OT: the sport of cycling and the Tour

[WestCoastWildcat]

As a youngster growing up I played most sports- football, basketball, baseball but the most grueling was cycling which I participated in both road and track. I was terrible but gave it a try. I did enjoy riding with my local AYH club and rode around a little as a freshman at NU.

I believe the only other sport that may approach cycling for endurance and burning calories is cross country skiing. Watching the Tour de France it’s amazing what these riders can do, esp. climbing and descending mountains. I’ve always enjoyed watching the Tour and the beautiful French countryside and historical ruins the cyclists pass by. Just a colorful event I’ve enjoyed watching for decades now. A real classic up there with any other major sporting event.

 

[WaveJumper]

I took up mountain biking on dirt trails when I turned 70, but eventually the hills were just too much for me so I converted a hard tail mountain bike to a 1,000 watt E bike with a 52 volt, 14 amp battery (buying the motor and battery and replacing all of the standard drive parts (chain, gears, chainwheel, brakes, etc.) and now the hills are the easiest part. It was really a great experience doing the build, because I learned how to maintain and tune everything else on the bike. I can't ride the bike on paved streets since it can exceed 40 mph and is not legal on streets, but wouldn't ride on pavement anyway. Mostly, I ride blue and green dirt trails and sometimes black, but they invariably kick my a$$. Just an awesome sport being out in the woods, and seeing dear, fawns, fox, snakes, possums, wild turkeys, etc. Hard for me to relate to riding in any other environment.

Agree with you about tour riders. They are some of the most incredible athletes on the planet.

 

[techtim72]

I took up mountain biking on dirt trails when I turned 70, but eventually the hills were just too much for me so I converted a hard tail mountain bike to a 1,000 watt E bike with a 52 volt, 14 amp battery (buying the motor and battery and replacing all of the standard drive parts (chain, gears, chainwheel, brakes, etc.) and now the hills are the easiest part. It was really a great experience doing the build, because I learned how to maintain and tune everything else on the bike. I can't ride the bike on paved streets since it can exceed 40 mph and is not legal on streets, but wouldn't ride on pavement anyway. Mostly, I ride blue and green dirt trails and sometimes black, but they invariably kick my a$$. Just an awesome sport being out in the woods, and seeing dear, fawns, fox, snakes, possums, wild turkeys, etc. Hard for me to relate to riding in any other environment.

Agree with you about tour riders. They are some of the most incredible athletes on the planet.

I can only imagine what your new sport of choice will be at 80. Cliff climbing?

 

[Hungry Jack]

I did not start road cycling until I turned 40, and my body had had enough of weights and all that nonsense. I dropped 25 pounds and greatly improved my fitness. I did a bunch of organized road rides like the Hilly Hundred in Indiana, and Horribly Hilly in Wisconsin, along with a bunch of MS 150 fundraisers and the Diabetes 100. 17 years later, it is still my favorite activity.

Chicago is not great for road cycling--just too much traffic on the lakefront trails and too dangerous on the streets. I sometimes ride early Sunday to Lake Cook and back, which is pretty nice. But mostly I sit on a Peleton and chase watts.

The real treat is gravel cycling--much less traffic, better views, more interesting terrain. I have cycled NW Arkansas, the Black Hills (gravel Mecca, IMO), the Scottsbluff area, and selected parts of Colorado and Utah.

Pro cyclists, especially the climbers on the grand tours, are easily the toughest athletes. They suffer more than anyone--for hours and days. Those guys are unreal.

 

[Alaskawildkat]

I believe the only other sport that may approach cycling for endurance and burning calories is cross country skiing. Watching the Tour de France it’s amazing what these riders can do, esp. climbing and descending mountains. I’ve always enjoyed watching the Tour and the beautiful French countryside and historical ruins the cyclists pass by. Just a colorful event I’ve enjoyed watching for decades now. A real classic up there with any other major sporting event.

Growing up in the land of ice and snow in an era when off road biking (at least here) was not a thing, cross country skiing fit the landscape well though. Your observations about its benefits just might motivate me to get back into it when the snow flies.

That said, my progeny in Nevada and California are really into biking off road, particularly in the mountains between Carson City and Lake Tahoe.

Here is a past email relating one of their efforts:

"Today was the Carson City Epic off-road mountain bike race climbing from Carson City up the Sierra Nevada mountains overlooking Lake Tahoe and then back down to Carson. Conrad drove in town last night to compete in the “35 mile” race which was actually 41 miles. I did the “50 mile” race which was closer to 48 miles. Elevation climb was about one mile. It’s a really grueling but beautiful race with a ton of climbing. People from all over the country come, with the professionals racing tomorrow. I was really impressed that Conrad did it with so little training."

 

[WaveJumper]

I can only imagine what your new sport of choice will be at 80. Cliff climbing?

Past that milestone 5 years ago. I'll take the elevator now.