[Closed] How Seriously do you take it...

Fitness for me is a handy bi-product of cycling and rather conveniently the fitter I am the more enjoyable my cycling is. I don't think I could commit to cycling purely as a means to get fit.
As for diet, you know that annoying guy at work that no matter how much he eats he doesn't put on weight? That's me, although to be fair I generally eat healthily but that's more because of taste than anything else.

I'd say I'm [i]getting[/i] fit and fast... finally managed a top 10 in Bristol Oktoberfest 8hr solo which was only a few minutes shy of being a 7th. I'm doing a charity Wales Coast 2 Coast attempt next year (offroad non-stop: http://wc2c.cyclistno1.co.uk, please sponsor me *cough*) so I need to train pretty hard as it's going to be a comfortably 24hr+ ride.

That said I've got a reasonable base having trained for a 24 solo last year, and did the 3 Day Black Mountains and TransWales before doing Oktoberfest this year.

I can't train properly though, I'd go mental, I'm not cut out for it, I resent the bike when I try. I know I'll never win a race but I'm ok with that. For me my training is all about regularity and the fact that I really like riding. As much as I love road biking, you won't catch me grinding out the miles all winter long sticking to a certain HR zone!

I tend to ride most days. I'm lucky enough that I can do a reasonable MTB commute. 8km of road and 8km of trails, only do the 8km of road going into work, and on pretty all weather trails. So I just tend to go pretty hard to the point where it's fun still and not total flagellation. Every third or fourth week I'll probably skive off a bit.

Other than that, it's all I do!

not seriously enough - ride twice a week, swim at least once a week, but eat and drink too much. weight is just about ok.

New Yr resolution will be.....

I do take my fitness fairly seriuosly and watch my weight and what I eat. I'm 44 and don't want to be overweight like the majority of people my age.

You aint alone, all my riding is training, slave to the power meter but i enjoy it and then theres food as long as i'm 10% body fat in winter & 6-8% in season i'm happy for me i love racing xc & cx. I see this guy every 3 months http://www.sportstest.co.uk/

I like to try and stay healthy/fit only around 5 hrs in the Winter, mainly running

Cycling is great fun but not my life

I used to just cycle for fun and fitness was a by product.

I then realised if I was fit mountain biking was more fun so I got a road bike.

I know have a few races I want to do well in (if i qualify for them) so will need to be fit for this. And as such, fast is now the goal. It is still fun though. As soon as it's not I will stop.

Very, haven't had any of the massive tin of Roses that were sent to me earlier this afternoon

i enjoy bikes.

but i also enjoy training.

doesn't make me fast though.

I do watch my food - fly past my face into my mouth at an amazing rate. nom nom nom. 😆

Pretty seriously, but only because I (largely) enjoy it. If I stopped enjoying it, I'd stop doing it. Definitely helps that I enjoy it more the fitter I am!

Since I decided I was going to have a go at road racing this year i've taken it pretty seriously.

I started training properly last christmas and loved the feeling of getting fitter and sticking to a plan

I also looked into the idave diet and dropped 6kg which helped my cycling performance.

Love to ditch the HR rate/power on the road and just ride every now and again not be a slave to numbers

I think I am slightly in both camps here in a weird way. Firstly I'm not really a fitness 'fanatic' in any way at all and mostly ride my bike for enjoyment. I've never entered a race or anything like that.

But...I do tend to also view going out on my bike as a cheaper and more fun alternative to going to the gym. So I sometimes do go out on rides when I can't really be arsed but make myself go out because it's good for me, a bit like going to the gym after work.

If mountain biking was bad for you in the same way as drinking or smoking I'm pretty sure I wouldn't bother doing it, so I guess maybe there is a bit of a 'serious' side to it.

I just ride its got me fitter but my fondness for a beer and a smoke means I'm never gonna be a top 10

Seriously, with regard to training, racing, and the associated lifestyle, however its still "fun".

Once a month or so I ride for the sheer pleasure without the heart rate monitor.

Quite like the way I can go a bit faster/steeper/longer if I'm riding or otherwise exercising more, but that's as far as it goes. I don't race, but I enjoy riding as much as I ever have. It's good to be reasonably fit and stay a bit in shape, otherwise mrsmidlife will be trading me in for a younger model...

