Leah's true sufferfest may have been reduced tolerance to the over necessity of all the "go-fast" gear, the seeming standard issue of the average bicyclist, while under the duress of her 10/10ths performance. The interesting part is that she did more on that ride than the rest. All their stiffer, lighter and aero stuff just being cheat codes for the work at hand. If part of her bicycling has to do with exercise and enjoying the ride, Leah got more than them.
We all find our sweet spot in bicycling, what we like, what rewards us, what becomes our focus. On that path we evolve towards perfecting that and it's jarring when contrast is implied (or obtusely verbalized). It is very much a tangent to enjoy the process, its duration and the surroundings. Most advances have been shortcuts for reducing work or doing it in less time so we could get back to the cave to paint another bison or the couch for TV. What cyclists do with the saved time and reduced effort is interesting, if they are even aware of accruing it. Andy Cheatham Pittsburgh On Tuesday, May 16, 2023 at 4:31:20 PM UTC-4 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > I would also like to see a video of my suffering. And handlebar streamers > and white basket will be forthcoming. > > I wondered why I wasn’t faster in the downhill, too. I’m thinking it’s > because though my bike is heavier, my bodyweight is less than theirs. I’m > hard for the women to keep up with on the downhills… > > > > Sent from my iPhone > > On May 16, 2023, at 11:43 AM, Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > I'd love to see a video of Leah suffering on the Platypus with handlbar > streamers and white straw basket to keep up with the fast boys on carbon > fiber. But good job, says someone whose fast days are long gone. > > But Leah ought to be winner on the downhills. Long ago, as a spritely > early 50-something, I rode with Gary "It was a bad year; only 9,000 miles" > Blakely up the long Tramway climb. Downhill I continually pulled ahead > because at 170 I weighed about 35 lb more than he. Bikes about the same (me > #1 Riv custom, he refurbished -- by Mark Bulgier, IIRC -- Trek) > > 4 years ago I did several rides with a group of engineers from Sandia > labs, thanks to a friend who was then working there (he retired a couple of > years ago). The others were all younger than I -- I would guess most in > 3-0s and 40s with leader in early-mid 50s; I 64, friend 60 or 61 -- and > rode derailleur bikes, mostly cf; I was on my '99 fixie gofast with 76" > gear. 20, 30, and ??37? -- I bailed; see below -- rides. I bailed on the > last one after facing a ~5 mile gradual uphill into Bernalillo with a > headwind and gradually falling behind the group, tho' another rider very > kindly shepherded me to the Bernalillo rest stop. > > But man, with the open road, tail wind, and downhill I was spinning out > the 76" gear much of the way home. > > On Tue, May 16, 2023 at 9:18 AM Brian Forsee <bmfo...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Sounds like you crushed it Leah! Way to get out of your comfort zone. >> >> Brian >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/9xxTknUZFL8/unsubscribe > . > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgusfgSadq-oVTRz%2BpuqZCr8dF8pu%2BA%2BM9K6Y08P1aaRxQ%40mail.gmail.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgusfgSadq-oVTRz%2BpuqZCr8dF8pu%2BA%2BM9K6Y08P1aaRxQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/7186b589-b6c9-4fd0-8fec-c6c29f73895bn%40googlegroups.com.
