my cycling regrets

Tom Keats wrote:
:: - not getting into track racing in my youth
::

Hmm....I just regret not continuing to ride after age 5....up until age
45....A good 40 years lost....

:: - trying to foist cycling on my non-cycling gf

Yeah, that's not a good idea.

::
:: - selling my first & only store-bought, >$1000 new bike in a
:: cash-strapped desperation move

Hey, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
::
:: - leaving my 747s on the above when I sold the above

yep.

::
:: - being stuck with my stupid, mushy, low-pressure, cheap 1.5" IRC
:: Metro tires which say "Inflate to 250 kPa (40 psi)" but I pump 'em
:: up to 60 anyway
::
:: - cutting notches in my fenders to accommodate the V-brakes
::
::
:: All the rest has been sweet. Except for saying farewell to each
:: summer, which is bittersweet.

Spring and fall are the best times of year, IMO. Only problem is, less
daylight, though.

Roger Zoul said:

:: All the rest has been sweet. Except for saying farewell to each
:: summer, which is bittersweet.

I am more than ready to say farewell to this summer.....there was no
escape from the heat and humidity. Here in Jersey, while on my
vacation south, and while out west. IT WAS FREAKING HOT everywhere.
I'm looking foward to fall. Would like to hibernate through the
winter...then wake in spring to the kind of spring I think I remember
we used to enjoy.

I don't have any cycling regrets. I don't have any regrets. I've
learned alot of lessons from the dumb things I have done. ;-) And boy
have I done some dumb things in my life.

Starting to ride at 50 was sweet for me. Great way to start a new
decade.
Never explain, and forget about regrets, it's a waste of time...There
are no mistakes, just lessons learned. ;-)

Maggie (sounding like Oprah)

"Tom Keats" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

- not getting into track racing in my youth

Maybe not too late. The local track (Northbrook, IL velodrome) has a
citizens night on Fridays. I have some friends who ride in the "over-40"
races. They didn't start training until a year or so ago.

It's my regret that due to lung problems I can't keep up with them.

Quoted message said:

- trying to foist cycling on my non-cycling gf

Yeah, I married mine. Even bought a tandem, thinking the problem was she
hated to fall behind. The last vestiges of that effort departed when my
youngest daughter took the tandem off to college with her last weekend (try
getting THAT in the back of the minivan with her regular bike). Luckily she
loves biking and the tandem is good for low-key social interaction (and
cheaper than going to Starbucks for these things).

Quoted message said:

- being stuck with my stupid, mushy, low-pressure, cheap 1.5" IRC Metro
tires which say "Inflate to 250 kPa (40 psi)" but I pump 'em up to
60 anyway

If this regret makes your top 5, that's not bad. For Christmas, junk the bad
tires and get some good ones.

Mike Kruger said:

Quoted message said:

- trying to foist cycling on my non-cycling gf

Yeah, I married mine. Even bought a tandem, thinking the problem was she
hated to fall behind.

Why do people try to convince a spouse or significant other to ride
with them, if they do not want to do it?

Everyone told me to try to get my husband to ride a bike with me.
Riding a bike is not something he wants to do. I'm sure it is nice to
share an activity such as riding a bike, but if it is forced upon them,
what fun is that?

If my husband tried to force me into going to car shows with him or
hang out with him while he talked with other old car enthusiasts, I'd
be bored to death. I'm not into restoration of old cars. He is
passionate about it. I try to be interested.....but I am not.

Its wonderful if a couple shares their passion for the same sport, or
music and the arts.....but its only nice if it's not forced upon them.
So why do we do it?
You can take this "TWO SHALL BECOME ONE"..a little too far in my
opinion.

Maggie.

Maggie said:

Mike Kruger said:

Quoted message said:

- trying to foist cycling on my non-cycling gf

Yeah, I married mine. Even bought a tandem, thinking the problem was she
hated to fall behind.

Why do people try to convince a spouse or significant other to ride
with them, if they do not want to do it?

Everyone told me to try to get my husband to ride a bike with me.
Riding a bike is not something he wants to do. I'm sure it is nice to
share an activity such as riding a bike, but if it is forced upon them,
what fun is that?

If my husband tried to force me into going to car shows with him or
hang out with him while he talked with other old car enthusiasts, I'd
be bored to death. I'm not into restoration of old cars. He is
passionate about it. I try to be interested.....but I am not.

Its wonderful if a couple shares their passion for the same sport, or
music and the arts.....but its only nice if it's not forced upon them.
So why do we do it?
You can take this "TWO SHALL BECOME ONE"..a little too far in my
opinion.

Maggie.

