European vrs. American Attitudes
I was able to pick up my road bike yesterday afternoon, just in time for a weekend bike ride. This morning, I got up and decided to take a long ride. I hoped to make the ride to Pescadero Road and back (60+ miles). However, I wasn't quite sure how the bike would do, how I would do or what the riding conditions would be, so I planned to just start out and see how I did.
I left home about 7:30am. I wanted to get an early start before the wind picked up. It was pretty chilly at that hour. My bike computer said mid-40's and that felt about right. However it was sunny without much wind, so I felt pretty good about the weather. The bike rode great. It felt very smooth and rolled along well. I am very happy with how the bike rides. So I was pretty optimistic about taking a long ride.
After a few minutes, I looked down at the bike computer and it was not registering any speed, distance or altitude gain. When the bike was fixed, they replaced the wheels. My guess is that they did something to mess up the inputs to the bike computer. I don't think it will be hard to fix, but I could not fix it. I don't like this. I am constantly monitoring my speed and distance. I like to have a good idea how much farther I have to ride and plan my stops. I like to keep my speed down on longer rides. And I like to know the total distance and the average speed for the whole ride. Oh well, I kept going anyway.
Last week, I was reading that one of the differences between Europeans and Americans is that Americans are much more results oriented. For example, an European bike rider would be satisfied if he/she had a good 2 hour bike ride. Regardless of how fast or how far they went on the ride. On the other hand, an American is only satisfied if they rode x miles at y speed during those two hours. So maybe I will make this ride like a European. I will make my best effort on the ride and not worry about how fast or how far I go.
As an aside, I know some very good mountain bike riders who measure their rides in hours anyway. Since mountain bike trails can be so radically different, mileage and speed are not a very good measure of your ride. However, most road bikers measure their rides by mileage, speed and maybe elevation gain.
I felt good at the end of Swanton Road (20 miles), at Castanoa Resort (25 miles) and at Pigeon Point (28 miles), so I decided to continue towards Pescadero Road (33 miles). One nice thing about my broken bike computer is that I was not paying close attention to my progress. The miles were just flying past. And I was paying more attention to the scenery. It was sunny and clear and the ocean was just sparkling. The views were great, making the ride very pleasant.
Castagnoa serves breakfast until 10:30am, so I tried to calculate how far I could go towards Pescadero Road and still be back to Castagnoa before 10:30. So I rode about 20 minutes past Pigeon Point and then turned around. Unfortunately, my calculations did not take into account the brisk headwind on the return trip. Oops. It was not too bad, I had a huge dinner last night and I was not very hungry anyway. I figured that I could get something to eat at the bakery in Davenport.
I started getting pretty hungry on the way to Davenport, so I decided that I had better stop to eat. During the last five miles into Davenport, two tour busses passed me. Uh-Oh. If they both dumped their passengers at the bakery, the wait would be very long. As I got into town, I saw that one of the busses had stopped at the bakery. I figured that I better stop anyway. I walked into the bakery and it was jammed. It would be a long time until I was even able to order, so I went to the grocery store next door. I was able to buy a Cliff bar, some trail mix, a chocolate bar and an energy drink. It made for a nice snack and I felt good on the ride back home.
Taking a European attitude, I rode well for roughly 5 hours (including rest stops). I don't know exactly how far or how fast I rode, but I am very satisfied with the ride. ... Oh, who am I trying to kid. I am an American. I am proud of the fact that I something over 60 miles. I am disappointed that I do not know how fast I rode, but it was still a good ride. :-)
I left home about 7:30am. I wanted to get an early start before the wind picked up. It was pretty chilly at that hour. My bike computer said mid-40's and that felt about right. However it was sunny without much wind, so I felt pretty good about the weather. The bike rode great. It felt very smooth and rolled along well. I am very happy with how the bike rides. So I was pretty optimistic about taking a long ride.
After a few minutes, I looked down at the bike computer and it was not registering any speed, distance or altitude gain. When the bike was fixed, they replaced the wheels. My guess is that they did something to mess up the inputs to the bike computer. I don't think it will be hard to fix, but I could not fix it. I don't like this. I am constantly monitoring my speed and distance. I like to have a good idea how much farther I have to ride and plan my stops. I like to keep my speed down on longer rides. And I like to know the total distance and the average speed for the whole ride. Oh well, I kept going anyway.
Last week, I was reading that one of the differences between Europeans and Americans is that Americans are much more results oriented. For example, an European bike rider would be satisfied if he/she had a good 2 hour bike ride. Regardless of how fast or how far they went on the ride. On the other hand, an American is only satisfied if they rode x miles at y speed during those two hours. So maybe I will make this ride like a European. I will make my best effort on the ride and not worry about how fast or how far I go.
As an aside, I know some very good mountain bike riders who measure their rides in hours anyway. Since mountain bike trails can be so radically different, mileage and speed are not a very good measure of your ride. However, most road bikers measure their rides by mileage, speed and maybe elevation gain.
I felt good at the end of Swanton Road (20 miles), at Castanoa Resort (25 miles) and at Pigeon Point (28 miles), so I decided to continue towards Pescadero Road (33 miles). One nice thing about my broken bike computer is that I was not paying close attention to my progress. The miles were just flying past. And I was paying more attention to the scenery. It was sunny and clear and the ocean was just sparkling. The views were great, making the ride very pleasant.
Castagnoa serves breakfast until 10:30am, so I tried to calculate how far I could go towards Pescadero Road and still be back to Castagnoa before 10:30. So I rode about 20 minutes past Pigeon Point and then turned around. Unfortunately, my calculations did not take into account the brisk headwind on the return trip. Oops. It was not too bad, I had a huge dinner last night and I was not very hungry anyway. I figured that I could get something to eat at the bakery in Davenport.
I started getting pretty hungry on the way to Davenport, so I decided that I had better stop to eat. During the last five miles into Davenport, two tour busses passed me. Uh-Oh. If they both dumped their passengers at the bakery, the wait would be very long. As I got into town, I saw that one of the busses had stopped at the bakery. I figured that I better stop anyway. I walked into the bakery and it was jammed. It would be a long time until I was even able to order, so I went to the grocery store next door. I was able to buy a Cliff bar, some trail mix, a chocolate bar and an energy drink. It made for a nice snack and I felt good on the ride back home.
Taking a European attitude, I rode well for roughly 5 hours (including rest stops). I don't know exactly how far or how fast I rode, but I am very satisfied with the ride. ... Oh, who am I trying to kid. I am an American. I am proud of the fact that I something over 60 miles. I am disappointed that I do not know how fast I rode, but it was still a good ride. :-)
posted by Steve @ 4:39 PM
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