Of course, if you’re finishing an epic off=-road ride after a massive week and have a cold when you cruise past the roadie then you can just assume that they are crap. 😀
Or they're in the last 10 miles of a 500km epic... 🙃
If you cruise past someone on a climb or overtake a roadie when you’re on your MTB, don’t smugly assume you’re fitter than they are.
🙂 10-12 years ago I was disappointed to realise most of the roadies I passed in winter (wasn't many, to be clear) were doing what I do a lot of these days, pootling along happily in Z2. It was liberating to learn to ride at a lower pace and not feel like being slow is inferior. A type of riding that's also training that can be enjoyed. Slow now.. flying by spring.
Things you learn over the years cycling
Look where you want to be going, not where you are going
I learnt that one the hard way, several times over....
You don't stop playing when you get old, you get old when you stop playing.
That if you have warm and dry hands and feet then riding in poor conditions is actually quite fun. I was reminded of this yesterday in the driving rain and slop.
Or "There is no bad weather, just poor clothing choice".
One also gets to know which cafes do the best coffee and cake within a 30 mile radius. All rides must by law visit one.
After removing flat inner tube check inside of tyre at least twice for embedded thorns , metal, glass, stones etc……which leads onto I wish I’d a brought along more than one inner tube with me!
Those cotton wool pads used for removing makeup are great for this, they snag on the teensy tinsyest thorns even in the pouring rain and minus 4 when you can't actually feel your fingers.
If you run a coil shock then have the next spring up for post Xmas riding 😳
Sram AXS is a joy to install
SRAM 12 speed chains play nicely with Shimano 11 speed chain rings
Riding a bike is the best Therapy
One upmanship on rides sucks
Or they’re in the last 10 miles of a 500km epic… 🙃
I've learned/learnt that cycling is one of the few sports/industries where Imperial and Metric can mix without things bursting into flames 🙂
Look where you want to be going, not where you are going
I learnt that one the hard way, several times over….
Indeed. Or perhaps look where you want to be going NOT where you don’t want to be going.
I learnt the above the hard way (motorcyclists call it target acquisition I believe) some years ago, literally hanging from the branch of a handily placed tree as my brand new fs smashed into a rocky stream 20ft down a steep slope..
Also, the point on a ride where you feel the safest is the point of maximum danger.
And finally, falling onto rocks without pads on your knees (but also your elbows) hurts. A lot
Riding with someone constantly offering unwanted advice on everything from technique to kit choice gets old really quickly.
Beating that person in a race will make your ****ing year.
Biggest grin comes from riding my most simple bike.
I want to say something about daily commuting and clothing in the Winter... But given I only seem to get it right 75% of the time I'm not too sure that I've learnt much about it over the years.
Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.
You always regret saving the money by buying the cheaper part.
Or they’re in the last 10 miles of a 500km epic… 🙃
I’ve learned/learnt that cycling is one of the few sports/industries where Imperial and Metric can mix without things bursting into flames 🙂
Ha! Mixing the units actually made my OCD twitch as I posted that. I was ganna comment on it but along came my OCD brother 🤣
I love a quiet bike.
Don't always have to cane it round everywhere.
I mostly don't need to carry the kitchen sink around, just the few important bits.
That cycling is so fashion driven and that cyclists do not want to admit this. That I must have different clothes for road, gravel and MTB.
Edit: this is actually from STW membership not all the decades of cycling before that 🙂
Don't bail on that Sunday morning ride with your mates, whatever the weather. It'll make you laugh later.
Your wife will be jealous as hell about that and your annual week MTB holiday, but she'll love your mates for keeping you sane.
If it’s a hot day, the sweat will drip out of your helmet pads and onto your glasses just at the critical moment you need to focus on a technical feature.
Look up from the Garmin*
The people who finish a ride and can tell you everything about gradient, power, segments, HR, average speed etc but nothing about the places you passed through, the views you saw and the sights around you are really not the ones worth talking to!
*Other navigational devices are available
Gravel riding is rubbish!
Most bearings installed in new bikes are cheap and nasty. A cheap hub can be transformed with a decent set of sealed SKF bearings.
Replace your chains when they are 0.75% on the chain measuring tool. Saves a fortune in chainrings and cassettes.
When you find the perfect piece of cycle clothing you should immediately buy a second one as a spare. Otherwise when the first one wears out, you'll never find a replacement that is ever as good.
The wrong bike in the wrong place at the wrong time can be loads more fun.
There is no such thing as too many bikes, just an insufficiency of sheds.
Big mudguards and a decent cycling cape is the road to warmth and dryness in foul weather.
This is a tough one and not convinced I've actually learnt it yet: Just because it's a bargain doesn't mean you have to buy it, nobody needs 10 spare pairs of 5:10s, tyres, shorts, bib shorts, cycling tops etc...........
That change doesn't mean improvement and "progress" is just a word that means change but you are not allowed to argue.
Mountain bikes were just as much fun 40 years ago.
When riding an Ebike, laugh long and loudly when overtaking fellow commuters when going up a hill and into the wind.
Oh wait....Don't.
