# How long are you willing to be out there



## heythorp (Feb 17, 2005)

OK so if you are on this board, this post is not about you, just something to compare to. It is not meant as an insult anyway and your feed back is wanted.

So on Saturday, I did Jefferson, Canada, Portola Valley, OLH, WOLH, Pescadero, Stage, 1, Tunitas, Lobitas creek, Tunitas, Skyline, Canada, Jefferson.


About 3 minutes before I hit Stage from Pescadero, I roll up on a guy in a companies jersey(will call it company X). I say hey there, where are you headed. He says Tunitas. I ask, any interest in doing Lobitas? He says I don't know where that is but I dont think so.

He stops at one of the stores there at the intersection and I say have a good day and roll on. I keep my pace to 84 and then stop at the store to refill. Leaving the store there is a group(cant remember the club name) and there is a very pretty blonde I start talking to. I take it pretty easy up and over stage and onto tunitas and have a nice chat. She told me they were doing doing lobitas and tunitas. I know they came over from the peninsula, but I don't know what hill they climbed to get over. 

I say good bye(or maybe I didn't and just road away). I picked my pace back up on Lobitas and kept a pretty good effort all the way to the top of Tunitas. Within 5 minutes on Tunitas I see my friend from Pescadero. I yell out, Hey there is my company X friend. 

He laughed and said, I knew you would be faster. We exchanged pleasantries and moved on up the hill.

All of this got me thinking. 

1. I am really impressed by so many riders out here in the bay area. They seem to not care how long it takes them to do a certain loop. 
This man in company x jersey must take at least an hour longer than I would to do the same loop. And the woman, as beautiful as you are, would take even longer. They are both really fit and are not suffering.

2. I am sure the elites say the same thing about me when they pass me. While I can understand a little longer than me, 25% becomes a lot. While I am in all around generally good fitness, I am far from an elite cyclist. I have however, have done many endurance events and I know I can handle it. Maybe this is their thinking also. I really don't know their background. 

3. I passed an older person ( I am 37) on the way up OLH. I say good job keep it going. He says thanks. I am impressed at his pace and I guessed he was 60ish. About 30 seconds later I pass another older gentleman and I say hello, great job. He asks if I had seen an older guy. I said Yeah he is only 30 secs back but I didn't think he was that old (to be honest the second guy looked older). He laughed and said, yeah well that guy is 79!. 


OK hit pause, reset power off and power on. 79? Are you Fing kidding me? 79? Pretty sure he was on a double. I don't know if it was a compact or not and this guy was not going slow. I have passed many younger people on this hill barely being able to turn the cranks over. This guy has earned my utmost respect. 

To put this in to perspective. I started the hill in front of a group of 4 by 15 secs or so. They passed me with about 3/4 of a mile to go. I asked what their pace was and they said probably 23 or so. They beat me to the top by about a minute. So I am no speed demon. 

The question I guess is. When is too much too much? What are you willing to endure? Races seem to get more and more extreme every year. Viewers don't seem to be happy unless a race absolutely kills the participants. RAAM, Death March, hillier than thou, the list goes on and on. These rides are brutal. Lets not forget the dirt and things like La ruta, cape epic and trans alps. 

What are you willing to endure and for how long. I am way more impressed by the casual rider than the obsessed.


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## Ventruck (Mar 9, 2009)

Bay Area has some fast 50-60 y.o people. At the Tour De Cure in Palo Alto, the lead group for the 125km route consisted mostly of them. 

As for the topic subject/title itself. I'm never joining anyone really. I just do repeats up Radio Rd. It's like "the rest of the world is out there, you know", but I live right next to the place, so it's like..."why go elsewhere?"


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## dwgranda (Sep 8, 2009)

Today was a nice day to take it easy especially if you're with a group of people of differing abilities. I passed tons of superfit serious looking cyclists today. Have no idea if they rarely ride but they didn't look like they were suffering at all. I think a better measuring stick is mid week with the marine layer. When I took a week off of work and did tunitas, kings, OLH every day at like 200 watts I got passed more times than I could count. Frequently these guys looked like they were going twice as fast. They almost always said hello too.


