Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

OPINION

Just A Ride

Avatar
VecchioJo doesn't get a medal, and doesn't care

“Have a good ride?”
Hmm, it’s was okay..
“Where did you go?”
Oh, only up there, round there, across there and down there.
“Anything happen?”
Not really, it was just a ride.

“Oh.”

There always seems to be a certain level of disappointment from others when they discover your few hours out on a bike were just a ride. The lexicon of cycling has become so bloated with tales of daring do and awesomeness, formidable elements perpetually battled against and giants of cols eternally defeated by insignificant yet tenacious men that the ordinary has become almost pointless. To further fluff up the banal there are the tiresome Strava conquests, the personal bests, the medals for mediocrity and the files downloaded to impress. If that’s not enough then a million nothings happening every mile are socially shared in a thousand ways, divulged and spewed and empty noise spread loud and thin.

Just riding a bike writes in white.

The simple act of cycling has been hijacked by artfully unshaven men looking painfully into a drizzly black and white middle-distance, a 60 mile sportive is billed as Epic and no ride is worthy of regard unless there’s been Suffering, even indoors. The rhetoric has got out of hand as a modest pleasure has been appropriated, chewed up and marketed to sex up an overweight middle-aged man so he feels more worthwhile heaving puffy up a hill, to the point now that if none of that heroic hyperbole happens, if nothing of note unraveled during a ride and no teeth had to be gritted then it really doesn’t count.

Forget spinning along to clear the head, to work off that little bit of cake, to earn that bit of cake, even just enjoying the sunshine or simply to get out the house, none of these matter any more. Where’s the anguished hurt?

All you need is Just A Ride. Sometimes.

 

Jo Burt has spent the majority of his life riding bikes, drawing bikes and writing about bikes. When he's not scribbling pictures for the whole gamut of cycling media he writes words about them for road.cc and when he's not doing either of those he's pedaling. Then in whatever spare minutes there are in between he's agonizing over getting his socks, cycling cap and bar-tape to coordinate just so. And is quietly disappointed that yours don't He rides and races road bikes a bit, cyclo-cross bikes a lot and mountainbikes a fair bit too. Would rather be up a mountain.

Add new comment

46 comments

Avatar
Jimmy Ray Will | 10 years ago
0 likes

I see the merits in all forms of cycling, so feel apprehensive about glorifying/chastising one form over the other... its all good.

That said, there is nothing like turning off the tech and going out for the sheer enjoyment of it.

Problem is, I am always going to enjoy seeing how hard I can push up that hill, how many miles I can cover... its so easy to forget the surroundings we pedal through.

Last week I was in Spain, and I did make sure to take in the beautiful scenes around me. Problem was that I did that half way down a mountain pass, which ultimately cost me a Strava KOM  3

Avatar
ragtimecyclist | 10 years ago
0 likes

Great piece this, judging by all the comments it seems to have struck a chord.

Apologies for the self promotion but i wrote recently about the Quality Controllers among us - all those who prize quality over quantity:

http://ragtimecyclist.com/2014/02/18/biking-behaviour-part-14-the-qualit...

Avatar
edster99 | 10 years ago
0 likes

Whatever you get the most out of. I love hammering it 90% of the time. The rest of the time, bimbling about watching the world go by is great.

Avatar
The _Kaner | 10 years ago
0 likes

I ride each road in the same manner. No set plan, no particular heart rate zone (always 180+, but that's thru lack of fitness)...do I hammer it? Yes, until I have no legs left...then I trundle back to where I came from ...spent, moaning, wondering why!!! But, then doing exactly the same next time...but not feeling as spent...it's a vicious *cycle*..harhar....I do sportives very infrequently, I don't race...I am a lone cyclist 99.8% of the time...and range from 60k to 133k rides...just to suit myself...me...numero uno...but only if I can be bothered....
Do I stop and ponder life's wonders..sometimes..I even take the occasional photo...but the Garmin is always there to record and prove that I did shift my ass and do something...proof only needed by me for me...not to impress anyone....I cycle because I can and wish to...even if the weather is foul, fair or fantastic....
(meanders to an inconclusive conclusion....)

Avatar
curdins | 10 years ago
0 likes

That's so spot on - love it. I actually wrote something strangely similar after a wonderful ride out in the much-missed sunshine on Sunday. Just a ride - best thing ever. http://bit.ly/PagninX4

Avatar
J90 | 10 years ago
0 likes

You sound like a hipster fixie c*nt. Cynical about something......did a fat man overtake you whilst checking his Strava?

Avatar
joemmo replied to J90 | 10 years ago
0 likes
J90 wrote:

You sound like a hipster blah blah bleh

Whereas you've given an excellent account of yourself. Well done you.

I don't think the tendency to over hype the mundane is restricted to cycling by any stretch. It seems like everyone always has to have, like, totally the best time EVER, like all the time? I blame the youth or twitterbook or instasnap or something.

