Cycling for fun

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I cycle on my eMTB because I enjoy cycling but don't enjoy exercise, but I seem to be in a bit of a minority when I talk about it at work as no one seems to understand that you can ride a bike because you enjoy being on a bike out in the country side but don't enjoy sweating like a pig while cycling up a hill barely faster than I could walk up it. Am I in a minority, do people actually enjoy being sweaty and wheezy, I get that some people will feel a sense of achievement for cycling up a hill, but is that fun?

[Beancounter]

I'm with you on that, grinding away at a few mph to get up a hill is not fun for me. Guess it comes down to how we get our grins. I love trail riding but hate climbing. My roadie colleague thinks I'm lazy and missing out whilst I think he's a chicken because he'll ride towpaths but not trails (it's good-natured banter). No point doing something you don't enjoy if you don't have to.

[weeksy]

Both aspects are fun for me, both are awesome in different ways.

One was is that i now look like this

2019-05-05_07-47-37 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

2020-06-25_12-05-14 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr


But mostly i do get pleasure from the outdoors, but also sometimes pushing myself, my limits, my fitness.

I get more pleasure for the jumping, trails and twisty turning though. But to get pleasure from that you either need fitness, or assistance. So you can't (in my world) have one without the other.

[Taff]

when I'm on my road bike it's all about maintaining a decent pace on the flat(ish, we don't have many flat bits around here) and going hard at the climbs because there's not much else to think about.

on the mtb it's totally different, flat riding is meh, it's ok and quite nice to sit back and explore and I tend to spend most of the time looking for singletrack that I haven't found before. The climbing is only there to facilitate the down bits which is where the fun and the proper exercise comes in to the equation. And I think that this is the bit that many don't appreciate, riding down hills is hard work and bloody good fun.

[MingtheMerciless]

I like being outdoors, whether its on my own or with my mates or with my trail hound (though sadly Chewie at 11 can now only manage a mile or so). I'm classified as a bit odd by my mates as I like hill climbing and enjoy pushing myself hard enough to collapse in a heap at the top of the hill. Same can be said for singletrack and descents, so long as I'm not injured most are pedalled like the Devil is chasing me.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Well done on the weight loss Weeksy, I didn't realise you used to be that large.
I've never been fit or sporty, even when I was thin, even as a child I ran out of breath quickly compared with other children, this is probably due to the poor housing and diet I had as a child and both my parents smoking, but you live with the cards you're dealt, and thankfully for me thanks to electric assistance I can enjoy riding a bicycle off road without becoming a wheezy mess.

[Docca]

Yes I cycle for fun and fun for me right now is a mix of getting absolutely banjaxed riding through sand and dirt and hills with the rewards that follow. I never, ever arrive home without feeling good for going out.

[crust]

I only ride for fun, I just enjoy riding pushbikes.

I like the scenery, the different views you get from a car, exploring new trails, just being outside. Perversely, I actually enjoy pushing myself up climbs, getting absolutely knackered on long rides, the longer the better.

Not really that interested in going fast, I've got a motorbike for that, more interested in flow, pumping off humps, bumps etc.

Plus cake, there's got to be cake on a good ride or a trip to a brewery with a good cafe - GP, Docca - when the lockdown thing is done you've got to come over to Weeksy's for a Brewery/Meal ride.

[G.P]

I only ride for fun, I just enjoy riding pushbikes.

I like the scenery, the different views you get from a car, exploring new trails, just being outside. Perversely, I actually enjoy pushing myself up climbs, getting absolutely knackered on long rides, the longer the better.

Not really that interested in going fast, I've got a motorbike for that, more interested in flow, pumping off humps, bumps etc.

Plus cake, there's got to be cake on a good ride or a trip to a brewery with a good cafe - GP, Docca - when the lockdown thing is done you've got to come over to Weeksy's for a Brewery/Meal ride.

I've heard reports of this and am deffo in!

[Docca]

yeah, i'm in too mate


Maybe not the cake, but i'll sink a few

[Couchy]

I cycle for fun and speed, fast flowy trails my favourite and I use an ebike so when I give it 100% the reward is always speed. On a normal bike 100% effort isn’t always rewarded with speed/Adrenalin so I have no interest. I can understand some love the physical bit but I don’t unless it gives me what I want, tbh these days my fitness is fairly good and a knee injury that used to stop me riding has improved massively through riding lots more. I have thoughts of a non ebike then I hit a fast trail and reality hits I’ll never go as quick down it on a normal bike, tbh there’s very few if any can on a normal bike so I know it’s not for me.