I work at it for sure..On a team this year..but I dont know how long I will keep it up for..Im 40 FFS & training 15-20 hrs a wk is hard not to mention the racing! Still what it does mean is that I can smoke my riding buddies on nearly every ride 😉 Seriously though those days which are days when Im just riding for fun have become even more enjoyable...

I think I can empathise with a fair few of you on this.. I enjoy riding when I'm fit. I really enjoy the events more too.

I get annoyed when I'm not fit but I don't agonise over HR zones, I do always seem to be competing with myself on known loops though..

It seems getting a road bike is the start of a slippery slope that ends wtih power meters..

Not 'fit', but it's really important to me to be healthy.

So I ride lots (both road and mtb), swim about 3x a week, head off for a full day hiking in the mountains every week, and try to get to the climbing wall at least once a week. I try to do something physically active every day, but I focus on enjoying the experience / scenery etc.

I don't train, never race, and don't have a HRM etc. For me, that would take the fun out of the activities that I do. But have just had a health check - low BMI, good blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and extremely low cholesterol. So that's good enough for me.

Interesting - I bimbled around behind BF mountain biking (quite like the view, have reasonable strength and base level fitness from farming so it's nice to do) but have got fitter in the last six months because I've been riding to work and back as well - and I've lost a stone in weight.

It's motivating me to get fitter and train (although I'm not entirely sure I've worked out how or what for - partly so that I can do stuff easily rather than struggling). I've also developed a 'cross bike habit which is difficult to kick. That's serious, isn't it?

Don't specifically train, but do ride nearly everyday and get some good road miles in during the summer months (averaged 500 a month this summer) on top of MTB events.

Typically top 50 on CRC marathons and top end silver medallist on sportives, suppose I might give racing ago next summer, on the MTB that is

As I was plodding round the BM course being lapped by the front runners I was thinking these boys must eat live and breathe training. I mean the top 3 made 7 laps in less time than I took to do 5! Never thought I would be near a podium but pretty amazed at how much quicker the top 10% of racers really are.

I just try to get out on the bike 3 times a week. Think I'll make more of an effort in the new year it is definitely true the fitter you are the more fun riding is.

I am accidentally fit, at best.

a mix for me really. I train hard in summer months but then i only race feb -oct, bugger this winter malarky.

Training is a bi-product of my lifestlye i created. I commute 150 odd miles a week
A/ because i like it
B/ saves fuel
C/ gives me time to think about my day/reflect on whats happened.

Outside of that i try 3-4 rides a week in winter and prob 6-7 in summer ( race time). I don this because
A/ i like it
B/ keeps me out the house
C/ i feel guilty doing bugger all

I'm also thankful that i'm pretty good at what i do and thats down to training/beleiving in yourself and the hand your dealt with. Some people are just naturally gifted to do things, whether tennis /IT / politics etc, mine is cycling

I also enjoy the buss of speed and the fitter you get the higher that buzz becomes as you search for being quicker and quicker. Most of all, i love biking, road and mtb. I'm really glad i eventually landed on a sport ( after many others tried, tested and a few successes) that i really enjoy and dont mind doing daily and that i dont mind spending money on ( well, wish i had more)

A little bit, but not very. Til recently I rode bikes despite the fitness benefits. Now, some of what I want to do does need a bit more strength and fitness than I have, so I've tried to do some more intense riding and I've done a fair bit of gym time. But still, I'm never going to work hard enough at it to become uberfit.

I used to be mental about it, taking it a bit easier these days, but still have a bit of a diet fest, I'm due one soon, probably after Christmas. Was a bit troubled the other night when fatigue set in on the dance floor, not used to that, so maybe it'll be back out pounding the pavements as well as upping the ride distance.

not as seriously as i'd love to, i ride 8miles everyday to work (that's there and back) and maybe 20miles over the weekend!

i second the roses comment, resisting temptation is difficult, i've better chance plaiting air than keeping myself away from a tin of them!

I'm more bothered about the skills/technique side of riding but I'm aware that if I don't go for a proper ride at least once or twice a week then the fitness drops and the fun diminishes.

Couldn't care less, tbh.