Anyway I'm off to plusgram the awesome piece of toast I just made?

Avatar
Nick T | 10 years ago
0 likes

Did Roleur have first refusal on this piece, Jo?

Avatar
arrieredupeleton | 10 years ago
0 likes

Exactly. A certain website advertises a ride near me as 'Hell of the ...' and it has an 'easy' option (52 miles). Time to up the mileage and put down the razor. Anyone got a Rapha discount code?

Avatar
Markus | 10 years ago
0 likes

Liberating read.
This is me, going for a ride:
Stuffing my carcass into bib-tights, they seem to have shrunken somehow.Where the f*ck are the gloves. And knee-warmers. Should I take some more clothes with me? I'm out of the energy bars I like.These shoes are always too loose or too tight. Where is the HRM? Where is the strap? Should have put on the HRM before the jersey. The HRM was not working right on the last ride. Is the strap tight enough? Getting the bike out of the basement, and it's just as not-spacious as the last time. Forgot the water bottle up in the apartment. Forgot to use the pump. I have to take my cold weather gloves off to adjust the touch screen of the smartphone, glove won't come off. Dropped a glove. HRM wont sync with the phone.
By the time I'm ready to ride, my heart rate is already almost 90.
Usually, I calm down after a while on the bike.
Leaving the HRM at home and not ranting about the ride on the website for the social app afterwards makes all this a bit easier. Some times I also manage to convince myself that I don't have to try for new personal best and that I really don't have to be pushing harder or going further, today. Those rides are often quite pleasant. Not epic at all. Just nice.

Avatar
John M Smithers | 10 years ago
0 likes

I am middle-aged and overweight, but alas not oversexed :P. I got into cycling only recently, about 7 months ago. My primary motivation has been to get healthier, off diabetes meds, and lose weight. I started at 386 lbs and am now about 288. Frankly, I see very little evidence in my little corner of the world that cycling is marketed to someone like me. The clothing and bikes aren't manufactured with me in mind, unless you have a lot of money. I don't. Still, I've made progress. I compete against myself. I do what I need to keep myself motivated, especially when I am pained at breaking yet another spoke, due to my size and the fact that I cannot afford stronger wheels. I challenge myself to go farther, faster, take more hills, ride in rain, keep a good cadence, etc. i appreciate the tech I can afford, as it helps me measure my progress. I take joy in any small victory. I also enjoy the sights. I stop and take pictures, when I remember to. I also joined a cycling club, but cannot participate in many of the rides because they ride much farther, at a faster pace, than I am currently capable of. I look forward to the day I can. The first and foremost ingredient is, of course, to just ride...

Avatar
del_boy13 | 10 years ago
0 likes

I ride to escape the kids, family, work etc. most of the time I record the ride and thats because I like to be able to work out where I went and when.

I say stop at the top of the hill, unclip and enjoy the view.  105

Avatar
Fireworkboy | 10 years ago
0 likes

Lovely piece, but let's not all get carried away. Riding with Garmin, uploading to Strava, even secretly starring in your own romantic movie or enjoying the hyperbole of suffering - all of these are better than NOT riding. And riding by feel, without a care, is not necessarily always better, it's just another way to enjoy the bike. You can have both - we should be wary of disparaging either. If you personally feel to get some 'just ride' miles in, do it. It's not necessary to pronounce one style of riding as good, pure and worthy by denouncing another as naff or embarrassing.

Avatar
stealth | 10 years ago
0 likes

Epic, on the whole, is a particularly poorly used word nowadays. A bit like awesome, it is best saved for irony...

...or the truth that is racyrich's post.
How did the cycling community cope before somebody thought to put a 'feed' after 25miles?

Avatar
Dizzy | 10 years ago
0 likes

 41  41  41  41

Avatar
racyrich | 10 years ago
0 likes

We used to define 'epic' bike days as ones that only had 2 changes of clothes. Pyjamas to bike kit and back again.

Avatar
newbie roadie | 10 years ago
0 likes

My last 2 rides have been on roads I have never rode before. All I have is a small page with a few notes jotted down for direction, stuffed into jersey pocket (so only a little planning required) The latter was the best ride I've ever had. The mileage was long (but that's not the point) and the scenery was immense. Over the toll bridge for free, witnessed the raw beauty of the swollen river beneath, and rode straight under a massive bird of prey, that watched me pass by from it's tree branch perch. Rolling fields under the rays of a rare sunshine. Does this count for 'just a ride'....man I love cycling!

Avatar
mrmo | 10 years ago
0 likes

Spent most of last year just relying on the phone to log rides, I do like to keep track of where I have been, I don't really care about how fast or any of that side of things. Just managed to have the phone flat on a few occasions and Amazon flogging Edge 500s for £90 means I now have one on the bike. Still don't really care what it says, but it does mean I can see the time easily.