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## robwh9 (Sep 2, 2004)

Many older riders are still fit, but are no longer fast, so endurance cycling appeals to them. 

Long distance riding absorbs you, it's a trip: Nothing else matters. The outside world disappears. Nothing else EXISTS except the ride.

If you've never ridden many hours staight, like sunrise-sunset-sunrise, you might not understand the appeal.


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## ShaneW (Sep 6, 2008)

Wait........I am hung on the avg speed of 23mph going uphill? Please tell me that was a typo? Man, I knew I wasnt fast going uphill but that is fast on the flat!!


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## ratpick (Jul 31, 2008)

There's a definite challenge in endurance. Last year, doing a century was hard work for me and now it's fairly easy. I've been pushing myself to do a double century but I think I've left it too late in the year to attempt it (without serious time under lights).

But I enjoyed pushing up the mileage - the most I did on one ride was 156 mi. I got immense satisfaction from setting a new high mark.

I like going fast too, but I'm no ukbloke  

I'm always impressed by the old guys who are still riding, strong or not. I rode a club ride with a guy who has to be in his late 70s but has ridden the Davis Double every year since it started - he figured this would probably be his last year to be able to ride that distance. Incredible.


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## HammerTime-TheOriginal (Mar 29, 2006)

heythorp said:


> 3. I passed an older person ( I am 37) on the way up OLH...
> 
> To put this in to perspective. I started the hill in front of a group of 4 by 15 secs or so. They passed me with about 3/4 of a mile to go. I asked what their pace was and they said probably 23 or so. They beat me to the top by about a minute. So I am no speed demon.





ShaneW said:


> Wait........I am hung on the avg speed of 23mph going uphill? Please tell me that was a typo? Man, I knew I wasnt fast going uphill but that is fast on the flat!!


I believe heythorp meant 23 minutes to climb OLH, not 23 mph.


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## Dinosaur (Jan 29, 2004)

I'm 68. I can still do the distance but not the speed...growing old ain't for sissies.


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## snapdragen (Jan 28, 2004)

I think the oldest guy in my club is in his 80's, and still riding.

As for how long? IMHO anything that cuts into the cocktail hour is too long. :wink5:


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

In terms of endurance, at the beginning of the ride it always feels like I can ride forever. But toward the end of the ride I'm usually done and very happy to get off the bike. I have a habit of pushing myself so that my limit is reached toward the end of the ride. However, I have also cycled an endurance ride at a pace probably 10% slower than I would have self-selected. At the end of that ride I was still ready to do much more and actually disappointed to have finished. And the amazing thing was that I enjoyed the whole ride, rather than having endured the whole ride. This makes me thing that I have some untapped endurance potential, if only I can stick to a pace plan. I've also done the opposite and reached my limit with 20 miles and a big hill still to go - that sucks but you just tough it out.

The other hard thing for me is training to get to sub 20 minute OLH time. It takes a huge amount of effort each season to get back to that level. If I could get unlimited time on the bike it would not be such a big deal. But with an average of just 4 hours a week on the bike, I have to cram in some hard training in that time to improve performance, and for many weeks to see the improvement. One week off the bike negates weeks of training. Sometimes I question whether it is worth the effort, and whether I should just be out there riding rather than killing myself to attain some arbitrary goal. This year I have done much more riding and much less "training". I also haven't done a single organized ride all year.

As for the fast guys. During the week they are out training and often have a limited amount of time for their work-out so they are flying. At the weekend they are often out racing so you don't see them. But they'll mix it up too with recovery rides and endurance rides. The other thing is you tend to see a lot of the much slower riders because you catch them up quickly and then overtake them. The fast guys you never catch up of course, and as you get faster the fewer will overtake you. Outside of organized events, the other "truisms" of cycling are that there are always more cyclists going in the other direction, and there is never anyone going in your direction at the same speed as you. The world seems to be full of much much slower riders and much much faster riders - this isn't really true of course, just an artifact of your observation speed.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

ratpick said:


> I like going fast too, but I'm no ukbloke


Ha, ha. Right now, I think it is more likely that you would drop me on a climb rather than the opposite. Clearly I'll have to avoid riding with you until you re-enter the work force!


