Who amongst you consider becoming a pure cyclist?

Master

1651

Breckenridge, CO

Subject: RE: Who amongst you consider becoming a pure cyclist?

graceful_dave - 2009-08-02 8:11 PM
Now, if I had access to lift served mountain biking, and downhill racing, I might not be doing triathlon anymore.

You should come out here some summer. Not only do we have an enormous amount of lift served cycling but the locals have built at least 20 "bandit" trails that I know of "mostly" on National Forest land from the top of the hill that I live on. On weekends, all you have to do is stand at the bottom of one of the downhill trails and a local drivng an SUV with racks for 20+ bikes will drive by and pick you up for the next lap.

We also have an annual bandit race in the fall once the tourists are gone that starts at the summit of a 13,600 foot peak and descends all the down into Breck, 4000' vert of crazy high speed downhill. The exact time/date is a loose local's secret to avoid trouble with police (who all know anyway and look the other way, some probably participate), insurance (in Colorado most everything is "at your own risk"), etc. Those of us without skills/courage watch it from the patio of a resturant where the riders launch off the top of a set of stairs and fly 20 feet of vert and at least 50 feet of length landing in some grass and then they fly right through Main Street hoping not to get run over or slam into the side of a car (our streets are pretty much deserted in the fall).

Those guys/gals are just amazingly skilled, brave, (and/or stupid). Once you watch this race you learn real fast what it takes to be a pro level mountain rider, which I could NEVER be.

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Champion

4835

Eat Cheese or Die

Subject: RE: Who amongst you consider becoming a pure cyclist?

breckview - 2009-08-03 10:21 AM

graceful_dave - 2009-08-02 8:11 PM
Now, if I had access to lift served mountain biking, and downhill racing, I might not be doing triathlon anymore.

You should come out here some summer. Not only do we have an enormous amount of lift served cycling but the locals have built at least 20 "bandit" trails that I know of "mostly" on National Forest land from the top of the hill that I live on. On weekends, all you have to do is stand at the bottom of one of the downhill trails and a local drivng an SUV with racks for 20+ bikes will drive by and pick you up for the next lap.

We also have an annual bandit race in the fall once the tourists are gone that starts at the summit of a 13,600 foot peak and descends all the down into Breck, 4000' vert of crazy high speed downhill. The exact time/date is a loose local's secret to avoid trouble with police (who all know anyway and look the other way, some probably participate), insurance (in Colorado most everything is "at your own risk"), etc. Those of us without skills/courage watch it from the patio of a resturant where the riders launch off the top of a set of stairs and fly 20 feet of vert and at least 50 feet of length landing in some grass and then they fly right through Main Street hoping not to get run over or slam into the side of a car (our streets are pretty much deserted in the fall).

Those guys/gals are just amazingly skilled, brave, (and/or stupid). Once you watch this race you learn real fast what it takes to be a pro level mountain rider, which I could NEVER be.

I rode Keystone last summer and that pretty much killed any desire to ride in WI.

Bandit races are the best.

I miss mountains.

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Master

1610

Kirkland, WA

Subject: RE: Who amongst you consider becoming a pure cyclist?

breckview - 2009-08-03 8:21 AM Once you watch this race you learn real fast what it takes to be a pro level mountain rider, which I could NEVER be.

i have a friend from college who is something like 6th in the nation for downhill racing. . he is insane. i remember a trail he built up on the little mountain by our school, the 'entrance' to the trail is a step-up that is something like 5 feet of 'step' and 8 feet across. his theory was that if you can't do that jump, you are not ready to ride his trail.

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Champion

10471

Dallas, TX

Subject: RE: Who amongst you consider becoming a pure cyclist?

I figure once I get bored with training for tri's... I'll probably just ride my bike. I doubt I would ever race, but I could see myself traveling to make some scenic/hilly bike rallies.

Of course, I get really bored with doing just ONE sport... so I doubt I could JUST CYCLE and stay content.

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Master

1927

Guilford, CT

Subject: RE: Who amongst you consider becoming a pure cyclist?

I just do what I do, I've never really thought about being a triathlete vs a cyclist vs a runner vs a swimmer. If I can get a group workout in, I'll do it for fun regardless of what sport it's in. Otherwise, I just enjoy mixing it up.

I do like cycling the best, but I enjoy the challenge and variety of doing everything. I'm not sure I'd like riding as much if I did it 6 days a week and was logging 300 miles every week...even though I've wondered how fast I could get if I did that.

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Master

2404

Redlands, CA

Subject: RE: Who amongst you consider becoming a pure cyclist?

I think the biggest difference between being a pure cycling and a triathlete is the competition. In Tri's, you can be horrible and 'hey, everyone's a winner, yay!'. In cycling, if you don't have decent fitness don't even bother showing up to a RR or Crit. The CAT system to an extent works well but the competition even in CAT 5 is intense.

I'm not trying to knock triathlons I love both sports, its just Triathlons seem to be more of a lovefest while bike racing seems to be more of a NASCAR event without the country music. I'll probably always run and cycle provided my legs let me.

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Master

3546

Millersville, MD

Subject: RE: Who amongst you consider becoming a pure cyclist?

I'll stop with this: Any skill that can be learned in "2 or 3 months" to a level where you feel you can belittle others, ain't much of a skill.

When he said "just riding for 2-3 months" I took that to mean he had been riding a LONG time but recently cut out the running and swimming.

He also joined a team or club, where I suspect the average bike handling skills are indeed superior to what a bunch of triathletes are gonna possess on a saturday group ride.

Somebody's defensive...

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Master

1651

Breckenridge, CO

Subject: RE: Who amongst you consider becoming a pure cyclist?

JoshKaptur - 2009-08-03 12:17 PM
When he said "just riding for 2-3 months" I took that to mean he had been riding a LONG time but recently cut out the running and swimming.

He also joined a team or club, where I suspect the average bike handling skills are indeed superior to what a bunch of triathletes are gonna possess on a saturday group ride.

Somebody's defensive...

I took "2-3 months" the same way you did and my statement still stands. It's actually pretty easy to get an idea of someone's cycling ability on this site

I'm not "defensive" at all. I've done quite a lot of road racing in my past. I've ridden on a road bike over 99% of my past cycling history. And I will soon be competing in road racing again.

IMO, anyone who joins in the "roadies vs triathletes" bashfest on a beginner triathlon website deserves some backlash.

As I've said before, the comparision of skills is not fair to triathletes. Most triathletes are racers but far fewer roadies are racers. If say 5% of those who regularly ride road bikes are "racers" then to be fair you should compare them against the top 5% bike riders in triathlon. I think those triathletes would be just fine racing at the level that the previous poster races and they'd pick up the basic skills in about five minutes.

If you compare the 95% of non-racing roadies to the remaining 95% of triathletes, they are no more skilled at anything. All it takes is riding a century in Colorado where everyone will be on a road bike to obviously see that.

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Who amongst you consider becoming a pure cyclist? (Page 2)

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