either / or

If you are currently reading, and enjoy this site, my guess is that you enjoy the bike. Duhhh, you say? Well, I know not everyone reading this rides a bike, but I also believe not everyone that rides a bike does it because they love bikes. How so? Allow me …

When I was younger, I raced. With a team. Not as a pro, just a regional team of everyday guys that wanted to race. I trained mostly with guys on another regional team that was quite selective. They lived closer to me and were faster than me. If you want to get better – hang out with people better than you. In all areas of life. Overall, there were many people that I raced with; 25 to 35 that I interacted with regularly over those years?

Now, some 35 plus years later, I know exactly 4 people from those days that still ride. One of them is me. Two of those still race. The remaining that do not ride, well maybe 3 of them even own bikes. Hmmm.  

My theory?

I think some people ride bikes because they love bikes. I think some people ride for transportation. I think some people ride to be social. I think some people ride bikes because they love competition. Yes, there are other reasons, but for now let us speak of two groups – love bikes and love competition. I am not saying you cannot do both, but I am saying they do not always overlap. 

I raced in my college and young adult days. I think many people I raced with did so because they enjoyed competition and once you leave high school there are just a few areas in which you can still compete in sport. Cycling is one of them. Once those individuals stopped competing, they concomitantly stopped riding. Remember, two of those (both are older than me) are still actively racing. One continues to ride but does not race. The others? Again, I can think of only a few that even own bikes (and those are collecting dust). They do not ride. 

Did you do the stats – just over 10 percent still ride. Just over 5 percent still ride without racing. We lost the vast majority. I know, I am just speaking about those that were part of the racing sect of cycling; not cycling overall. But again, those are still small numbers. Especially for someone that spent that much time on a bike at one point in life. I know – life changes. 

I raced. I performed well in many races – much better results off-road than on the road. In fact, one year while training we were chatting on the bikes. The topic was who might win the Cat 4 State Road race – in which I was going to compete. A respected racer (Cat 1 regional star) that I trained with was speaking and he named another rider on my team. He then looked at me and said to me, “Sorry, I am not against you. I just do not think you want it bad enough.” I was not offended. He was correct. I was racing and wanted to do well. But – great racers want to win at all costs. That was not me. In fact, in a mountain bike race, I once saw the person in front of me take the wrong turn. I took the wrong turn and brought him back on course. I wanted to win, but not that way. That was common in that era of mountain biking. Then it changed …more on that in a future article.

Looking back, I raced because I loved bikes. I thought that is what you did if you loved bikes. Sure, I enjoyed the competition, but over time I realized that I really did not care if you or I were faster. I just wanted to ride. Sometimes fast, but I did not need to compete. I certainly did not need to pay to drive a long distance to line up at a start line at a particular time and go full out and then do it again each weekend. I liked to ride and ride fast. I liked to ride with the racers (because it is fun to go fast), but I did not really care about the racing. Nothing against racing. To each his own. 

I was in it for the bike. Racing was an add on. I think many that race are in it for the competition and the bike is just the means to that competition. 

I am not saying that all or most people ride bikes for the competition; we all can see that is not true. I am saying we all find bikes for different reasons. Time with kids, commuting, racing, time with a significant other etc. For some, it is for a season. For some it is lifelong. Some start for one reason and find another to continue. They find they really like the bike and what it has to offer. What is important is that the world of cycling is vast and there is a place for all. I hope we are open to seeing the different facets of cycling and helping others fit in where they are most comfortable … so that they can enjoy the bike long term. Even if that means a change in ‘bike perspective’ over the years. It happens as life progresses – we spend more time in one area and then that changes. I hope we can all find a way to keep riding throughout our lives … even if that changes dramatically. Me? When age increases to the point where balance is an issue – I will be on a tricycle … it will happen.