeling of speed and freedom.
I've never struggled, I've always loved the challenge of endurance on the road bike, how far, how fast can I go. I also find it great thinking time, as I don't find the need to be thinking about what I'm doing all the time like I do on the MTB.
Make sure you time yourself, if you don't already, strava. Create segments, and push yourself to beat your times. Choose 30/50/100 mile routes and work on bettering your time for each.
If you can happily ride all day on the moutain bike then why not just do that. The point of road riding for training is so you can ride all day, as that's mainly quite tough on the body to do all day every day.
I find the best way to enjoy it is to find a friend or two who will also ride with you. It's more sociable than mountain biking as you can chat while riding easier.
Brilliant road ride last night, riding back to the hotel from work - 22 miles. Just as I hit the open flat roads I stopped to check the map and two fast guys zipped past. They had a 30s lead and I turned myself inside out to catch them, just for the hell of it. Bombing along the flat with a target to chase was great fun 🙂
Paid for it this morning though!
* Any grown man who thinks its acceptable to leave the house clad only in lycra, unless being paid for it, is a freak and a weirdo.
Aye, 'cos mtb gear looks so normal... let's face it, the only reason you don't like road cycling is because your belly hits the top tube, when you try and get on the drops.
I'm with OP, I commute 20 miles home and I hate it. I'm not unfit, but it is through Lincolnshire so flat as a pancake. I find it so frustrating and ponderous, it takes so long to get anywhere. I can't wait to get home.
The thing I hate the most is that even a 10mph headwind feels like riding through treacle. Also, the wind noise really gets on my nerves after 5 miles or so, I feel like I'm being tortured with white noise.
Any ideas? I get home grumpy and unfulfilled, whereas I'd like to be buzzing my tits off.
You on a road bike andeh?
[quote=andeh ]I'm with OP, I commute 20 miles home and I hate it. I'm not unfit, but it is through Lincolnshire so flat as a pancake. I find it so frustrating and ponderous, it takes so long to get anywhere. I can't wait to get home.
The thing I hate the most is that even a 10mph headwind feels like riding through treacle. Also, the wind noise really gets on my nerves after 5 miles or so, I feel like I'm being tortured with white noise.
Any ideas? I get home grumpy and unfulfilled, whereas I'd like to be buzzing my tits off.
Yeah, road bike, albeit a cheapo Decathlon jobbie.
I've seen those cat ears before, though wrote them off as silly, do they actually work?
On quiet single lanes I have my earphones in, which helps, but don't feel comfortable with them both in on larger roads.
Also, any tips for venting the frustration caused by dodgy drivers?
Also, any tips for venting the frustration caused by dodgy drivers?
Got an alternative route?
I gave up on the 18 mile route last night and went for another 4 miles on the basis that it'd be much quiter and more enjoyable. And it was too. The rat run roads that angry impatient commuters use are way worse than the normal country roads, but it's not always obvious which roads are which from the map.
cheers_drive - MemberI also also live on the Fens (Ely), I really enjoy longer rides to South Cambs and Suffolk which have hills, beds and hedgerows, trouble is its 20 miles riding each way just to get to them. Strava makes it more interesting
For rides in the Fen the only way to make it interesting is to go full beans all of the time, as soon as the speed drops it's dull and boring.
Previously I lived in Bristol and didn't appreciate how good the local riding was (road and mountain).
I tend to head mainly west from my location & it's not too far to find some half decent lanes. The more I ride, the more I am finding. Only problem is that the onset of winter means they end up constantly covered in a film of mud & slurry.
I've got a couple of mates in Oakham & the riding round there is actually pretty decent. But, like you it's 20 miles just to get out that way and I don't really have time to be frequently clocking up 60 mile rides - normally it's somewhere between 20 & 35.
YoKaiser - MemberI did the Circuit of the Fens sportive, it was the single most mind numbing experience of my life. I pretty much stopped road riding for a year. It was the wind noise that done it in the end, like an advanced method of torture.
Yeah, I considered doing that ride last year, saw the route & thought no way.
A few of my old routes took me east & out onto the fens, but I have now ditched all of those.
I remember one particular ride being the turning point when I had a dead straight road to ride along for 9 miles back to civilisation with a brutal headwind & dying legs. I ended up having an argument & swearing match at the wind (it won).
It was after that ride that I took a more careful look at the map & reconsidered my options! 🙂
There are times when road riding can be lovely, quiet summer evenings, pub destination in mind, or in the company of a few mates, but there are also times when it can be an awful awful slog, I get much colder on a road bike (sat still) than off road, headwinds can be soul destroying, and idiots in cars....enough threads on here aren't there?
I wouldn't be without one, but it's third on the list: MTB > Running > Road bike.
I'm already riding an alternative route, which is about 80% country lanes. Unfortunately the last 5 miles or so is on a busy, windy, narrow B-road and is, virtually, unavoidable. It's the B1398 into Lincoln, through Burton, for those who know it.
busy, windy, narrow B-road
Oh yeah those are the worst 🙁 where you coming in from?
It runs along the top of a ridge, so gets some fierce winds.
Coming from top end of Gainsborough, out through Kexby-Sturton then back lanes to Scampton. The middle section can be enjoyable with the right wind, sometimes I'll see 2 or 3 cars the whole way.
And those A roads are no good? Sometimes they are wide enough to leave bags of space for cyclists despite being busy. A4 Newbury - Theale being an example. Ok so it's not classic cycling, but it's less scary than the narrow tight roads.
Tried everything except group riding to enjoy riding road, just can't get on with it, so consequently I occasionally go exploring on my CX and investigate off road