All Of Us Are Slow!!!!!

[Sandy]

The next time that any of you decide to say something negative about a cyclist simply because he or she is slower than you, simply remember that YOU are slow too,....,real, real slow:

I went on an approximate 26-27 mile rolling small group ride on Saturday. We tried to keep the group together, and we averaged slightly better than 17 mph. I was satisfied with the average and we all had a great deal of fun.

So I started to think about the last time trial at the Tour. It was 34.1 miles, if I remember correctly. I thought that at the 17 mph that our group averaged on Saturday, we would have done that ride in almost exactly 2 hours. Then I remembered that Lance Armstrong's winning time was about 1 hour and 6 minutes for the entire ride. So after he finished the ride, he would have had to wait 54 minutes for someone doing 17 mph. He could nap, have lunch,.... So suppose you are good enough to do the 34.1 miles at 20 mph, or 22 mph, or 25 mph, or even 27 mph, you are still slow. At 27 mph, it would have taken you over 1 hour and 15 minutes, and Lance Armstrong would have had enough time before you arrived for a tuna sub, chips, and a soda.

So remember, we are almost all recreational cyclists, some a little faster than others, but still slow. Remember the proper perspective......


Slow Snail Sandy

PS- The early bird gets the worm.
The second mouse gets the cheese.

[CIII_bill]

Well put Sandy.

Not everyone has the desire or DNA to be 'fast', whatever 'fast' means. Just the fact that we're out enjoying the day on one of the worlds best and most efficient modes of transportation is awesome.

[BikerGrl]

Like the post. True, slow is a relative term. What is "slow" to one, may be "fast" to another and vice versa. We have people who never show up again on a club ride due to the fact that no one comes back to check on them or will stop hammering long enough to ride with the new/slow people who have probably not been on a bike in years, etc, etc. It is the enjoyment of the ride or to put it another way, it's the journey not the destination-That's why people ride Serottas otherwise we'd all be riding Huffy's.

[slowgoing]

I'm slow and don't care if everyone knows it.

[Sandy]

I think that most of us, much too often, look at average speed as the single criterion that measures success on a particular ride. Often we miss so much more.

Sandy

[Sandy]

Perhaps Kevan should call himself Slowestgoing from now on. :) :)


Sandy

[Bruce H.]

Great post Sandy. @ 2 weeks ago on a group ride where we were all trying to go "fast" it dawned on me to slow down and enjoy the scenery. There were so many things I had not noticed before. The beauty of cycling is that you can make a choice to be competitive in your group or just ride and see the sights as you go. The surprising part is that it appears that you burn a better mixture of fuel when keeping the heart rate between recovery and endurance from what I have been told. You can also go for a lot longer.
Bruce H
Enjoying the ride

[M_A_Martin]

Ah Sandy,
Once again dear friend you've hit the nail on the head. Slow is relative. (and as DNA does play a role...related as well).

I can go faster than I do, but I ride slow to see what's happening in the world while I'm on my bike. I look at the birds that fly under my nose, I swerve for the butterflies trying to play with my spokes, I stop for vistas big and small, and I see things that many of my co-riders don't see because they have their heads down in a paceline looking at the next guy's rear. Not that there's anything wrong with that if that's the menu for the day. The whole go fast thing is fun but that's not really why I ride a bike.

Last week I did the Michigander. A 6 day rail trails/seasonal road/paved road bike tour in northern Michigan. There were many people who were determined that they had to make it from camp in the AM to camp in the PM in the fastest possible average speed. Why? We're on vacation!
The funny thing is that they, with their counting of miles and minutes wound up in camp first and unloaded the baggage trucks...

Yay for the fast people!

[keno]

Yes, Lance can zipp right by me, so I'm slow. Then, again, I'm also not very smart because there was this Einstein guy. I can't write worth a damn thanks to Mr. Shakespeare. My driving is suspect; Dale, Jr. could tell you that, but at least I'm unsinged. I used to think I could tell a pretty good joke, but Jerry Seinfeld came along, on a Seven, yet.

So what? Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Self deception is a constitutional right. Besides, I'm not dead yet, as best I know. My delusions are so real to me that I've put them in my will. And I can always rest on the memory of leaving a very overweight woman riding a comfort bike in the dust the other day; I pray she doesn't diet.

keno

[Roy E. Munson]

And if that's what you have to sell to yourself to make you feel better, more power to you. :banana: :D

[Sandy]

First of all, you are faster than me, a LOT smarter than me, write better than me, may drive better than me, and I only know one joke and that is about an apple and a carrot.