Avatar
twinklydave | 10 years ago
0 likes

I have the same train of thought every time I realise I've forgotten my GPS too  3

Avatar
Simmo72 | 10 years ago
0 likes

Best article in a long time.

I must admit to having been stressed for forgetting to start my garmin before setting off or being fixated watching my heart rate to keep it in zone 3 so much so that I miss the beautiful scenery around me......then I realise i'm being a plank and vow to go back to what I took up cycling for in the first place.

Looking back I recall my disdain at the thought of fitting an avocet, now look at us!

As for sportives, never ridden one, never intend to. If I want to ride an 'epic' ride I'll go and do so without parting with £25.....unless I hit the cake shop hard whilst taking a rest.

I still like to record my miles to see my own improvement.....or decline..... but I think the garmin mount is coming off and the back pocket is calling. Am I going 22 or 23 mph.....why do I care.....is my heart beating.....yes it is.

Avatar
s_lim replied to Simmo72 | 10 years ago
0 likes
Simmo72 wrote:

I still like to record my miles to see my own improvement.....or decline..... but I think the garmin mount is coming off and the back pocket is calling. Am I going 22 or 23 mph.....why do I care.....is my heart beating.....yes it is.

I like Strava for this, and like seeing the gradual changes as form dips and rises. However, it's all recorded on the phone in the back pocket, and my stem is clutter-free; every ride in the last 3 months has been done on feel alone.

Avatar
wilhay | 10 years ago
0 likes

Good stuff Jo.. did you jus loose a KOM?

Avatar
thepocpac | 10 years ago
0 likes

What a great perspective on a nice sunny day perhaps that's all we need to clear our heads and get the endorphins moving.

Avatar
mingmong | 10 years ago
0 likes

Marvellous, just marvellous. Well written.

Freedom and pleasure.

Avatar
700c | 10 years ago
0 likes

Yes, there are a lot of 'epic challenges' about, many of which featured on this site, and I completely agree with the sentiment that sometimes it's good to just go out for a ride.That's what most of us do anyway..

I think what you're complaining about is perception, not reality. How cycling is portrayed in the media, and how much promotion these commercial sportive organisers do, to get people signed up, not to mention the charity events which receive huge publicity.

This has resulted in an increase in cycling exposure and popularity. On balance this is a good thing. So what if a middle aged fat guy wants to ride a 60 mile sportive? Good luck to him I say. 60 miles may not be epic to you, but might be to him. (not that I've ever seen a 60 mile event described as 'epic')

'just get out and ride' is a good sentiment. Cycling snobbery is not, however! I hope that's not what this is...

Avatar
parksey replied to 700c | 10 years ago
0 likes
700c wrote:

Yes, there are a lot of 'epic challenges' about, many of which featured on this site, and I completely agree with the sentiment that sometimes it's good to just go out for a ride.That's what most of us do anyway..

I think what you're complaining about is perception, not reality. How cycling is portrayed in the media, and how much promotion these commercial sportive organisers do, to get people signed up, not to mention the charity events which receive huge publicity.

This has resulted in an increase in cycling exposure and popularity. On balance this is a good thing. So what if a middle aged fat guy wants to ride a 60 mile sportive? Good luck to him I say. 60 miles may not be epic to you, but might be to him. (not that I've ever seen a 60 mile event described as 'epic')

'just get out and ride' is a good sentiment. Cycling snobbery is not, however! I hope that's not what this is...

Exactly this.  41

I may even be that middle-aged fat guy (is 35 middle-aged...?!).

Avatar
Claud And I replied to 700c | 10 years ago
0 likes
700c wrote:

Yes, there are a lot of 'epic challenges' about, many of which featured on this site, and I completely agree with the sentiment that sometimes it's good to just go out for a ride.That's what most of us do anyway..

I think what you're complaining about is perception, not reality. How cycling is portrayed in the media, and how much promotion these commercial sportive organisers do, to get people signed up, not to mention the charity events which receive huge publicity.

This has resulted in an increase in cycling exposure and popularity. On balance this is a good thing. So what if a middle aged fat guy wants to ride a 60 mile sportive? Good luck to him I say. 60 miles may not be epic to you, but might be to him. (not that I've ever seen a 60 mile event described as 'epic')

'just get out and ride' is a good sentiment. Cycling snobbery is not, however! I hope that's not what this is...

Good lord, lighten up dear chap  1

Avatar
GoingRoundInCycles | 10 years ago
0 likes

Triathlon/Cycling is the new golf. The middle management 'what's your handicap' bores have morphed into equipment-obsessed, Strava-waving dicks.

Avatar
southseabythesea | 10 years ago
0 likes

I ride for the space it clears in my head.

Avatar
pjt201 | 10 years ago
0 likes

hear-hear.

[pedant](ps. subs, it's derring do)[/pedant]

Pages

Latest Comments