A reduced mileage!

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
gbnz
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A reduced mileage!

Post by gbnz »

Anyone else "suffer" from the problem?

I've been aware for 4-5 years that my cycle ride to some outposts of the county, has taken place perhaps once over the course of the year. In comparison with a few years back, when it was virtually weekly/fortnightly.

And somehow I've recognized in the past few weeks, that my BB's have lasted for 4 years without an issue :shock: My chainset has only been replaced, ONCE in 3-4 years and that's primarily due to a "what the hell" type feeling, I might head off on the bike (Last summer) so it's worthwhile replacing "just in case".

Somehow my lack of maintenance requirements have highlighted the fact that I no longer do the mileage I did (Nb. I'm just <50!). Not an issue, but how did it get to this point?

On a plus side, the 26 miles over the moor to see family this afternoon was great :wink:
Eyebrox
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Re: A reduced mileage!

Post by Eyebrox »

I'm 62 and look back with fond memories of all my adventures in the last 25 years of cycling. I am disappointed not to cover the same distances and reach as far (by car and train then bike) as I once did. I have now become an expert in the network of roads, cycle track and trails within a 50 mile radius of home. I still do the same total mileage as before - 100 miles a week in winter and 200 in the summer. I have lost pedalling strength and some confidence on unfamiliar territory. But just keep going to stay fit, enjoy sightseeing (if a bit more limited) and take in as much fresh air as I can. Cycling for me has changed but stayed the same in the more important departments. Keep going!
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Cugel
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Re: A reduced mileage!

Post by Cugel »

There are lots of things I do less of now than I did in years before. There are lots of things I do more of now than I did in years before. There are many things I've never done and never will. There are lots of things I've never done but may do in the future. There are lots of things that .......

Well, I'm sure you get the point. Just in case you didn't, it's this: things change, including you. There's a corollary: if you don't change you may have become ossified; a mere set of habits; a biological automaton.......

But here I must make a confession of non-conformity. I've never understood why humans feel a need to have closely circumscribed ambitions or quantity-driven targets for activities that would otherwise be a pleasure. Some say a fulfillment of ambition gives a feeling of satisfaction. In my experience, people obsessed with quantified targets merely invent a new one if they reach the old one, then off they go again punishing themselves until some arbitrary number is reached.

My own low ambition is to enjoy myself by becoming competent at whatever it is that takes my fancy. This never involves doing the same this year as I did last year. Quite the opposite.

Cugel
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence are usually the slaves of some defunct economist”.
John Maynard Keynes
Mike_Ayling
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Re: A reduced mileage!

Post by Mike_Ayling »

When you blokes get to >75 then you really have problems.

My lungs don't mind but my legs definitely don't like hills any longer.

Mike
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NUKe
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Re: A reduced mileage!

Post by NUKe »

Try keeping a record of your weekly mileage. I have the last 12 years in a spreadsheet. I have dropped off a bit in the last few years but this largely due to family and work commitments. Hoping to up it a bit next year with a few more audacious rides.
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PH
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Re: A reduced mileage!

Post by PH »

gbnz wrote:On a plus side, the 26 miles over the moor to see family this afternoon was great :wink:

Is there anything else that matters?
If there is then there's plenty you can do to change it.
gbnz
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Re: A reduced mileage!

Post by gbnz »

PH wrote:
gbnz wrote:On a plus side, the 26 miles over the moor to see family this afternoon was great :wink:

Is there anything else that matters?
If there is then there's plenty you can do to change it.


True.

Though it's possible my 79 year old mothers complaint yesterday that she'd only managed 14 munros or so this year, may have partially contributed to my self reflection! She had to admit that the 20 mile round walk in to one was a killer and may have to downgrade to doing the lakes soon :oops:
gbnz
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Re: A reduced mileage!

Post by gbnz »

Cugel wrote:There are lots of things I do less of now than I did in years before. There are lots of things I do more of now than I did in years before. There are many things I've never done and never will. There are lots of things I've never done but may do in the future. There are lots of things that .......

Well, I'm sure you get the point. Just in case you didn't, it's this: things change, including you. There's a corollary: if you don't change you may have become ossified; a mere set of habits; a biological automaton.......

But here I must make a confession of non-conformity. I've never understood why humans feel a need to have closely circumscribed ambitions or quantity-driven targets for activities that would otherwise be a pleasure. Some say a fulfillment of ambition gives a feeling of satisfaction. In my experience, people obsessed with quantified targets merely invent a new one if they reach the old one, then off they go again punishing themselves until some arbitrary number is reached.

