Fitness, fun or both?

[presta]

When I was a walker I used to spend a lot of time in the national parks, so it wasn't long after I started cycle touring before I had my eye on the same places. I remember the buzz I got the first time I cycled to the Peak District from home in Essex, being in such a familiar place and having got there under my own steam, and then repeating that again a few days later in the Yorkshire Dales, Lake District, and North York Moors.

At any time in the 11 years since my health forced me to quit touring I could have gone and bought an E-Bike, and it would doubtlessly have helped wring a few more short tours out of me before giving up, but that would have utterly robbed me of that buzz from getting as far as possible under my own steam, and I could never have lived with the feeling of cheating. The humiliation of having to say "Yes, but it's an E-Bike" when people say "Wow, you've cycled all that way?", not to mention piling on a load of range-anxiety baggage.

I was lucky that the last tour I did was my best tour, which is how it should be ideally, finishing off with a load of frustrating, humiliating E-Tours would have spoilt the memories I have.

 

[CXRAndy]

When I was a walker I used to spend a lot of time in the national parks, so it wasn't long after I started cycle touring before I had my eye on the same places. I remember the buzz I got the first time I cycled to the Peak District from home in Essex, being in such a familiar place and having got there under my own steam, and then repeating that again a few days later in the Yorkshire Dales, Lake District, and North York Moors.

At any time in the 11 years since my health forced me to quit touring I could have gone and bought an E-Bike, and it would doubtlessly have helped wring a few more short tours out of me before giving up, but that would have utterly robbed me of that buzz from getting as far as possible under my own steam, and I could never have lived with the feeling of cheating. The humiliation of having to say "Yes, but it's an E-Bike" when people say "Wow, you've cycled all that way?", not to mention piling on a load of range-anxiety baggage.

I was lucky that the last tour I did was my best tour, which is how it should be ideally, finishing off with a load of frustrating, humiliating E-Tours would have spoilt the memories I have.

Wow

Never thought I should cast my achievements from whatever period in life onto the scrap heap, because they didn't match my peak performance.

Im off to delete all my rides which are subpar

 

[ColinJ]

You may be able to get close fairly easily, you may even be able to hit the max fairly regularly.

But it is never "easy" to hit max heart rate - pretty well by definition, you can only hit that if you are working absolutely at the max level you are capable of, and that ain't easy.

A couple of days ago I watched a video of a ramp test. The rider had been wearing a face mask to monitor his oxygen uptake. When he finally cracked and slumped over the handlebar, the sports scientist in charge removed the mask. I won't describe the yucky details; let's just say that the exhausted rider's face was not a pretty sight...

 

[8mph]

My work can be quite strenuous so cycling for fitness isn't part of the agenda. I like touring, so before a tour I'll use the bike to do my shopping, which is about 10 miles a day. Between tours I go for an overnighter on Dartmoor about once a month and take the mountain bike up there for 90 minute rides as well sometimes (not sure if that counts as sport?)

I have given up drinking, which has improved my fitness, but I did so in order to save cash for bike parts and it stuck.