PSA: Don't underestimate the positive mental benefits of exercise!

[Doomanic]

I got out on my bike for the first time this year today. Did a 51KM road ride (that wasn’t the original intention, but the good trails were a boggy mess so we left them) and I feel so much better for it.

I’ve been getting more and more depressed as I’m really missing the gym and I’ve been avoiding my bike because road rides are boring and I now feel elated. I’m in such a better place, mentally, and I wish I’d gone out sooner.

I’m sure this isn’t news to a lot of people, but I’m sure I’m not the only person who knows that it’s good for you but does nothing and ends up in a downward spiral so I think it’s worth repeating. I was firmly in the “If it’s not fun it’s not worth it” group but today has changed that. You don’t have to drive for miles to get the benefits after all.

 

[Hobo Mikey]

I did a road ride on my E mountain bike out on Exmoor today from base, 28 miles round trip and 3286 ft elevation. The same as you don’t like road riding but all the trails are so boggy. Its an effort to get out like you say but once out that feel good factor is great.

 

[Gary]

I love road rides and find them far from boring. (you rarely ever hit 40mph+ on off road)
Glad your ride sorted your head out.

Think about getting a decent roadbike instead of that Whyte you've been hankering after.
If you fit full length mudguards it's a nice clean option in pretty much all weathers (just avoid frozen roads) with way less cleaning and maintenance after a ride.

 

[Doomanic]

I've got a road bike with full length mudguards. It's a hash, rattly, uncomfortable place to be and I can't do more than about 10 miles on it without the vibrations through the bars causing my hands to cramp and spasm. I've though about fitting bigger tyres but then I'd have to remove the mud guards.

I wonder if I could get a Girvin FlexiStem to fit...

 

[mak]

I've found myself with a severe lack of motivation this year, work based mianly due to being to busy working for selfish cu%$s that have no regards for covid saftey issues.

Ive also had a lack of motivation to go out for night rides because its cold.

To be honest when i listen to myself its all just escuses , managed to motivate myself today for a ride and its a great feeling, i just need to keep it up as i can feel my fitness level dropping with every ride i avoid and every can i crack open

 

[The Hodge]

I also hate road riding ..the less time spent on tarmac the better as far as I'm concerned ..however like you ..out of necessity had to change my plans yesterday as the forest trails were totally unrideable ( unless you had studded tyres ..which I don't)..thankfully there are also a lot of unclassified roads which are mainly singletrack locally most of which had been gritted and were wet but clear of snow and ice ..so I still had a good ride out .
Anything is better than being stuck in the house when you need some headspace

 

[R120]

I went for a road ride today, nice sunny day but been pissing it down over the last few days and I have had enough of cleaning the MTB - was nice to get back, not have to clean the bike, and then not have to spend similar time cleaning myself!

I live it road bike central (not far from Box Hill) and my main issue round here is that its just so busy , its like a grand tour peleton on some of the local routes. I think I might bodge together a "gravel" bike from some go my parts as there's a lot of roads that can be liked with bridleways that are more suited to a road bike with the right tyres than an MTB.

Not having ridden road for a while you forget how much you blast though the miles compared to on MTB.

 

[EebStrider]

I’m another road riding avoider if I can help it, but as mentioned, the off-road stuff is like a bog at the moment. Did a 46 mile ride on Friday, probably 70% road, and really enjoyed it. So much so, that I’ll repeat it again tomorrow!

 

[Gary]

I've got a road bike with full length mudguards. It's a hash, rattly, uncomfortable place to be and I can't do more than about 10 miles on it without the vibrations through the bars causing my hands to cramp and spasm. I've though about fitting bigger tyres but then I'd have to remove the mud guards.

They have medicine for that nowadays

Seriously though... I've never really understood why so many mtb riders say they HATE roadbiking. Is it really because they find it so uncomfortable? I'm still riding a rim brake Carbon TCR so can't go bigger than 25c (I actually use 23c tyres at 110-125psi) Yeah. they can get a bit rough on poor quality roads but once you're comfortable you get used to loosening up and just not braking I've never found it a big deal. The worst quality roads round here are generally the quiet farm roads but it's no biggie having to choose a smooth line or hopping holes when you're used to riding mtb.
S'pose I'm really lucky in that I have miles and miles of really quiet roads of all variety (Hilly, twisty, straight, flat) to ride from the door and if timed right I can head out on a 3 hour roadride and be lucky to see a total of 8 cars.
MTB (Even on an Emtb) just feels so slow in comparison.

 

[Doomanic]

Hey! It's usually me prescribing Growacet...

I've never really understood why so many mtb riders say they HATE roadbiking.

I just find it interminably dull. At least with the MTB if I see something interesting I can have a look.
The riding position seems to aggravate my arthritis too.

if timed right I can head out on a 3 hour roadride and be lucky to see a total of 8 cars.

I probably saw more cars than that before I even got off my estate.

I had the bonus of good company today as well. It was good to meet up with one of mates face to 2m distanced face rather than on Whatsapp for a change

 

[The Hodge]

OK..so hate is probably too strong a word ..
I also live in a very remote location which is a blessing and a curse ..
All of the local roads are either b or c roads ..and bloody dangerous to ride on as if its not a timber waggon taking up most of the road ..locals who think they own most ( I will at a push include myself in that when driving ) of your side too ..or tourists who are clueless on what are twisty country roads ..then its no real wonder that I prefer the relative safety of off road riding .
If you then add in to the mix the " club " peloton roadies who absolutely refuse to budge out of their little huddle ( god forbid we interfere with their strava times ) causing a back log of vehicles and then get all uptight when a driver dares to overtake them ..too up themselves to see that they are the problem ( even slow moving motorised vehicles pull over after a while to let the back-log pass ) then that also is a major turn-off for me ..and enough to put me off the whole road riding experience .
But hey ..thats just me and I'm not looking for an explanation or argument as to why I'm wrong ?

 

[Gary]

I just find it interminably dull. At least with the MTB if I see something interesting I can have a look.
The riding position seems to aggravate my arthritis too.

I don't get why you can't still look at your surroundings while on a road? you can cover way more distance so there should be way more things to look at.
Where do you live? (I thought you were in S Wales)

riding position as with mtb is adjustable.
The biggest issue with comfort for riders new to road riding IMO is poor core strength and relying on arm strength to hold themselves upright. your numb hands hint towards this.

 

[Zimmerframe]

I used to be able to ride out of the gate and onto the trails ..

Now I have to ride 2km's on the road .. well .. 500m to the road, then 1.5 km's on the road. So I guess that makes me a road rider now .. Do I need to amend my tyre choice ?

I saw a car once. It was blue. I think it made the experience more exciting.

causing a back log of vehicles and then get all uptight when a driver dares to overtake them

I've had this too .. I got stuck behind a tractor and trailer going up a hill .. it was painful. I had no choice but to overtake, actually, it was an undertake as it looked safer, on the grass. Bloody primadonna tractor drivers.

 

[Gary]

OK..so hate is probably too strong a word ..

I don't think "hate" really is too strong a word when you start by complaining you feel it's too dangerous for you to ride your bike on your local roads at all and to then go off on a massive judgemental rant about a group of folk who actually do (safely... and by the sounds of it perfectly legally)

 

[Gary]

If you feel a road club is riding in too large a group, riding dangerously or maliciously towards other road users contact the club.
Every road club in the country has a committee and a contact

If you're just pissed off you had to wait a minute or so to pass then it's probably time to re assess your own importance

 

[The Hodge]

Which bit of " not looking for an explanation or an argument "did you not understand Gary ?
Are you saying that I can't have an opinion?
Seriously ..please don't answer that I'm simply not interested in your reply

 

[Jimbo Vills]

you can cover way more distance so there should be way more things to look at.

Exactly why I keep my road bike. Occasionally just like going for a cruise, cover some ground and watch the world go by.

 

[Gary]

I like riding bikes too much to care about the view.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Road bikes exist for EMTB owners :

 

[Gary]

Which bit of " not looking for an explanation or an argument "did you not understand Gary ?

Why reply to a discussion at all then? Nevermind with massively blinkered extreme views you don't want anyone to challenge.

Are you saying that I can't have an opinion?

No. Far from it. Thanks for sharing your opinion. It's good to know just how extreme some cyclists dislike of other cyclists really go. Thankfully it's not the norm.

Seriously ..please don't answer that I'm simply not interested in your reply

Oops

 

[Zimmerframe]

Which bit of " not looking for an explanation or an argument "did you not understand Gary ?
Are you saying that I can't have an opinion?
Seriously ..please don't answer that I'm simply not interested in your reply

I think he's just saying you need to pick which peloton you follow more carefully ..

Please note : this is an album cover so a public image.

 

[The Hodge]

?..thats almost funny coming from you ..Gary
Edit ..I was referring to the first bit of your reply

 

[Gary]

Road bikes exist for EMTB owners :

View attachment 50223

That's not a roadbike.
lightweight E-roadbikes could be great if they weren't subject to such a stupidly pointless assistance limit here

 

[johnc]

I think he's just saying you need to pick which peloton you follow more carefully ..

View attachment 50225

Please note : this is an album cover so a public image.

That’s not how copyright works.

 

[Zimmerframe]

That's not a roadbike.
lightweight E-roadbikes could be great if they weren't subject to such a stupidly pointless assistance limit here

That depends what your roads are like

I was thinking the same .. I'd quite like something like that or the new Trek or something ... but only if it had a 45 kph ? limit. Would make it more usable on the road. Otherwise it's useless. I know you're not a DH22 fan, but I went to see a client the other week on the Kenevo .. on the road (was dreading it for the tedium) so to make it entertaining I tried to stay above the limit. 30km's and only 10% battery used. So if a muppet can do that on a Kenevo with DH22's, it makes any road orientated e-bike with a 25kph limit totally pointless if you want to have fun ?

 

[Zimmerframe]

That’s not how copyright works.

It was more meaning that it wasn't pornography, more "art" - for moderation purposes ....

Does it fall under copywrong then ?

 

[Zimmerframe]

That’s not how copyright works.

I think there's something wrong with me..

I just scrolled back up to check the picture and what I wrote - all I could think was .. "Good god, those wheels and tyres look thin !"

 

[Zimmerframe]

That’s not the issue sir. It’s 2021 so you gotta post the like pictures of dudes. But that’ll offend the other types so then you gotta post a like picture of gender neutral.....people. Then some trees I think because with out you’d offend the non people people.

How do you know they're not dudes ? Or were dudes ? Or might one day be Dudes ? Or even were dudes for a while and are having a dude break ?

They could all be dudes but dressed as ladies ? Uhmm, dressed as undressed ladies ? Is there a word for that with a combined positive and negative ?

Or FAKE DUDES !

 

[Doomanic]

I don't get why you can't still look at your surroundings while on a road?

That's not what I meant. I meant if I see an interesting trail or bit of woodland I can head off and explore.

For example, I found this today.

It’s not much but it was a fun break from the tarmac.

 

[Gary]

seems I don't have permission to view your "attachment".. ?