Secondly, it wasn't an overweight woman on a comfort bike that you left in dust the other day. It was Serotta Sandy on his fancy dancy Ottrott ST Serotta on Steroids. I am dieting and trying very hard to get down to 190. I have a long way to go, but I will get there. I am always practicing your pedal stroke technique. I am climbing much better, until I get to a really steep section and then gravity is the game, one of which I don't play at too well. Next year, you will see a much improved Serotta Sandy. I might even challenge Coy Roy to a race. It would be a pleasure to use Roy as my Toy- Such a Joy to drop Coy Roy.


Serotta Sandy on his Serotta ST, The Serotta on Steroids

[Kevan]

I think there are certain aspects of your life that run too fast for us.

I know they do for me. :D

[Sandy]

My bike?

Supersonic Sandy

[bostondrunk]

well Roy, pucker up....

[Sandy]

Do you live in Boston? I went to undergraduate school at Tufts- Math major. Lousy student. Much better in graduate school. Where did you learn to drink? Do you ever say anything really nice about someone? For some strange reason, I enjoy reading your posts.

Strictly Sober Serotta Sandy

[Kevin]

Slow is good.

Kevin

[Sandy]

Fast is faster.

[bostondrunk]

I got my GED in Revere, then you went on to manage a lawn
care crew working around Brockton before heading to Europe for a while. Now I'm just a drunk who rides very fast (on the bike). A very bitter middle aged guy who likes to run into little kids with my bike while riding past MIT.. :bike:

[scottcw]

Me = slow. There, I said it.

[ace007]

Excellent post Sandy. It's interesting to be batted back and forth by the marketing hype of bike, wheel, component, and gizmo companies telling you that you will go faster if you ride what Lance rides or what the pros ride. The most humbling experience you can have is to go out and ride, either on your own or with a group, a long hard training ride. Then you will discover, as many of us have, that slow and fast are relative. I like to measure my progress relative to how well I did the last time I went out. If you are like most adults, you have a job, or kids, and a hundred other things to do. Cycling is sweet and a pure joy and often offers an escape from the day to day. If you start comparing yourself to others, unless you are a racer, you'll quickly realize that there are a lot of people out there faster than you - and slower than you, but they are all out there to enjoy the ride. You can't beat the sensation of power and speed as you as the engine propel your bike forward up a hill or on a long straightway. There's just nothing like it. Once you change cycling from a passion into a chore or a job (racers not included), then I would imagine cycling begins to lose its appeal. In the end, there's always someone who can leave you in the dust no matter how great you think you are and there is always someone who is unable physically to go as fast as you. So we are perpetually stuck in the middle - trying to keep up with the speed demons while at the same time encouraging up and coming cyclists who are just trying to have fun and stay in shape. Cycling is an awesome adventure. I hope it doesn't turn into the fiasco that the golf industry is with the quest for more distance. If that happens, 5 years from now, pro cyclists will claim they are riding 10mph faster up hills with their new wheels, pedals, shoes, frames, etc. I guess someone has to keep the bike industry going. I will note however that it is fun looking at new stuff and dreaming of gaining a few mph or climbing that hill easier. Now on to the catalog, I have an order to place. :)

[Bruce H.]

As, I guess. one of the few who have not heard it, please relate the carrot and the apple.
Thank you in advance
Bruce H. (who knows that when you have a joke it feels good to tell it!)

[pbbob]

for my 50th next month I plan to ride a century in Pa. and turn off the computer and ride the slowest, laziest ride ride I have done since I began in the 70's and enjoy every minute of it. the day after I will resume my quest to be the rider of my dreams.

[Bruce H.]

Which century are you doing? Is it the SCU LakeNockamixon? I love that ride
Bruce H

[M_A_Martin]

Computer? You ride with a computer? Is it a laptop? That can't be very light. I suggest dropping the computer and riding without. That way you can't even contemplate turning it on to find out how fast or how far you've gone.

[Dekonick]

Bob - good luck this coming friday!

It was nice meeting you and I enjoyed the ride - when you get back from your 24 hour torture session, give a holler and we can go do some of the Ellicott City hills... as long as you dont mind waiting for me! :D

Starbucks will be there to cheer you on!

(Ill bet the fast guys come in the same time as the slow guys for this event!)

Side note: gotta admit your Holland is a nice bike - He sure does make nice frames.

[pbbob]

hollands not to be confused with bill holland who makes ti bikes in california.

[pbbob]

Which century are you doing? Is it the SCU LakeNockamixon? I love that ride
Bruce H
yes, spending a 3 day weekend there. never done that ride before.

[pbbob]

Computer? You ride with a computer? Is it a laptop? That can't be very light. I suggest dropping the computer and riding without. That way you can't even contemplate turning it on to find out how fast or how far you've gone.
yes I do. I don't want to miss any performance hint from this forum that I may put to use in the middle of a ride!

[Bruce H.]