My own low ambition is to enjoy myself by becoming competent at whatever it is that takes my fancy. This never involves doing the same this year as I did last year. Quite the opposite.

Cugel


I'd agree. Have to admit in excess of 12 years ago I was a target driven individual (My day rides were dominated by an exact mileage, hitting a certain speed and achieving a desirable HRM reading). Whereas now I just go out on the bike and if I ride 80-100 miles on a superb summer day, that's all it is...

It merely seems strange that with no deliberate change of approach on my part, there are now substantial parts of the county which I rarely see from the bike
MikeF
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Re: A reduced mileage!

Post by MikeF »

Cugel wrote:......

My own low ambition is to enjoy myself by becoming competent at whatever it is that takes my fancy. This never involves doing the same this year as I did last year. .....

Cugel
I not sure how you then become competent - unless you're a very quick learner. :wink:
"It takes a genius to spot the obvious" - my old physics master.
I don't peddle bikes.
simonhill
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Re: A reduced mileage!

Post by simonhill »

Switch to kilometres, same figures, less distance.
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Cugel
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Re: A reduced mileage!

Post by Cugel »

MikeF wrote:
Cugel wrote:......

My own low ambition is to enjoy myself by becoming competent at whatever it is that takes my fancy. This never involves doing the same this year as I did last year. .....

Cugel
I not sure how you then become competent - unless you're a very quick learner. :wink:


At some things, I become competent quite quickly. Others defy my attempts. It largely depends on how difficult they are.

For example, I learnt to swim in about 30 seconds and became quite good at it within a few weeks. Part fish, see? Same with some other straightforward physical tricks. At the other extreme, I've been practicing the classical guitar for years and I'm still not competent or anything like.

Most things just take persistence. One works one's way through the 10,000 hours if necessary. Persistence, of course, is driven by obsession. Sometimes, then, obsession is a good thing. I was obsessed with cabinet-making, did something like the 10,000 hours (who counts?) and am now competent. Road racing bicycles was a bit the same, although the fitness bit was a lot quicker than 10,000 hours, which were mostly about understanding the tactics and psychology - harder than you think.

Academic stuff suits me too. But this is just a lucky genetic quirk something to do with memory. Socialising is difficult. I've practiced for many sets of 10,000 hours (all my life) and I'm still hopelessly undiplomatic. I did learn how to be empathetic at an early age (necessary for survival in Tyneside) but I'm not so good (bordering on hopeless) at being sympathetic. :-)

Cugel, a poor plucker but a competent little ........
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence are usually the slaves of some defunct economist”.
John Maynard Keynes
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TrevA
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Re: A reduced mileage!

Post by TrevA »

My mileage has gone up from the age of 50 in 2009, largely because I'm now freed of taxiing kids around. In fact my kids left home when I turned 50 so me and the Mrs are free to do as we please. My wife also started cycling when I was 49, so we now go off on long rides together at the weekend, including quite a few audaxes. So I've done over 5000 miles every year except one since 2009. I was previously only doing 3000 miles a year. My mileage is slightly down this year, as I now mostly work from home, so don't get the commuting miles in that I used to. However, I'll still do over 6000 miles this year.

I was talking to a guy at an audax recently and he said that he is the fittest he has ever been. He's 71. I retire from work next year, so I'm hoping to get out even more.
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PH
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Re: A reduced mileage!

Post by PH »

My mileage varies from year to year depending on what my focus is and I don't always record it all. I do a base of around 3,000 miles utility riding and anything from 2,000 to 8,000 on top of that.
2018 has been a bit of a long ride and Audax year, I've done more rides over 100 miles than any year in the last decade, yet my non utility mileage is 20% less than last year...
Better to count smiles than miles and this year has been a good one :)
gbnz
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Re: A reduced mileage!

Post by gbnz »

TrevA wrote: don't get the commuting miles in that I used to. .


That does make a difference. While my average commute in the past ten years has been no more than perhaps 5-8 miles per journey, my 2014 journey was based on a 26 mile/1800' climb (Round journey). The effect on my hill climbing ability was quite notable after just 2-3 months of such a commute.
Marcus Aurelius
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Re: A reduced mileage!

Post by Marcus Aurelius »

Commute miles do contribute more than you’d imagine. You’ve probably subconsciously started to tire of some of the routes you’ve previously used as well. It sounds to me like you could do with remotivating yourself by finding new ways to get to the destinations you go to, and maybe find new destinations. Just getting the routes nailed down should get the mileages back up.
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