Bored of cycling?

[Milfred Cubicle]

Lot's of things are chiming true in these responses. Primarily

1. Me too...ragging my cheap hardtail bike gives me more pleasure than my full suspension bike.
2. Early cycling adverts are hilarious - their bicycles could do anything from make you more attractive to ladies, to escaping from wild lions.
3. 'Influencers' are talking cobblers 50% of the time, and the other 50% is stuff we already know.
4. There's too many 'performative' cyclists. i.e. 'All the kit and full of s....'.

One thing is clear though, and I'm glad I made this post in the first place. It clear that in the right place, it is still perfectly possible to engage in nice conversations with people online. No descending into name calling, petty one-upmanship or disrespect.

[Snoopy]

A local cyclist who I knew in my youth who is still knocking out good miles on a bike he pulled out of a skip . Many a,all the gear and no idea, would do well to follow his wheel on some of his rides .
I just proves to me,it's the legs that count . As the late Ray Booty was heard to say ," It's no good having a Thousand pound bike if you only have a hundred pound pair of legs ".

The 1970s advert says it all One free person with every Raleigh .

[VinceLedge]

Nope, not bored if it. Enjoy road rides with pals and or the OH, bimbling about on the MTBs on holiday and leisurely bike packing on and off road.
Enjoy riding decent bikes as they are nice to ride.

To be fair a bit bored of not cycling outdoors for the last couple of weeks as the weather has been a bit grim.

[Cowsham]

4. There's too many 'performative' cyclists. i.e. 'All the kit and full of s....'.

[cycle tramp]

So.. having effectively drowned my car in the world's most shallow puddle* and despite the heart disease... I put a stupid amount of winds in the garage door spring to make it work.. and got my bike out. After 7 or so months- I'm so unfit! (I mean apart from the heart disease).

I missed cycling... but not as much as I thought I would, and whilst it was nice to be out, it didn't fire my imagination to go any further than my planned destination..

Cycling for me as become a means to an end. I can't really see myself just 'going for a ride' any more... the destination as to have a point, outside of the journey..but I remain grateful for the spontaneity that bicycle travel brings...

Like anything from cooking, to reading to board games... its very easy to overdose yourself, especially given the amount of content on the net.

(*really, it was less than 2 cm deep and I drove through it at 20 mph, after which the engine light came on and it failed to pull anything over 2nd gear)

[cycle tramp]

When living in France, we have neither a TV, a computer, a telephone, a newspaper or magazine, a car, or much else besides.

But - we do have bicycles!

What more does a person want to make them happy?

Chickens.... no veggie patch is complete without them

[cycle tramp]

I just wondered if I'm getting jaded after 45 years of riding.....

Is anyone else getting tired of all the twaddle? More importantly, what have you done to tune said twaddle out?

Maybe just being a cyclist isn't enough for the new generations, they must prove that they do it.....

Yeah, I think you're right.. there's definitely a feel that.. whatever... the new generation does (from cooking to making music to cycling) they have to proclaim their commitment to it.....

[Cowsham]

the destination as to have a point,

Always did for me but sometimes I find excuses to go by cycle. Work is 15 miles away but weather at this time of year over here is cruel so can't do that as often ATM. Shorter journeys into town and back will do on my days off so if I get a soaking I can get showered and warm again when I get back home.

I don't mind getting wet it's the cold I can't stand plus it's very dangerous to get so cold for so long.

[deeferdonk]

I don't mind the algorithms thinking I'm interested in cycling and recommending cycling products, videos and articles. Mines diluted though because i have other interests like classic cars, home renovations' and watching videos of people jet washing patios!
It's the fact that it they seem to have worked out i am a man of a certain age and facebook/instagram keep hitting me up with adverts etc for hair loss treatments, weight loss jabs, and impotence treatments. The internet must think I'm fat, bald and droopy. What hurts most is that this is at least 2 thirds accurate.

[tim-b]

It clear that in the right place, it is still perfectly possible to engage in nice conversations with people online. No descending into name calling, petty one-upmanship or disrespect.

We'll start a Board of Cycling

Rule one: No petty twaddle
Rule two: If in doubt refer to rule 1

[Cowsham]

I guess that's where fatigue comes in. I've been riding bikes in various forms for 45 years. I've seen amazing stuff come through, suspension forks, spds, disc brakes. But I've seen an awful lot of trash, which was always touted as the next big riding revolution.

I'm at the opposite end of that scale ie for many years I rode crap bicycles cos I was self employed in the family business so was poor as a church mouse. Only had money when I went into employment over 20 years ago and 10 years ago bought my first half decent modern bicycle as my old cheap 90's Claude Butler rigid mtb was falling apart.

I was very impressed by how nice the giant rapid 1 was to ride, it's lightness, all the new fangled stuff like hydraulic brakes and Tiagra gears. I've moved on from that but not much. I've replaced that with two bikes splitting the categories into a decent touring road bike and mountain bike. I don't want a carbon bike.

[Snoopy]

One side of this thread is tinkering , fix it yourself. I ask this because other than work shop ,'how to ' on you tube i don't see any other media apart from online cycling forums shouting the odds.
Maybe I have missed them as i don't do FB etc.

[853]

Lot's of things are chiming true in these responses. Primarily

1. Me too...ragging my cheap hardtail bike gives me more pleasure than my full suspension bike.
2. Early cycling adverts are hilarious - their bicycles could do anything from make you more attractive to ladies, to escaping from wild lions.
3. 'Influencers' are talking cobblers 50% of the time, and the other 50% is stuff we already know.
4. There's too many 'performative' cyclists. i.e. 'All the kit and full of s....'.

One thing is clear though, and I'm glad I made this post in the first place. It clear that in the right place, it is still perfectly possible to engage in nice conversations with people online. No descending into name calling, petty one-upmanship or disrespect.

And in another thread in The Tea Shop yesterday

.... They also wanted me to give references for all the posts that have been bent by some fat gammon leaning a ladder badly.

[Milfred Cubicle]

Fair enough, I'll give you that one. Not my finest moment on the internet. But you have plucked that line out without any of the surrounding context, which was about the intimidation and bullying tactics of flag hangers.

Calling someone a 'fat gammon' would be totally out of order if you disagreed on tyre choice or saddle angle.
But...it's possibly deserved when said man has threatened to organise a posse and 'come round with the boys'. All because a woman in my town respectfully suggested the flags be taken down now they are looking tatty. He threatened to egg her house, slash her car tyres and publish her address for others to do the same.

My point was that if people engage in pleasant conversation, there's no need to be nasty. But if you threaten to damage property and intimidate people 'fat gammon' is probably a fairly mild response. Again, it's about context. The flag hanger in question is indeed overweight (I'm not judging on someone's weight...but this has contributed to £££'s worth of damage to lamposts). He also has the pallor of a half-grilled chop.
Is it still name calling if it's a fairly accurate description?

But, as I said, not my finest attempt at humour. Lesson learned.

[pwa]

I know The Tea Shop is for 'alternative' topics and not cycling related, but this seems to be the best place to ask a question...

Is anyone else bored of cycling?

Now I don't mean riding your bike, that's different. I mean 'cycling' in the sense of it being a 'thing'.

Lately I've just had the sense that riding my bike is yet another thing that's been hijacked and shoehorned into a 'lifestyle choice' thing.

It's hard to quantify, but includes.
1. Endless 'cycling experts' spouting 'essential' information.
2. Manufacturers driving towards ever more niche bikes/kit.
3. 'Overseriousness'...in the sense that the whole business of dressing up in funny clothes, getting sweaty and eating cake afterwards is being pushed as something far more complex than it needs to be.
4. Being seen to be a cyclist becoming more important than actually riding.

As I say, it's hard to fully quantify, but it's a definite niggle. I have to admit there are variances across disciplines; I feel it most when I read about road racing, then mountain biking, then road riding. Conversely I feel it less so in the worlds of touring, commuting and Audax.

I just wondered if I'm getting jaded after 45 years of riding. Or it's something to do with the barrage of 'next big things'. On that subject, I'm not against technological improvements, but have lost count of 'revelations' that have been pretty short lived.

The final straw was reading an expert saying one 'must NEVER drink just water whilst riding'. Really? When did that happen?

Is anyone else getting tired of all the twaddle? More importantly, what have you done to tune said twaddle out?

Do what works for you and ignore the experts. If you have been riding so long, you will have already filtered out things that don't work for you. And personally, I see cycling and hiking as aspects of the same thing, so I don't care whether my next activity is in hiking shoes or on a bike. Some like running too, but that knackers my joints. Be your own person.