It is a beautiful ride through Bucks and Montgomery counties. Well staffed with food stops every 20 miles or so. Quite hilly and a nice test.
If I am in town I will be doing it as well along with several others. perhaps we can ride as a group. I will let you know if I am in town.
Bruce H

[csb]

depending on the drunks age, we may have sat elbow
to elbow eroding our bodies slowly (not that slow sandy)
while trying to stay put on a bar stool in a local stoughton dive.

[ericmurphy]

I ride with these guys on Saturday mornings. We do rides of from 60 to 80 miles in Marin, usually doing a few thousand feet of climbing in the process. It's not a no-drop ride, so people do get left in the dust. I can usually keep up with the group in the flats, but I am invariably the last guy up the hills. This goes on week after week, although later in the season I usually get to the point where I'm not quite the last guy up the hill.

I can't deny I wish it were otherwise. Ten years ago I would not have been the last guy up the hills. But I still go out there every Saturday. I have noticed, though, that outside a core group of perhaps a dozen hammerheads, I rarely see the same people twice on a ride. Why is this?

I can only imagine that people get intimidated by not being able to keep up. Or maybe it's because the slower riders don't like to ride alone. There are definitely rides early in the season where I might spend four hours out of a five hour ride alone. But that's okay with me; it gives me time to get some thinking done.

Maybe I should feel bad for being the slowest rider on these rides. But I don't. Is that so wrong?

[alembical]

Eric,
Why not get a group of people, or let people know at the start, that while the ride is not a "no-drop" ride, that those who get dropped, should then make it such for them. Go all out for as long as you can, but once people start falling off, fall off with them and turn the rest into a no-drop ride for those individuals. Maybe the individuals who would have previousely been dropped, will enjoy the ride more, and come back next week, at which point the "no-drop group" can try to hang on for longer than the previous week.

Alembical

[ericmurphy]

Eric,
Why not get a group of people, or let people know at the start, that while the ride is not a "no-drop" ride, that those who get dropped, should then make it such for them. Go all out for as long as you can, but once people start falling off, fall off with them and turn the rest into a no-drop ride for those individuals. Maybe the individuals who would have previousely been dropped, will enjoy the ride more, and come back next week, at which point the "no-drop group" can try to hang on for longer than the previous week.

Alembical

Sounds like a good plan, except whenever I turn around, I never see anyone behind me. Maybe I'm the only one getting droppped? :-)

[geezohwiz]

Eric,
I ride with a group of cyclists on on Sunday mornings (Bruce H. among them). There are usually a couple of A-/B+ riders on that ride. I look forward to that ride all week. It's a great route with a little of everything. It's not a big group, about 6 or 7 at its peak, but its a lot of fun.

Even though we're pretty much strewn across most of the hills like the peloton on Plateau de Beille, the better riders usually either wait at the top or circle back and ride up the hill again. I'm usually the last or next to last guy up most of those hills. I'm trying real hard to improve, and I've actually been able to close the gap from then end of last year to this year. I also enjoy riding alone, but if I go on a group ride it's because I want to ride with a group. I get particularly annoyed when an advertised "B" ride turns into a hammerfest. That's what I think turns people away.

I get discouraged because, damn, I'm working as hard as I can to keep up! My heart rate is above 90% all the way up, and I still can't keep up. I feel a little guilty about holding people up, but the group is really supportive. I dream of someday riding up that hill at the front, and then circling back to ride up with the trailers and offer encouragment.

...my little vent for this evening.

[keno]

is a tradition in the Tour de France. Being last is a time-honored tradition. The guys at the front need us. I consider myself being a psychiatrist on wheels for those in front of me. If all goes well, I'll be the client once in a while.

keno

[csb]

its all a ruse

[flydhest]

it's all a rouge.

[csb]

i knew immediately when meeting you that you
had a head on your shoulders.

[csb]

wake up man, heres your chance to be last again

[flydhest]

ken's not really good at being last. Of course, he tries harder, so that explains his success at it.

[keno]

No problem. I'm a shoe in.

keno

[flydhest]

Didn't you lose that race in Korea?

[keno]

that's a lie.

keno

[roadie7]

This post is absolutly on target. Many of you are from the DC area and know and participate in the Tuesday night Laytonsville ride sponsored by Potomac Peddlers. A few weeks ago I went on th ride for the first time and, while I enjoyed the scenery, I have not returned. I average about 16.5 mph and was constantly at the back of the group and did not ride with anyone; much to my disappointment. While the other riders were very nice and pleasent in the parking lot, once on the street, they were gone and I never saw the ride leader. I don't know if he was supposed to check on "the bus" but it would have been a nice gesture. While Potomoc Peddlers is trying to figure out how to increase their membership, here is an example of why people don't join.