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## heythorp (Feb 17, 2005)

Dinosaur said:


> I'm 68. I can still do the distance but not the speed...growing old ain't for sissies.



Fantastic. So what keeps you going. 

My plan is to stay fit for as long as I can so I can enjoy the most out of life. But at some point I am trading in the ti rail saddle for a lazy boy, pizza and beer.


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## Dinosaur (Jan 29, 2004)

*Mostly*



heythorp said:


> Fantastic. So what keeps you going.
> 
> My plan is to stay fit for as long as I can so I can enjoy the most out of life. But at some point I am trading in the ti rail saddle for a lazy boy, pizza and beer.



I hate to say this- What mostly keeps me going is fear. Fear of old age and coming to the point that I can't ride anymore.

I guess you come to a point when you realize you can't ride fast and hard anymore. But you still ride because you love it. Even if most of the time I get passed by younger riders..your perspective of riding changes. You ride because you still can.

Nothing makes me smile like seeing an old dude riding...


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## Cliff O (Feb 10, 2004)

This gentleman is 84 and had just reached the top of Patterson Pass last Saturday. He was the 3rd rider out of a group of 8 younger guys. He was about 20 minutes behind me and another guy, but a fair bit ahead of the rest of our group. I draw a lot of inspiration from Chuck.


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## DalyCityDad (Oct 11, 2009)

I like riding my bike. I'm faster than some and slower than others but just because someone can do the same ride as me in half the time doesn't make the ride any less fun for me. I try to plan my rides more around the amount of time I have to do them and not the number of miles. I know people who regularly go out and do 80-100 mile training rides on the weekends and still have time to spend with their friends and family. I don't so I just do 40-50 (or whatever).


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## bustamove (Aug 12, 2004)

*The Fire Within*

Reynante senior is the father of a Filipino champion cyclist. Now 72, the fire within still burns strong. Photo is of Reynante finishing the climb up Sierra Road a couple of years ago with a sub-36 minute time.


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## Gee3 (Jan 31, 2006)

I know a 50-something that does centuries and big climbs on a single speed! Crazy [email protected]! 

I hope I have that zest when I hit my 50's and above!


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

One of my goals is to become a better, faster rider every year. I'm 46 now I've been improving still. I guess that's one of the advantages to starting riding late (30s).

I know some 55+ year old guys that can beat me handily up and down hills. So there is hope.

The idea is to prolong the fountain of improvement. And when that ceases, the goal can shift to enjoying every single extra mile.

fc


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## rhauft (Aug 8, 2006)

*51.5*

Have held a racing licence since I was 20...
Cat 2 since I was 30...
Regular on HOP (not HOP lite)
110mi round trip every Saturday (whether I need it or not)
Can still summit Diablo (from either side) well under 60min.
Can still produce 1000 watts...

Age is a number, not a barrier...

I'm sure it doesn't hurt to have a beautiful wife 12 years younger...:thumbsup:


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## heythorp (Feb 17, 2005)

Well I found my limit today. 6:45 was enough and boarder on being too long. 

I actually was entertaining about adding a bit to the ride but I was snookered. 

Had I added want I wanted to it probably would have added another 2.5 hours to the ride. Home and the couch seems better to me.


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## dwgranda (Sep 8, 2009)

I did this yesterday (minus bonny doon):

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/fremont/291128417146528164

Including time I spent riding around SC, 7300 kJ, 169.5mi. Don't think I will ride today.


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## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

Hey I just finished (last weekend) a 12 hr ultra TT. 112 miles on the Big Loop then continue on orbiting around a shorter loop, the first three miles up a 1700' climb. I have a lot of years and plenty of miles, but at the end of this 12hrs I found myself way out on the Short loop, about 15miles down the Deschutes River from the start finish and my vehicle. A bunch of support vehicles kept passing me, taking their riders back..and they all slowed up and asked.."Hey, want a lift back?" "No, but thanks for checking" was my reply...

