Are you a serious cyclist? I mean seriously devoted? Dedicated? Absorbed? Perhaps obsessed? You don’t have to be a licensed Category 1 racer. You don’t need to have conquered Alpe d’Huez. You don’t even need to own a 15-pound exotic carbon fiber road bike. Seriousness isn’t measured in ability or accomplishments. Seriousness is a very clear state of mind that pushes the body to do what you never thought possible. Seriousness is about testing yourself. Going outside the comfort zone in the face of potential failure. Stretching for your goals, not those of anyone else.
Between now and the end of 2009, I’m jotting down characteristics of riders I’ve met whom I would categorize as serious cyclists. Some would have remained strangers to me were it not for bikes and paths that crossed. Some are buddies I ride with in San Diego. Some are cyclists from around the world with an “@” before their name or “handle.” What, in your opinion, makes a serious cyclist? Here’s my first 10 random things:
1. You track your mileage (religiously)
2. You know what 7% gradient feels like without looking at your Garmin 705
3. You’ve bought Muscle Milk Lite
4. You have “The Stick”
5. You have–or badly want–a power meter
6. Your cycling shoes cost more than your best pair of dress shoes
7. Your bibs/shorts cost more than your favorite pair of jeans
8. You periodically lean forward in your car seat while driving because it just feels right
9. You’d like to know “Rudy” and more about his “Project”
10. You take vacation time in July because, well, because you know why
What are the obvious signs you see or know first-hand of a serious cyclist?
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* You clean your bike more often than your desk (or house for that matter)
* When driving can’t be avoided, you drive the same route you’d ride, because it just feels right
* Feet up are as important as miles forward
10 for 10. Not only leaning forward in your car, but do you ever point out potential hazards as if the person(s) behind you could see?
Feeling guilty when you spend money on something other than your bike.
Encouraging your wife to buy a vespa so she can motorpace and sag you on rides.
Having cycling goals for the next year done long before work goals.
Ron, three great ones to add. The list is now 13…
Oh wait, Steve has provided three more that clearly fit the definition. Ladies and gentlemen, we have 16 as of Monday a.m.
Oh, crap. When, and more importantly, how did I become a serious bicyclist? (5 of 16, but still…)
* You think that tan arms and legs with a pasty white chest actually looks cool.
* Recognize you are aging when you get sun burned through the vent holes in your helmet.
* Your bids cost more than your best suit. Oh wait, you don’t own a suit.
* You no longer remember what it feels like to have hair on your legs.
* The circumferance of your calves is a minimum for 3 times greater than your biceps.
Problem is, this is mostly directed a Road Cycling. There are plenty of obsessed bike people who don’t have a road bike. They are called Bicycle Commuters. Some of us are even so obsessed, we not only commute by bike, we also road bike and or mountain bike.
Yes indeed, the list is directly mostly at road cycling, but an old mentor of mine said “write about what you know.” I’m going to stick to that for purposes of my blog. No promises made. None broken.