My wife is Italian, which according to her father, explains many of the
things that she does. In any case she never had much interest in
cycling, and was quite content to do her thing when I was away on a
ride, until, one day, I mentioned the I'd helped fix a flat for a girl.
An hour or so later, she asked, "was she on the ride with you?" And
later still, "How many girls are there on your rides? And later, "you
know that bike you bought me, do you think I could ride with you sometime?

She became an ardent cyclist, and even delighted in riding a tandem with
me. We had many good years together on our bikes. Alas, She can't ride
nowadays. Old age came, did its thing, and made her an invalid, but
still she asks, "were there any girls on the ride today?"

--
Bob Wheeler --- http://www.bobwheeler.com/
ECHIP, Inc. ---
Randomness comes in bunches.

Bob Wheeler wrote:
:: My wife is Italian, which according to her father, explains many of
:: the things that she does. In any case she never had much interest in
:: cycling, and was quite content to do her thing when I was away on a
:: ride, until, one day, I mentioned the I'd helped fix a flat for a
:: girl. An hour or so later, she asked, "was she on the ride with
:: you?" And
:: later still, "How many girls are there on your rides? And later, "you
:: know that bike you bought me, do you think I could ride with you
:: sometime?
::
:: She became an ardent cyclist, and even delighted in riding a tandem
:: with me. We had many good years together on our bikes. Alas, She
:: can't ride nowadays. Old age came, did its thing, and made her an
:: invalid, but
:: still she asks, "were there any girls on the ride today?"

Nice story, Bob.....I hope to be able to tell it someday (well, parts of it,
anyway) 🙂

"Maggie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Mike Kruger said:

Quoted message said:

- trying to foist cycling on my non-cycling gf

Yeah, I married mine. Even bought a tandem, thinking the problem was she
hated to fall behind.

Why do people try to convince a spouse or significant other to ride
with them, if they do not want to do it?

In my case my girlfriend-who-became-spouse kept insisting she liked to
cycle, but was too slow / didn't have the right equipment / didn't like the
route I'd chosen, was worried about becoming separated from me, etc. I
checked with said spouse before buying the tandem and got enthusiasm which I
took to be real. Silly me.

A little bit of honesty would have saved us much trouble. But I was
recently married and wasn't fully aware of when I was getting a real answer
and when I was getting an unreal answer. (Let's face it, I wanted to believe
her.)

Maggie, as to your general point that spouses don't have to share every
enthusiasm, I'm in full agreement.

Maggie said:

Roger Zoul said:

:: All the rest has been sweet. Except for saying farewell to each
:: summer, which is bittersweet.

I am more than ready to say farewell to this summer.....there was no
escape from the heat and humidity. Here in Jersey, while on my
vacation south, and while out west. IT WAS FREAKING HOT everywhere.
I'm looking foward to fall. Would like to hibernate through the
winter...then wake in spring to the kind of spring I think I remember
we used to enjoy.

Maybe someday your future regret will be all the opportunities you might
have lost because the weather was either too hot, too cold or too
something else. At some point, you just have to dive in and do things.

My regret is running and walking for so many years. Cycling is a lot
more fun.

Maggie said:

Why do people try to convince a spouse or significant other to ride
with them, if they do not want to do it?

I've thought of buying my girlfriend a bike, convinced that if she
learned how to use her low gears for the hills and set the bike up so
that it fit her properly she would be comfortable and enjoy it. Part
of me wants to do it but the other part knows it would be a waste of
time and money. She's just not that into it.

In my case, I know the reason. Her grandparents are hard-core cyclists
and used to take her on long (30 mile or more) bike trips when she was
growing up. She was dragged on these trips and it was always a
miserable time for her. To this day, the older couple still ride
regularly. Her grandfather celebrated his 70th birthday by riding his
rigid, circa-1990 mountain bike to the top of Mount Hamilton (4213
feet) in San Jose.

Quoted message said:

Everyone told me to try to get my husband to ride a bike with me.
Riding a bike is not something he wants to do. I'm sure it is nice to
share an activity such as riding a bike, but if it is forced upon them,
what fun is that?

If my husband tried to force me into going to car shows with him or
hang out with him while he talked with other old car enthusiasts, I'd
be bored to death. I'm not into restoration of old cars. He is
passionate about it. I try to be interested.....but I am not.

Its wonderful if a couple shares their passion for the same sport, or
music and the arts.....but its only nice if it's not forced upon them.
So why do we do it?
You can take this "TWO SHALL BECOME ONE"..a little too far in my
opinion.

Maggie.

Bill H. said:

...girlfriend.. She's just not that into it.

