Suffering

[Erik Timmerman]

I was wondering this morning - if you take the suffering out of cycling is it still cycling?

I think it's kind of the same with skiing. It's not supposed to be easy. If it was easy and everyone could just inherently do it, being good at it would have no meaning.

 

[graham418]

A long road ride is a form of penance, a self-flagellation to cleanse the soul. A mountain bike ride in the woods is the opposite, a fun sinful romp of pure pleasure.
You have to do both to appreciate the other

 

[skibob]

Riding without suffering is called healthy. As opposed to riding and suffering, which is unhealthy, no matter how much skinnier it makes you nor how much endorphin is released.

 

[markojp]

Riding isn't that hard so long as you aren't trying to go all too fast or farther than you've prepared/trained for, but of course that's all relative. One person's 15mph is another's 25, and one person's 25 miles is another's century. A few of the most enjoyable rides I've ever done were 100-125 miles. Fun, pretty fast, nicely social, not much suffering, etc..., but I dont really care to ride more than 50 now, nor want to race. Maybe if the scenery or roads were different, and maybe if the kiddo wants to as he gets older, but absolutely no racing. Bike racing is the only sport I've ever puked during or haven't been able to stand up after finishing, but it was fun for sure except for crashes. Now running I just don't get. I've never gotten an ounch of joy out of it unless chasing a ball.

 

[Primoz]

I was wondering this morning - if you take the suffering out of cycling is it still cycling?

For me personally, no. Suffering is part of sport, especially endurance sport, and has to be there, otherwise it's not that sport anymore (hence ebikes )

 

[jt10000]

not supposed to be easy. If it was easy and everyone could just inherently do it, being good at it would have no meaning.

I strongly disagree.

This sort of attitude really hurts cycling (at least in my country - the US). It works to keep the activity marginalized by saying cycling is about going hard, as opposed to saying it also can be about having fun or relaxing or even getting somewhere.

I've spent hours suffering in a line of 100+ guys going single file on the edge of the road in races - and I love that! But there is more to cycling than going hard and fast.

If everyone could do it we'd have a lot better country, but instead it's marginalized.

A long road ride is a form of penance, a self-flagellation to cleanse the soul. A mountain bike ride in the woods is the opposite, a fun sinful romp of pure pleasure.
You have to do both to appreciate the other

I've never ridden a mountain bike but have done plenty of road rides, both hard and easy, including in some very cool places. and I think I have a good appreciation of riding and a TON of pleasure in it, even when not going hard.

Cars can get into the way of pleasure so that's an inherent problem with road riding, but if you never find pleasure on the road except by hammering, I think you're doing something wrong. Your decision, but I urge you to try riding in a different place, or on quieter roads, or riding differently. Even the company can help. There's a lot to enjoy, even going easy.

 

[Tony S]

I was wondering this morning - if you take the suffering out of cycling is it still cycling?

"Suffering" is so subjective. A long hill with any pitch or - worse - a persistent headwind puts me into suffer mode pretty reliably. Especially when in in crap shape like now. Mountain bike, no exception. Spinning in a low enough gear to make it easy is A) very often not possible given terrain (especially on the mtb) and B) puts me at such a pathetic speed that my sense of pride won't support it.

What's impossible to know is whether my "suffering" is really just a different word for the same experience others call "JRA painlessly." There's a good chance that if @skibob or @jt10000 or @markojp were magically in my body they'd say "Oh! That's not suffering, that's just what riding is like."

It's much easier to suss out at the extremes, obviously. The folks riding up the Passo Giau in the frigid rain at the Giro last week were definitely suffering, no interpretation needed.

As a side note, I do think this topic is relevant to performance in skiing, in the sense that I think many underestimate the amount of applied athleticism required for high level skiing. In other words, they're not sufficiently prepared to suffer while, say, skiing a bump run or linking high angle turns.

 

[Jersey Skier]

What about those rides where you just feel like your riding at 110%? Where every climb seems easier than normal and you clean every obstacle? The day you finish the ride and think "I wish today was a race day cause I would have kicked butt."

Are you not "cycling" on those days?

I'll leave the Ebike thing out of this.

 

[Philpug]

Hmmm. Not sure if serious or just trying to be funny. Why do things have to be hard, why cannot we enjoy things at different levels? Does skiing need to be hard? Do we need to ski the most difficult terrain every run? No, if you cannot find the enjoyment in a blue groomer or some nice gradual terrain on a bluebird day, hmmm. As far as the sufferage of cycling, and mentioned by @Primoz ebikes and cheating? Am I or someone cheating themselves for not suffering? You, go ahead and suffer. I will enjoy the ride. