6ix
Posts:485
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| 01/15/2014 04:08 PM |
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You'd have to live under a rock to not see that amazing number of new products and services on the market aimed at making you a stronger rider. I'm a tech enthusiast so I embrace new stuff for the most part, but it just seems like the sport is attracting people that want to really have a tough workout (generally by themselves) rather than attracting people that simply love to ride and roll around the countryside with friends. The indoor trainer stuff is out of control! Strava, Trainer Road, everything Powermeter...heck, they almost have virtual reality where you can simulate riding up Alpe d' Huez! Sure, it's super cool but is the tech reducing the number of riders that actually enjoy riding? Now it's all about training and Strava KOM's. |
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Keith Richards
Posts:781
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| 01/15/2014 04:16 PM |
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I am in the process of writing something on the difference between practicing a thing and doing a thing.
I am in total agreement with you. As I said to someone on FB, being at the top of the heap on a Strava segment is like being the mayor of your local Starbucks on Foursquare. |
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It is his word versus ours. We like our word. We like where we stand and we like our credibility."--Lance Armstrong. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 01/15/2014 04:21 PM |
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I don't think the advanced training and enjoyment factor are mutually exclusive.
You don't need to use Strava or Powermeters, I don;t. But for some those products and services carry big appeal and are the enjoyment.
So I see it as a case of more options equals better.
Where it gets difficult maybe is if you have the two sets of philosophies mixed in a single group ride.
And heck, with the dismal winters you kids out East are getting, you need all that indoor stuff :-) |
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6ix
Posts:485
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| 01/15/2014 07:04 PM |
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yeah, I shouldn't have put so much emphasis on advanced training and enjoyment being independent of each other. They aren't...most of the time. It simply appears that more focus is being placed on times and achievements rather than the journey. Please keep in mind that I'm one of those die-hard roadies. I turn every group ride or even individual ride into a personal challenge. I get anxious about uploading my ride to Strava once I get back from every ride just to see if I improved. My concern is that this continual focus on improvement will be a detriment over time. I mean, we're human and can't continue to improve an infinite amount. At some point our genetic make-up will inhibit our performance.
Anyway, I see all these new training programs and related products as being good as a whole, but wonder if it's keeping us separated. It's like texting; people standing in line at the DMV wouldn't dare talk to one another but they'll openly talk about their most intimate details with someone they went to high-school with 25 years ago. Go figure. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 01/15/2014 09:43 PM |
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At some point our genetic make-up will inhibit our performance.
Or age.
Ben |
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Keith Richards
Posts:781
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| 01/16/2014 10:18 AM |
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The problem as I see it is not the training tools but that people are forgetting what the sport/activity is all about.
To use a basketball analogy, it is like practicing your jumper and dribbling skills on an empty half court. While it will technically help you become a better player, it is not even close to playing a game of five on five full court basketball.
I think people get so caught up in the numbers and status that comes with putting up "good numbers" that they forget to learn how to play the game of cycling well. On the last team I was on, everybody would love to quote me various numbers...watts at "threshold", maximum steady state speed at threshold, etc. That is all fine and dandy but where were you when the big local team came to the front and I had nobody to help? Why'd you get boxed in and miss the break when you told the team before the race that according to your numbers you should be the protected rider for the day?
There was this old guy who used to do the group ride with us. 7sp friction shifters, old steel bike. I took my friend on the ride and when he saw him asked what his deal was. I told him, "Glen knows how to play the game of road cycling. He WILL be in the front group. He always is."
People get so caught up on metrics that they never fully learn how to play the game of cycling. Much less learn how to enjoy playing it. |
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It is his word versus ours. We like our word. We like where we stand and we like our credibility."--Lance Armstrong. |
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Sweet Milk
Posts:93
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| 01/16/2014 10:36 AM |
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KR - all true, but when I am on my trainer the only thing that motivates me is the numbers and I am fairly obsessed with them there.
Riding outside I purely go by feel; I don't carry any sensors and care a rat's @ss about my numbers. I started racing 30+ years ago and therefore have no need for electronics to tell me what's going on. |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 01/16/2014 11:01 AM |
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Posted By Keith Jackson on 01/16/2014 10:18 AM
People get so caught up on metrics that they never fully learn how to play the game of cycling. Much less learn how to enjoy playing it.
And they seldom learn how to actually ride the bike-- draft, rotating pace line, echelon, counter steer, what to do if tires overlap, how to pedal circles rather than squares |
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stinkyhelmet
Posts:94
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| 01/16/2014 11:27 AM |
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+1 Dale and KR. Doesn't take much to use these guys to your advantage and leave them behind when the course throws them a curve ball. Like throwing Schumacher in with guys who learned to drive in a video arcade.....fish in a barrel.
They may clobber me in a TT but I don't do those unless a stage race forces me too :-) |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 01/16/2014 12:29 PM |
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Kieth wrote "I am in the process of writing something on the difference between practicing a thing and doing a thing."
Ii might be pointed out that in their professional lives, doctors and lawyers never get past practicing.
Ben |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 01/16/2014 01:04 PM |
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I don't think there is any doubt that some of the "romance" of the sport is disappearing....but some of that romance was also wrapped up in lore that is now known to be wrong. LSD miles in the small ring, etc.
At the end of the day, the sport at least the competitive side) is about performance and new technology allows people to really focus on that and maximize their potential. But it is also only one piece of the puzzle.
I'll also add that there are always "meatheads" who never learn to ride properly but can put down huge power....having toys doesn't change that. There is a guy I train with at my training center that throws down HUGE numbers on our rides. He just crushes me....but he'd oesn't train by power or have any toys. But he is a freaking hammer.
When we did the Sub-5 century challenge, I was horribly undertrained, but I finished in the front group while he got shelled. Why? Because I knew how to ride properly and he didn't. You don't need technology and toys to be a meathead. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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