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Your fitness level compared to other people

sanjuro

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
I am no Lance Armstrong in my group of riding buddies. However, I have had my moments of glory with my non-riding friends.

The most memorable was a visit to Niagara Falls. There was a mile long staircase and I had just ridden from Seattle to San Francisco. About half way up the stairs, most of my friends had stopped 300 feet behind.
 
gonefirefightin

gonefirefightin

free wieners
Feb 5, 2007
11,251
4,924
Surrounded by Police in a hail of gunfire
there is a definate sense of gratification when you have been training and or building to a point wher eyou feel superior to most others,

I think a layer of humility is needed when doing competitive sports because there will always be someone faster or stronger, but I have found that if you share camp with those that are stronger and faster you will be of the same level after a while. but then there will still be some one stronger and faster,

so now my anthem is simply, ride for yourself and ride for the fun of it.

but I love beating myself on the garmin during laps. he is the only douche bag that wont put up a fight when I talk chit all day long on the trail
 
L

Lady Gravity

Chimp
Jul 1, 2004
88
0
Mtnbike Mecca
haha same here. my office has an internal staircase, which i have to go up and down several times a day. i run up, and don't lose my breath - unlike my co-workers. i have to admit, it makes me feel pretty good.
 
S

skinny mike

Turbo Monkey
Jan 24, 2005
6,415
0
a good chunk of my friends now are roadies or climbers, and most of them are in better shape than i am.

but overall i'd have to say that i'm in pretty damn good shape for someone who doesn't do enough cardio at the gym.
 
I Are Baboon

I Are Baboon

The Full Dopey
Aug 6, 2001
32,414
9,428
MTB New England
There is nothing quite like riding with fast monkeys or some of the hardcore guys from Bikerag to remind me of just how much I suck. But against the average Joe Sickpack, yeah, I'm in pretty good shape. I like to use the prior as my gauge though.
 
S

Sinister17

Chimp
Mar 17, 2008
46
0
PNW
gonefirefightin said:
there is a definate sense of gratification when you have been training and or building to a point wher eyou feel superior to most others,

I think a layer of humility is needed when doing competitive sports because there will always be someone faster or stronger, but I have found that if you share camp with those that are stronger and faster you will be of the same level after a while. but then there will still be some one stronger and faster,
Click to expand...

I have found this to be very true, and a good attitude to have, in combat sports.
 
OGRipper

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,650
1,121
NORCAL is the hizzle
gonefirefightin said:
there is a definate sense of gratification when you have been training and or building to a point wher eyou feel superior to most others,

I think a layer of humility is needed when doing competitive sports because there will always be someone faster or stronger, but I have found that if you share camp with those that are stronger and faster you will be of the same level after a while. but then there will still be some one stronger and faster,

so now my anthem is simply, ride for yourself and ride for the fun of it.
Click to expand...
I totally agree with this. Over the years I've been surprised at being stronger than certain people and at getting dropped by others. I think the most gratifying is when you start to gain ground and eventually feel stronger than someone in your regular group who used to smoke you. I'm not a racer and don't think of myself as competitive in that way, but buddies are always a good gauge, especially if they have a similar abusive lifestyle. :biggrin: My fitness goes up and down but between my passion for riding and a group of good riders to keep me honest I'm usually doing pretty good.
 
Yeti

Yeti

Monkey
May 17, 2005
877
0
yeti cave@the beach
I'm not really into endurance, so jogging more than 20min will kill me, though I can climb 4000 feet on my hardtail with a single ring in front. It's all about having fun...jogging for me is just boring and slow, and when you stop...you're just standing there, sweating like a pig hating the fact that you're not on your bike. On the contrary when you stop riding up, then you can ride down....that's the whole point of riding up right?
Besides that I measure my strength on how much I can make my trailstar flex under short sprints.
 
DirtyMike

DirtyMike

Turbo Fluffer
Aug 8, 2005
14,437
1,017
My own world inside my head
I would have to say that I am right in the middle of the pack when it comes to fitness and climbing my way to the front over the years. Still have a ways to go to get to the front, but I just keep riding, and having fun.
 
ultraNoob

ultraNoob

Yoshinoya Destroyer
Jan 20, 2007
4,504
1
Hills of Paradise
Compared to my college friends who are on average 5 years younger... yea, I have a higher fitness level (which is kinda sad). Compared to my riding buddies, I'm a chump. They should just start calling me brick cuz I keep getting dropped.
 