If cycling was like cigs (ie, every time you rode your bike, it knocked five minutes of your life expectancy) I'd still ride, as often as I could.

I just like riding bikes.

I have stopped taking it as serious,and I am kinda looking forward to an easy Winter ,with the commute keeping the fitness level ticking over.
If I am off the back in the Spring ,so be it 🙂

I will still do the 'TARGET ACQUIRED' voice in my head,when I catch some one on the road thoughbut 😆

Um.

I used to be Mr Obsessed, 150-250 miles a week whatever. That's WHAT-EVER....

Train from 26th of December, first race was in March. Everything was about cycling, all my eating, all my reading, all my clothes. Out in all weathers, minus whatever didn't matter. Raced as often as work allowed, went to bed for 6 months of the year with legs that felt like wood, woke up with aches and pains every morning.

Chased every cyclist I ever saw, chased every 50cc moped I ever saw, including a 25 mile epic sitting behind a lady in Belgium, took me ages to ride back..
Used to take my bike into work to wash on nights, used to get up at 5am, do an hour and 30 mins on the way to work, go the long way home from work, in the dark.

My 'holidays' were going racing abroad, every family holiday involved me taking a bike and riding it at least 5 days out of 7.

My entire clothes collection fits into 8 bin bags. 5 of them are still just cycling stuff.

I was an obsessed fool.

bloody hell Crikey.. thats properly obsessed! Do you still do as much? i'm guessing not from the tone of your post?

Ooo no. Probably why I'm mad these days!

I met one of my old cycling mates a few years ago and he still does most of it. It dawned on me gradually that I was completely mental to the point of obsession.

I just love getting out on my bike.

I don't train or have any particular diet, it would start to lose the fun for me if it got too serious.

I cycle 14 miles a day round trip to work and then just get out on my days off.

The length of my rides is very much dependant on the weather and how I'm feeling at the time.

from about 16 - 26 year old, i took cycle racing far too seriously. now (i'm 44) its all about staying healthy, active, fit and happy. riding and racing are more enjoyable now.

When Im not guiding, which is 5 days MTBing, I like to mix it up. Surfing, swimming, running, weights, road bike.

The maxim I follow is little and often with one longer bike ride per week. I do what feels right on the day, long slow, short fast etc etc with a basic idea of what I want to get done in any given week/month.

Probably amounts to about 4 or 5 cardio sessions per good week + weight training every other day. On a "bad week" it all depends on why its "bad". If there is surf it all drops by the wayside and Ill spend 4 or 5 hours in the water.

Its a basic triathlon based plan.

Roughly 15% to 18% fat at the moment which isn't bad for a 37 year old. I don't race well at 95KG but I like to go for triathlon, duathon or MTB marathons for a bit of fun.

Looking into a distance learning personal trainer course at the mo so I can fine tune things a bit more.

Not seriously at all.

At first it was social riding with the aim to be able to do a 100 mile road ride. Achieved that this year and found that my fitness had plateaued so I now ride with faster people in proper training rides.

Have also started racing to try and get to the next level of fitness. Will be doing a structured training plan in the new year to prepair for next season.

I'm seriously into it, but not seriously doing it. Not enough time or will power.

Towards the end of any of the few races I do when I am trying to achieve gas exchange using my arse then I wish I had done more. When thinking about leaving the house for a dull ride i want to do less. Still recon the reduction in drag that I would get from keeping my remarkable ear hair short would make as much difference

Not seriously in the slightest.
Riding a lot has plenty of benefits though. I can eat whatever I like, drink whatever I like, pay ample disregard to sleeping patterns and generally have absolutely zero training plans and still be whipcord thin, be dead fast and that and also have a six pack.

Given my appalling form in the second half of the cross season.....not nearly seriously enough 😡

I'm useless. When I didn't have any goals I was riding the road bike 2-3 times a week and on the mountain bike for 30-40miles or road bike for 60miles on a Sunday. Now that I ahve set my eyes on doing a solo MM and SDWD I'm useless. Barely done any riding since that or at least since the great south run which was a month ago. Done more casual drinking at home in the last month too which is a bit more of a concern. Love night riding too so don't know what's wrong with me..... miserable git syndrome I reckon

Trying to hold a winter base fitness in order to do 3 peaks fell race and enter cat4 road racing next year so averaging 10-11 hours training a week, as much as possible via commuting.

