Fantastic article on why cycling on British roads is so fab!
Discussion
Its easy get out off cycling and get lost in all the focus on Strava times/kit.
Just came across this great piece, sums up why I love cycling so much better than I ever can/could, worth a read! And for those who haven't been out on a bike in recent years, hopefully it'll make you get back on the bike
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/05/travel/sussex-b...
Just came across this great piece, sums up why I love cycling so much better than I ever can/could, worth a read! And for those who haven't been out on a bike in recent years, hopefully it'll make you get back on the bike
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/05/travel/sussex-b...
That is a good read. I consider myself particularly blessed to live on the southern edge of rural Northumberland and within minutes I can be riding on quiet country roads. What I found, almost unexpectedly, is that I get much of the same enjoyment on a bicycle as I do on a motorcycle; the connection to the environment, the sights, the smells, the quiet etc, it's so refreshing and energising and the effect is even greater on a bike where you have more time to enjoy it.
I think all cyclists, apart from those who ride exclusively indoors, on track or in urban environments, enjoy getting out into nature whether we realise it or not. The fresh air and the beautiful scenery the UK has to offer is not to be missed.
I think all cyclists, apart from those who ride exclusively indoors, on track or in urban environments, enjoy getting out into nature whether we realise it or not. The fresh air and the beautiful scenery the UK has to offer is not to be missed.
Lovely photos in that article, thanks for the link.
I've been loving getting out on my CX bike just before sunset recently, see all sorts of wildlife in the woods- bats, foxes, rabbits etc. no-one else around, and after the sun has gone down I get amazing views over Rochester and the River Medway from the North Downs. some nights you get a weird sensation of pockets of warm and cold air as you drop into the valley and climb back out, which I don't think you'd notice on foot as you're going that much faster.
On Tuesday night it started snowing which was interesting, a decent bike light and a headtorch made it like jumping to lightspeed
Really cool experience
Oh and the lack of other people/dogs/horses around makes it a great time to go for Strava segments
I've been loving getting out on my CX bike just before sunset recently, see all sorts of wildlife in the woods- bats, foxes, rabbits etc. no-one else around, and after the sun has gone down I get amazing views over Rochester and the River Medway from the North Downs. some nights you get a weird sensation of pockets of warm and cold air as you drop into the valley and climb back out, which I don't think you'd notice on foot as you're going that much faster.
On Tuesday night it started snowing which was interesting, a decent bike light and a headtorch made it like jumping to lightspeed
Really cool experienceOh and the lack of other people/dogs/horses around makes it a great time to go for Strava segments
benny.c said:
That’s a good article. Must admit the best cycling related thing I’ve done in the last few years is ditch Strava and just enjoy riding and taking in the scenery.
Ditching Strava isn't necessary to get back into enjoying cycling and taking in scenery though. I still run Strava, but it's more a background thing now. No longer on a constantly visible cycling head unit, but on a Garmin watch where I can ignore the numbers while riding. So I get to see all the same sort of things that the author/photographer of that article sees. I stop to breath in the air, to drink in the view, to take a few photos (although mine are happy-snaps standard and thankfully don't feature me in them). Then when I upload the ride to Strava I get a record of where things are, so that if I find something interesting I can go back to it in future, or it just helps me to Google it by knowing where exactly it is. IroningMan said:
Nice article - thanks for the link.
It's easy to take living and riding out in the sticks for granted - and as a result to feel like it's cheating somehow if you stop to enjoy a view or take some pictures.
It can definitely feel like "cheating" to stop on a ride, even for me. But you've just got to learn to overcome that reluctance to stop. Especially if, like me, you like to explore new places rather than riding the same loops over again. That view of Old Wardour Castle? That light on an Iron Age hillfort? An abandoned wartime runway with the sun setting beyond it? You might never get the opportunity again to enjoy, or photograph that particular combination of light, weather, and location, so you need to allow yourself a few minutes to simply "experience" it. And some of the places I've discovered while cycling out alone have been stunning enough that I've taken my wife back there in the car and her reaction has always been favourable. Coming back from a 100 mile ride and being able to say "darling, I've found a beautiful place for a day out" can also deflect criticism of how much time i spend cycling compared to how much time I spend hoovering, doing the laundry, or DIYing... It's easy to take living and riding out in the sticks for granted - and as a result to feel like it's cheating somehow if you stop to enjoy a view or take some pictures.
benny.c said:
That’s a good article. Must admit the best cycling related thing I’ve done in the last few years is ditch Strava and just enjoy riding and taking in the scenery.
Oh keep strava, but get veloviewer and play the tile game! That way, my garmin stays on map all of the time and there's none of that daft pressure to keep average above a certain figure when you're tired and 20 miles from home (ruining the whole ride)..
CambsBill said:
Some lovely images there. Particularly impressed that he rode up Battery Hill 14 times to get the right shot - I was there last weekend and struggled to do it once
He says 14% grade not 14 times 
Agreed though. It's a tough little hill. Also try Peter James Lane that goes up to the top perpendicular to the main climb. Be careful on the way down. There was an incident involving cyclist and car some years ago
Drivers don't look before they pull out at the bottom very well.
yellowjack said:
Ditching Strava isn't necessary to get back into enjoying cycling and taking in scenery though. I still run Strava, but it's more a background thing now. No longer on a constantly visible cycling head unit, but on a Garmin watch where I can ignore the numbers while riding. So I get to see all the same sort of things that the author/photographer of that article sees. I stop to breath in the air, to drink in the view, to take a few photos (although mine are happy-snaps standard and thankfully don't feature me in them). Then when I upload the ride to Strava I get a record of where things are, so that if I find something interesting I can go back to it in future, or it just helps me to Google it by knowing where exactly it is.
Yeah, same for me although I just leave my rides in Garmin Connect now rather than bothering with Strava too. For me Strava added a more competitive element which I’m no longer fussed about. I still have my bike computer but only refer to it for time, distance and mapping, no reference to speed. Some Gump said:
Oh keep strava, but get veloviewer and play the tile game!
That way, my garmin stays on map all of the time and there's none of that daft pressure to keep average above a certain figure when you're tired and 20 miles from home (ruining the whole ride)..
I’ve thought about Veloviewer and I’m two minds. On the plus side it would encourage exploration and new routes but on the downside it may feel like task that needs to be completed even if the route wasn’t that much fun. That way, my garmin stays on map all of the time and there's none of that daft pressure to keep average above a certain figure when you're tired and 20 miles from home (ruining the whole ride)..
Edited by benny.c on Saturday 10th April 15:22
Akz said:
He says 14% grade not 14 times
Agreed though. It's a tough little hill. Also try Peter James Lane that goes up to the top perpendicular to the main climb. Be careful on the way down. There was an incident involving cyclist and car some years ago
Drivers don't look before they pull out at the bottom very well.
I made a bit of a pilgrimage to do those two hills before Christmas. I live nearer Worthing so it is a fair old ride for me (I think I got the train back from Eastbourne, oh the shame!) because I had done all the other hills in Simon Warren's Sussex list. It was one of the nicest rides I had done in a long time, far enough to be an adventure, lots of roads I had never been down before, a real sense of achievement when I got home.Agreed though. It's a tough little hill. Also try Peter James Lane that goes up to the top perpendicular to the main climb. Be careful on the way down. There was an incident involving cyclist and car some years ago
Drivers don't look before they pull out at the bottom very well.
That article has great pics, and the way he writes about cycling really nailed it for me.
I was out on a long ride at the end of March when the clocks went forward, it was one of the quietest days on the roads I can remember in a long time, probably since the first lock down when people actually stayed at home. Most roads are fab when you haven't got the psychotic aggressive drivers trying to kill you, or the clueless ones that shouldn't be allowed out of the house on their own...
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