Arkayne

Arkayne

I come bearing GIFs
May 10, 2005
3,738
15
SoCal
ultraNoob said:
Compared to my college friends who are on average 5 years younger... yea, I have a higher fitness level (which is kinda sad). Compared to my riding buddies, I'm a chump. They should just start calling me brick cuz I keep getting dropped.
Click to expand...
But who calls us out to ride more than anyone else? YOU! I'm certainly thankful for it.

One a 1-10 scale, I think I'm at a 7.5 right now. I just added running into my training regimen and it's done wonders for my cardio.
 
DRB

DRB

unemployed bum
Oct 24, 2002
15,242
0
Watchin' you. Writing it all down.
OGRipper said:
I totally agree with this. Over the years I've been surprised at being stronger than certain people and at getting dropped by others. I think the most gratifying is when you start to gain ground and eventually feel stronger than someone in your regular group who used to smoke you. I'm not a racer and don't think of myself as competitive in that way, but buddies are always a good gauge, especially if they have a similar abusive lifestyle. :biggrin: My fitness goes up and down but between my passion for riding and a group of good riders to keep me honest I'm usually doing pretty good.
Click to expand...
I gauge my fitness almost exclusively on how I stack against the two guys I ride with most often. That's been true for pretty much the last 10 years. Whether I can drop, hang or be dropped by them is pretty much how I benchmark. The "competition" between us over the years has definitely become more serious but I think that's more a function of staying healthy. I got fat for awhile, another got heart disease and the third ended up with high blood pressure. Each of us came to grips with it because they could no longer keep up and were holding the other two back. So it was either keep up or get cut.

I said it when I turned 40 but I'm faster (and healthier) than I have been for many many years.

What's interesting is that now we search out other groups to gauge ourselves against to see how our fitness is. I mentioned the big road ride the other night. Eventhough we were all a little freaked there was more than a few back pats on how we stuck on without completely dying.
 
kidwoo

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Aug 25, 2003
42,146
13,340
Squirtin ketchup n' mustard on charred flesh
DRB said:
another got heart disease and the third ended up with high blood pressure. Each of us came to grips with it because they could no longer keep up and were holding the other two back. So it was either keep up or get cut.
Click to expand...

.........like a pack of coyotes......



I used to ride in a group like that. Then I moved somewhere with actual fun terrain that everyone can focus on instead of being better than each other. I must say I greatly prefer it.
 
J

JRogers

talks too much
Mar 19, 2002
3,785
1
Claremont, CA
gonefirefightin said:
there is a definate sense of gratification when you have been training and or building to a point wher eyou feel superior to most others,

I think a layer of humility is needed when doing competitive sports because there will always be someone faster or stronger, but I have found that if you share camp with those that are stronger and faster you will be of the same level after a while. but then there will still be some one stronger and faster,

so now my anthem is simply, ride for yourself and ride for the fun of it.

but I love beating myself on the garmin during laps. he is the only douche bag that wont put up a fight when I talk chit all day long on the trail
Click to expand...

Good thoughts. I think about it mostly the same way. I like challenging myself, doing hard rides and big efforts, but it's just for me in the end. I usually ride alone, so mostly I'm challenging myself. I have timed road rides to do individual TT type rides.

The few times I've been in really good shape have been nice. A little while ago I spent about 4 weeks backpacking, then 2 weeks at home (mostly riding to prepare), then to Colorado to ride for about 3 more weeks. I was a beast when I got back home and it was awesome. The long, smooth, high altitude climbs in CO really get you in shape.