-ives: Time consuming, risk of overtraining, family get pissied of with it sometimes
+ives: Can eat a sandwich that is made from an entire baguette and 2 cakes for lunch 🙂

used to be Mr Obsessed, 150-250 miles a week whatever. That's WHAT-EVER....

Train from 26th of December, first race was in March. Everything was about cycling, all my eating, all my reading, all my clothes. Out in all weathers, minus whatever didn't matter. Raced as often as work allowed, went to bed for 6 months of the year with legs that felt like wood, woke up with aches and pains every morning.

Chased every cyclist I ever saw, chased every 50cc moped I ever saw, including a 25 mile epic sitting behind a lady in Belgium, took me ages to ride back..
Used to take my bike into work to wash on nights, used to get up at 5am, do an hour and 30 mins on the way to work, go the long way home from work, in the dark.

My 'holidays' were going racing abroad, every family holiday involved me taking a bike and riding it at least 5 days out of 7.

My entire clothes collection fits into 8 bin bags. 5 of them are still just cycling stuff.

I was an obsessed fool.

Wow!

Crikey> Did you ever think you could have cut down and trained 'smarter? Reason i ask is there are guys in the club that have raced for 20 years or so and stick to the 250miles a week. There's also other guys that race (elite level) that claim they are putting in 8 hours max a week and training with a power meter.

i'm told by some coaches that you only need to train max of 10 hours a week but train smarter.

Did you ever knock the training back and see big improvements and did you track how fit you were

Just really interested hearing from someone that has been there done that

I found that the more training and then racing I did, the better I got., up to a point. Yes, I could have trained very much smarter and done far less volume, and would have done a great deal better.
I used to know Hamish Haynes, and follow him via his site, he puts my efforts to shame. 90 k motorpacing after a race?
I think my training was based on peaking twice in a year, I used to go to Europe at Easter and again ib the summer. The standard was so much higher than in the UK that it frightened me into doing as much as I could.

I never got past 3rd cat, and never did much in terms of results, for all my efforts, which probably speaks volumes!

I did the same at fell running; ran everyday for 3 years, even gave up booze, but never won a thing!

I'm good at changing punctured inner tubes quickly and prefer my legs shaved; not a great legacy...

Given my appalling form in the second half of the cross season.....not nearly seriously enough

And yet, you usually lap me at least once, if not twice a week....

I have Mr Toad syndrome - I can become easily obsessed with something, and then it fades away. Bike riding is an odd one, as I've loved it almost all my life. And yet I'm completely physiologically unsuited to any of the disciplines I've tried - an inherently low "natural" fitness level (VO2max in geek speak, I guess) and a build that doesn't go well with riding bikes (stocky, now running to fat).

I did start taking it much more seriously a couple of years ago when I wanted to take up road racing. At the time my mental health was way off - I thought riding a bike was helping it, but actually it made it worse.

I'd love to be good at riding bikes, but I've now got to the point where I recognise that I could trains loads or not at all, and I still wouldn't have any talent.

Still take it seriously, though.... 😉

Some interesting stuff on this thread, I fit into the train via commute category in that I chose where to live so it would give me a 30-40 mile per day commute and in doing that 3-4 times a week i'd stay fit & relatively fast. Not race fast though, i just like my weekends with the family too much for [i]proper[/i] training

Taking riding bikes in the mud seriously in any way should be discouraged, even ridiculed.

Also,

Training is fine if you must, but keep it to yourself. Excuses and comments about your 'form' etc show that you're taking it 'seriously'.

Training should really consist of riding lots and not using gadgets to stress about 'performance'.

Performance plans should be based on hairy-assed mountaineers of the 60s rather than shaven-legged roadies of the 00's.

If you know what position you were in an event it should be because you remember which podium step you were on. Extra points for being top 3 and forgetting about it in the following months.

(The mountainbiker's "spirit of '88")

I'm of the "fitter I am the more I enjoy the ride" school.
Don't drink much at all any more - simply because I was wasting perfectly good riding days hungover.
plus, I eat far too much chocolate to be serious. 😀

I can't help taking it a little bit serious if I've entered a race/event. If I race I want to do as well as I can, comes from being a competitive runner in the past.
Don't do anywhere near as many races on bike as I used to do running races though.

