Horseballs wrote:Do you really ride solo most of the time? I was into cycling pretty avidly at one point, and we exclusively rode in groups of 2 - 5. This was in the hill country of Texas where a certain blood doper you may have heard of did most of his training. Maybe it's different where you are, but there were way too many clueless drivers to ride solo. Even the USAF triathlon team would cycle in groups. I never lived and breathed it, but most of the solo work was done on spinning bikes indoors, and usually in intervals of sprints and recovery.Lorenzzo wrote:Well of course in a large group that's true, where often the riders like or need the security of each other.
Most riding here however is done individually, with several other riders or in weekend quasi race excursions. The pace most definitely gets pushed. The most fun is individual when you come up on another rider or he comes up on you. It's kind of like dragracing as a teenager.
I will say this place is not like others I've been. It is really really competitive here.
Within the group, I'd try to push the pace when out front.
I played most of the courses in the Austin area but never cycled there. There was this gap between when I was 15 and my mid 40-s when I don't think I ever got on a road bike. Considering the terrain it must have been a good place for it. Except for Texas drivers.
The situation here is definitely different. Most road cycling is done individually for conditioning. Exceptions are racing or organized tours. It could change with a fatality but we just haven't had one as far as anyone knows. Partly because of the winter snow and partly due to an amazing interest level in cycling the shoulders on roads are generous and the network of bike paths both road and mountain are crazy.
If you are talking about triathletes on bikes, they do often ride together but more often indoors. An ex GF is a triathlete. I had little interest in following the structure necessary to do that and at my age I would most likely have broken down.
Path development began as a way to attract summer visitors to a winter tourist town. Eventually residents became bike oriented and drove it further. These days the greater draw is mountain biking and path development has focused on that. Mountain biking is more often done in groups. I mountain bike socially and road cycle individually except races. Although you can find several races a week here and I often participate.
Over the next couple of months bike manufacturers will gather and release many of their new models here, it's that much of a bike place. Many of the well healed latch on to the new bikes and as a result the bike swaps here are incredible. I'm hoping to pick up A lightly used bike for next year.