I've lost most of that now. I am about 15-20 lbs lighter than I was last year and I ride a good amount but stopped lifting weights entirely. So I'm probably faster overall, but I've lost a ton of power. I guess I'll find out how much when DH season starts...
 
ire

ire

Turbo Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
6,196
4
The main guy I train with won the pro xc marathon title two years ago and is on track to win it again this year, I stack up pretty good but he has a ton of fitness. Funny thing though, we were at a road race earlier this year and the guy who won the bunch sprint in the 1/2s had a good size gut on him; I guess what they say is true, tactics is a big part of road racing
 
manimal

manimal

Ociffer Tackleberry
Feb 27, 2002
7,212
17
Blindly running into cactus
i pride myself on being in the large and fit society. i am constantly having to prove myself in a lot of arenas so that alone is a motivating factor to keep me in shape. i've never been "thin" so most people assume that i'm slow or unfit which makes smoking them on a run that much more rewarding :D i'm the "heaviest" member of our swat team which means that i have to push myself even harder than most when we do unit PT because i refuse to be the slowest one in the group.
i guess i'm on par with my peers when it comes to fitness, better in some areas (endurance/strength) and not so good in others (speed) but i have earned their respect and when the jokes fly, i never hear the words "fat" and "slow" in the same sentence ;)
 
urbaindk

urbaindk

The Real Dr. Science
Jul 12, 2004
4,819
0
Sleepy Hollar
With my XC friends I get passed on all the climbs, but bomb past them on the downhills. With my DH friends, I get passed on the DH's but catch back up on pedally sections. But at the BMX track 5 year old kids lap me repeatedly. But then again, I drink beer and they don't. Psshh- kids. :rolleyes:
 
OGRipper

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,650
1,121
NORCAL is the hizzle
kidwoo said:
I used to ride in a group like that. Then I moved somewhere with actual fun terrain that everyone can focus on instead of being better than each other. I must say I greatly prefer it.
Click to expand...
It's not just terrain, it's attitude. A far as I'm concerned nobody gets "cut." Especially not a long-time friend and riding buddy who has a health issue but wants to keep riding!

I would have missed out on lots of great rides over the years as well as the chance to meet lots of great people if I limited myself to riding with people around my ability.
 
laura

laura

DH_Laura
Jul 16, 2002
6,259
15
Glitter Gulch
I plan to start riding with a all female group around here this year. I've never had a group to ride with before so we'll see what kind of shape I am in.
 
Mr Big

Mr Big

Monkey
Jan 23, 2004
193
0
The Betty Ford Clinic
What sucks is how fast you lose it. I have not ridden in about 2 months because of back problems and I have noticed a loss in energy, strength, and overall endurance so I can’t wait to get back riding! Doc says another month or so and I should be good to go :weee:
 
Wingnut

Wingnut

Turbo Monkey
Nov 12, 2003
1,664
179
Sorry, I'm Canadian ..sorry...
My Wii fitness level is a 42. I don't know if that counts as a true measure of my fitness. I think that my 'Homer Simpson' fitness program, consisting mainly of TV, beer and doughnuts, may have left me behind my riding buddies' fitness levels for the last 2 years.
 
MtnbikeMike

MtnbikeMike

Turbo Monkey
Mar 6, 2004
2,637
1
The 909
I'm generally down on myself about my fitness. I guess down isn't quite the word, but I'm constantly motivated to get faster, and wherever I am isn't good enough. It partially stems from having lofty goals and racing at a somewhat high level.

Then I'll ride with a couple of buddies and drop them on road rides whilst riding at a slow tempo up a climb. That usually put things into perspective and makes me realize I'm not in as bad a shape as I usually tell myself....until the weekend rolls around and I'm getting my legs ripped off by guys from Rock Racing, Toyota United, and other pro teams....and the cycle continues.
 
M

Mike B.

Turbo Monkey
Oct 5, 2001
1,522
0
State College, PA
ire said:
The main guy I train with won the pro xc marathon title two years ago and is on track to win it again this year, I stack up pretty good but he has a ton of fitness.
Click to expand...
must be his wheels :biggrin:

In my normal group I'm usually at the front on both the road and mountain but I'm also the youngest of the bunch. One guy is 62 now and continues to amaze, just hope I'm still that fit when I'm his age. One guy I only get to ride with a couple times a year can rip my legs off though and the sad part is he's on a single speed and I'm fully geared - oh well.

When winter rolls around though they all smoke me on the xc skis until it's time to climb. Have to work on that for next year.
 
N8 v2.0

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
feel really good this eve...

rode 8 miles of hilly single track on my single speed after work.. not uber fast but with 32:19 gearing it was very aerobic.
 
Westy

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,407
20,195
Sleazattle
My best practical application of riding fitness is backpacking. I can put in 65 miles in over a short week with a full pack and not get run down. I can typically enjoy myself while the folks I'm with tend to suffer.
 
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