Thinking of doing a 24 hour solo next year and possibly Kielder again so lots of training will be needed for that, though when I say training I mean lots of long rides, which I like doing anyway 😀
No point being too serious about it when your a 58 year old I suppose, but as mentioned by several here - the fitter I am the more I enjoy it.

PS Would not dream of using a HR thingy or one of them turbo jobbees, maybe coz I was a not so hairy assed fell runner of the 80's 😉

I'd love to be good at riding bikes, but I've now got to the point where I recognise that I could trains loads or not at all, and I still wouldn't have any talent.

I think that goes for 90% of us, maybe more : ) But are you any good at having fun while riding? I don't see any other motivating factor that's sustainable (or even geniunely healthy??) for the 90% of us who aren't naturally talended in some way.

There's nothing wrong with having a crack at racing or training towards a goal, doing something you once thought was beyond you has to be one of the best opportunities in riding. Putting too much pressure on yourself and losing focus on the enjoyment of it all isn't so good, I guess it depends how you cope with that balance or what your basic motivation comes from. I admire top-level racers (well, racers of any level really) but I don't relate to them tbh.

I can't bring myself to take it seriously. My work life is stressful and competitive enough, biking is my release and the last thing I want to do is be competitive or serious in my fun time. I don't care how slow or fast I am, I don't care if you overtake me or I overtake you, I just enjoy the ride.

I enjoy riding with my mates when I'm fit.. but that comes from the natural competetion that naturally seems to come about when groups ride together.. it maybe unspoken but there is still the rivalry there to get to the top of the hill first.

I do like Jameso's post and wish I could have that attitude, my frustration typically comes from riding with my brother in law.. he eats like a pig and rides twice a week and yet it takes me doing twice that at least in order to better him and then it's not by lots.

I have always had a pretty good level of residual fitness, maybe I'm trying to train like a 16 year old when I'm twice that age 🙁

I think that goes for 90% of us, maybe more : ) But are you any good at having fun while riding? I don't see any other motivating factor that's sustainable (or even geniunely healthy??) for the 90% of us who aren't naturally talended in some way.

In the last couple of years I've been though a lengthy period of self-examination. this was brought on by the work-induced deferral of so much of the usual thinking we all do about our lives - I worked incredibly long hours, and put too much of me on hold.

One of the things I realised about me was that I am both competitive and lazy. Not a good mix for sports where self motivation is required. And, frankly, I didn't have the time to train because I was always at work.

But I'd still be naffed off that my mates were getting faster, doing some racing, and generally being better than me.

Then I became a parent (last year) and my only riding was commuting (170 miles p/w). I started to get fitter and conceived that I could have attained some goals. That was until I spent 4 months at the start of this year with various illnesses (full on flu twice) and six months off the bike.

Most of all, I just enjoyed riding a bike. Every time i swung a leg across one, even though it was only riding to and from work.

There's nothing wrong with having a crack at racing or training towards a goal, doing something you once thought was beyond you has to be one of the best opportunities in riding.

I've raced as much of the cross season as I've been able to this year. I habitually finish in the bottom 20%. So what. I enjoy it.

I now have ambitions for next season - to finish around half way in each race. I also want to race my MTB - sure, I won't be much good, but I've got myself to where I need to be to enjoy something competitive, without having to become obsessed.

I watch my fatty foods to keep my cholesterol okay from being type 1 diabetic, and I watch how much sugar and how much I eat because I don't want a muffin top at 31, and I eat healthily appart from the odd treat (because I want to be healthy). I often want to cycle more than I do, because I want to be fitter and I enjoy being in the outdoors, but it's got to fit in with seeing friends and the other things in life, i'd like to be super fit and fast, but it's not at the top of my list of important things. Beiing fittish and fastish relative to me is good enough on the whole. I'd like to be fitter next year than the one just gone, but there's other things i'd like to do as well. I'm happy enough with my fitness if I feel full of energy most of the time, which is thankfully where I am now.
Tim

Full of energy in everyday life that is, rather than while cycling.

I don't think anybody always feel's fresh while cycling??