In my case, I know the reason. Her grandparents are hard-core cyclists
and used to take her on long (30 mile or more) bike trips when she was
growing up. She was dragged on these trips and it was always a
miserable time for her. To this day, the older couple still ride
regularly. Her grandfather celebrated his 70th birthday by riding his
rigid, circa-1990 mountain bike to the top of Mount Hamilton (4213
feet) in San Jose.

That's just sad. At the Amishland tour a few weeks ago I met an
extended family (3 generations) who all ride, and don't seem to have
any childhood issues about it. GP owns a Counterpoint and two
Viewpoints. They ride in various combinations with assorted relatives,
and the teens ride their own bikes. Youngest kiddies seemed to be
having a swell time on the ride...perhaps GF's GPs are the child abuser
types ("you've got 95 miles for the day, go back out and get 5 more" in
the freezing rain).

Try telling GF about the shopping mall set up at various rides.
Bicycle earrings can be a nice incentive!

--Karen D.

Tom Keats said:

- selling my first & only store-bought, >$1000 new bike in a
cash-strapped desperation move

I actually threw away a perfectly good Trek 800 because I lost the
quick-release bolts. Bad idea. I found them a few weeks later and had
to buy a new bike. Dumb dumb dumb. That's probably my biggest cycling
regret. I don't miss the bike, but I should have donated the bike to
charity or something - it's the pointless waste that bothers me the
most.

Bob Wheeler said:

My wife is Italian, which according to her father, explains many of the
things that she does. (snip) "were there any girls on the ride today?"

--
Bob Wheeler

That is the sweetest story. And your wife's father was right. She
asked if there were any girls on the ride...because she is an Italian
wife.
I have a 100 percent Italian husband. Sicilian. He wants to know if
there are any men at my all women's gym. Go figure that one out.

Maggie

Bill H. wrote:
:: Tom Keats wrote:
::
::: - selling my first & only store-bought, >$1000 new bike in a
::: cash-strapped desperation move
::
:: I actually threw away a perfectly good Trek 800 because I lost the
:: quick-release bolts. Bad idea. I found them a few weeks later and
:: had to buy a new bike. Dumb dumb dumb. That's probably my biggest
:: cycling regret. I don't miss the bike, but I should have donated
:: the bike to charity or something - it's the pointless waste that
:: bothers me the most.

That's a rather amazing act of dumbness. 🙂

Oh, yes indeed! To this day I don't know what I was thinking. Live
and learn, I guess, but that sure was an expensive lesson.

On Thu, 1 Sep 2005 14:32:49 -0400, "Roger Zoul" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

:: I made the top and turned around and came back down to the first
:: (and only) intersection with a mountain road and there she was
:: waiting for me having ridden 2/3 of the route. I was stunned. It
:: took me almost a year of riding to get to the point where I'd even
:: dare to ride it and she does it on no training. No bike riding, no
:: jogging, no walking, nothing. (she does TJ)

Ain't she a lot lighter than you? Weight makes a huge difference.

She's lighter. But still riding a 5% grade for more than a mile...I was
surprised an untrained person could do that.

Quoted message said:

::
:: I'm hopeful that she'll ride with me some more and I've got a good
:: bike for her that fits her, but I'm not going to push it.
::
:: I have a heck of a time trying to convince her that riding can be
:: 'exercise' . She already knows it is fun - back in our college days
:: she actually bought my first bike from me and rode it around campus.
::

I would have thought the hill would have told there that better than you
ever could...

She said it wasn't that hard. I would have bet money she couldnt do it, but
she proved me wrong.

Quoted message said:

:: The other day I had her go out and motorpace me in my car and she was
:: shocked and surprised to see me going 26mph on the flats. When I
:: tucked in behind the car and then jumped out at 35 and passed her,
:: she started to get the idea that it might, in fact, be a bit of a
:: workout. ;-)

You're sounding a lot like a racer dude these days. You riding full kit
yet? 🙂

Nope - I suck. I can get some high speeds on the flats, but only sustain it
for a minute or so. My best effort is only a sub-9 minute 5% climb for
1.5miles, and a 3-4 mile 4% climb with some ups and downs. I totally suck,
and that parking lot crit proved it, haha. Hasn't diminished my drive to
get out there and do better and better. Took my first day off in three
weeks yesterday due to helping the daughter get ready to go to college.

I'm improving somewhat quickly, but doubt I'll ever get that elusive
4watts/kg for 30 minutes. I'm still stuck at 225lbs and need to be 190 or
less to get any decent speed over a 1 hour ride and be able to ride with
the local team. I did have to buy one size smaller bibs the other day!

How's the weight going for you? I heard you had lost some more recently.

jj

jj said:

She's lighter. But still riding a 5% grade for more than a mile...I was
surprised an untrained person could do that.