It was just dusk along that small and beautiful river road...no traffic, my leg cramps were gone, it was cool and the nitehawks were swooping around, there was a neat little cresent moon right above that river. After about 160 miles (two of those miles being vertical) I knew I'd lost to my main rival by 3 whole miles....but I still wanted to keep riding, to stretch out that day and enjoy some more miles... 

When I start feeling older, I just remember it is all relative. I race and ride just as hard now as I did when I was 20...I just have fewer races and fewer riders in the race now a days. Yes, it hurts to watch your times up a given climb get slower, little by little...but I just HTFU and keep on riding, cause I really like it and it keeps me fit.


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## Guest (Sep 20, 2010)

francois said:


> One of my goals is to become a better, faster rider every year. I'm 46 now I've been improving still. I guess that's one of the advantages to starting riding late (30s).
> 
> I know some 55+ year old guys that can beat me handily up and down hills. So there is hope.
> 
> ...


You're 46? Jeeez, I'm 49 and I though you were at least 10 years younger than I.

There used to be this guy who I'd see climbing Hwy 9 all the time. One day I met him at the top. He told me he was 74 and climbed Hwy 9 3-4X every day depending on how he was feeling. Back then, it was tough for me to make it even one time - he was my hero and I drew a lot of energy from just thinking about what he was doing. Haven’t seen him in a couple of years…wonder if he’s still around?

So now I'm riding as much as I have time for and have become a lot better at endurance rides. I try to find time to climb 9 almost every night after work (weather permitting) and I try to get in a long ride on the weekends. My favorite route is to climb 9 then shoot over and descend 84 to Stage and climb Tunitas. I’ll then drop back down to Woodside and do Canada (I like the scenery on the weekends there > From there it’s back across Alpine to Arastradero to Page Mill to Foothill and home. This route is just over 100 miles and about 8000’ of climbing 

http://www.strava.com/rides/164321. 

If it’s really cold, foggy, wet over on the coast, I usually just forgo the 84-Tunitas loop and the ride ends up being ~ 72 miles.

Two years ago, I was happy just to climb 9 and not die. You just keep pushing yourself to see what you can accomplish. Every time it gets a little easier and the rush I get out of it I can’t put into words. Now granted, I’m not the fastest one out there by any means, but I get passed by less and less people every week. Funny, I’ll start the ride by telling myself that I’ll just take it at my own pace and not be influenced by anyone else…well that never happens. Whenever I see someone ahead of me my brains says “you can pass him” and it’s on. Of course, once you’ve passed you can’t allow them to pass you back so you have to keep up the pace. By the time it’s all said and done, I’ve pushed myself a lot harder than I ever intended. 

I hope that some day I’m the old guy pushing my butt up the hill that everyone says “Holy-carp, how old is that guy”.


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## dwgranda (Sep 8, 2009)

Power Play said:


> Funny, I’ll start the ride by telling myself that I’ll just take it at my own pace and not be influenced by anyone else…well that never happens. Whenever I see someone ahead of me my brains says “you can pass him” and it’s on. Of course, once you’ve passed you can’t allow them to pass you back so you have to keep up the pace. By the time it’s all said and done, I’ve pushed myself a lot harder than I ever intended.



Ditto. I do this all the time. I don't use it to even attempt to claim superiority, it does work wonders to push yourself though.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

Now I feel all inadequate with my occasional 100-120 mile rides. I don't know where you guys find the time to do such long rides (and the training required to do them).


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## WaitWienie (Feb 15, 2010)

*How long are you willing to be out there?*

For as long as it takes!!! My record is 15 hours, I don't think I will be duplicating that effort any time soon though.

Chris


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## dwgranda (Sep 8, 2009)

ukbloke said:


> Now I feel all inadequate with my occasional 100-120 mile rides. I don't know where you guys find the time to do such long rides (and the training required to do them).



What would be your motivation for doing longer, I mean if you had the time, would you? For now I'm just doing them to push myself. The rides the past couple of weeks haven't been fun after about 120 miles, but I do them to see where my limit is and afterwards I don't regret them. I'm coming up on about a year of riding and I don't know if I would do them repeatedly...maybe  . Having no SO or kids makes it and easier decision I imagine.


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