Jess; 86-years young, and still going strong.
The Pace. To some, it is a matter of life and death. It is the difference between a good ride and a bad one. It is where a man tests himself against other men in the heat of battle (and, I’ve seen the gals do it, too). We brake for no one. The passing scenery is but a blur. Snot-rockets are a minor annoyance. It is the stuff of legends. And, the process repeats itself wherever, and whenever, groups of cyclist dwell.
I used to be that kind of cyclist. Then, I met Jess.
86-years young, with nothing to prove, Jess subscribes to
the philosophy of actually enjoying the ride.
His ear-to-ear smile has been honed by countless, thousands of miles of riding,
with all kinds of cyclists, over varied terrain, in all kinds of weather. And, after sampling the battle more times
than he could remember, he had finally achieved cycling bliss – The union of Human,
Mind, and Bike.
And, what was the secret Jess discovered? Well, turns out, it was as plain as the road
in front of him. He concluded volume,
rather than outright-intensity, was the answer.
And, you know what? He was
absolutely correct, and, after trying his method for myself, it really is a
good way to go.
My prior riding routine was to go out and do all-mighty
epics, stopping at no less than killing myself, or it just was not a proper
ride. Whether in a group, or alone, if I
was moving, I was hammering. I mean, we,
as cyclists, are told (and expected) to go out and hammer, hammer, hammer, and
when in doubt, hammer some more, right?
I started to become a pretty good cyclist, though my hammering made it
difficult to ride more than four or five times a week, as any more mileage just
left me physically exhausted, and with a very sore ass. The routine, believe it, or not, even led me
to occasionally avoid the bike for extended periods of time. I was not having any fun. Something had to give.
I met Jess one day at a local coffee stop where he was talking to a
group of friends, which he said, "liked to hammer."
Jess, being the prophet of motion he now was, only greeted them to say
“Hi,” then, he was off to do his own ride.
I asked to tag along, and that was when he explained how he rode,
extolling the virtue of riding at a slower pace, whilst riding for more
extended periods of time. Time pedaling
became the key, not necessarily total mileage.
I liked the concept. Intrigued, I
wondered why I did not realize this sooner.
So, off we went at 13-15 Miles per Hour, for a little over an hour, and
then stopped for coffee. And, it all felt
so good, too. For the first time in my
cycling career I did not care how fast I was going, nor what anyone on the road
thought about my pace. It was LIBERATING! It was FUN!
I loved my bike AGAIN! It all
made so much SENSE!
My new riding routine now has me doing rides, the Jess way,
of course, of an hour, to an hour and a half, and I usually end up with
15-to-25-mile rides. I also began to
accrue mileage riding six-to-seven days a week with no discomfort or
stress. I am not only getting fit, I am
a whole lot happier mentally, my ass does not ache, and I am really enjoying my
rides. Plus, I can even take in the
scenery, too! Sheesh, what’s not to
like?!
Summing it all up, I am not criticizing other cyclists, or
their methods, as truly to each their own.
The trouble, as I see it, comes from those who see the ride as nothing
but a selfish, hammer-fest of glory, punishing all-comers. They, and their methods, not only discourage
others from becoming long-term cyclists, they are also missing out on the pure
joy of the ride.
They need to meet Jess.