Just wait until you get a little age on you. Untrained people will
surprise you even more. =]

On Thu, 01 Sep 2005 15:22:45 -0500, catzz66 <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

jj said:

She's lighter. But still riding a 5% grade for more than a mile...I was
surprised an untrained person could do that.

Just wait until you get a little age on you. Untrained people will
surprise you even more. =]

Heh, yeah. I liken the roads around here to those buttons in Topo programs
that increase the height of the mountains 1x - 4x. When I was a student,
and didn't even train, though I was in good shape, the topology was 1x. Two
years ago they were about 4-5x, now they're 2-3x. ;-)

In another year or two I expect them to go back to their originial size.

I've already got some age on me at 50+; you? I expect to continue to
improve for another 10 years, though.

jj

Bill H. wrote:
:: Oh, yes indeed! To this day I don't know what I was thinking. Live
:: and learn, I guess, but that sure was an expensive lesson.

We all have stories like yours. I used to be able to say that if I had a
dime for every floppy disc I had, I'd be rich. Now I can say that about many
things...computer stuff, cycling stuff. A lot of the stuff I buy ends up
being money wasted.

jj wrote:
:: On Thu, 1 Sep 2005 14:32:49 -0400, "Roger Zoul"
:: <[email hidden]> wrote:
::
::::: I made the top and turned around and came back down to the first
::::: (and only) intersection with a mountain road and there she was
::::: waiting for me having ridden 2/3 of the route. I was stunned. It
::::: took me almost a year of riding to get to the point where I'd even
::::: dare to ride it and she does it on no training. No bike riding, no
::::: jogging, no walking, nothing. (she does TJ)
:::
::: Ain't she a lot lighter than you? Weight makes a huge difference.
::
:: She's lighter. But still riding a 5% grade for more than a mile...I
:: was surprised an untrained person could do that.

Yeah, I slow to a crawl on 5% grades. I have one of those inclinometers
that fits on my handlebar...so now I know what grades I'm on. There is this
one place where the grade is 10%...fortunately, it's short.

::
:::::
::::: I'm hopeful that she'll ride with me some more and I've got a good
::::: bike for her that fits her, but I'm not going to push it.
:::::
::::: I have a heck of a time trying to convince her that riding can be
::::: 'exercise' . She already knows it is fun - back in our college
::::: days she actually bought my first bike from me and rode it around
::::: campus.
:::::
:::
::: I would have thought the hill would have told there that better
::: than you ever could...
::
:: She said it wasn't that hard. I would have bet money she couldnt do
:: it, but she proved me wrong.

Well, at least she stopped at 2/3 so as not to make you feel too bad! 🙂

::
:::
::::: The other day I had her go out and motorpace me in my car and she
::::: was shocked and surprised to see me going 26mph on the flats.
::::: When I tucked in behind the car and then jumped out at 35 and
::::: passed her, she started to get the idea that it might, in fact,
::::: be a bit of a workout. ;-)
:::
::: You're sounding a lot like a racer dude these days. You riding
::: full kit yet? 🙂
::
:: Nope - I suck. I can get some high speeds on the flats, but only
:: sustain it for a minute or so. My best effort is only a sub-9 minute
:: 5% climb for
:: 1.5miles, and a 3-4 mile 4% climb with some ups and downs. I totally
:: suck, and that parking lot crit proved it, haha. Hasn't diminished
:: my drive to get out there and do better and better. Took my first
:: day off in three weeks yesterday due to helping the daughter get
:: ready to go to college.

Well, it sounds like you're doing better than I....I now know some of my
grades and they are similar to yours, but I don't pay attention to how long
they are.... This year, I'm not riding nearly as much as I did last year.
Basically, only on weekends, so I try to pile on the miles then.

::
:: I'm improving somewhat quickly, but doubt I'll ever get that elusive
:: 4watts/kg for 30 minutes. I'm still stuck at 225lbs and need to be
:: 190 or less to get any decent speed over a 1 hour ride and be able
:: to ride with the local team. I did have to buy one size smaller bibs
:: the other day!

Well, I won't say I'm stuck...I haven't really been trying to lose weight
since early this year. I just find it too hard to lose weight while cycling
65 miles on Sat and another 35-40 on Sunday. I get big appetite...and then
trying to play the carbup game too... I'll like to get to 200 (I know, way
too heavy to be a good cyclist - but I'd enjoy the speed boost I'd get at 25
to 30 lighter - I think), but I'm not really sure I want to be even that
small. Small just doesn't compute for me.

::
:: How's the weight going for you? I heard you had lost some more
:: recently.

Oh...see above! 🙂 Recently, as in Jan/Feb....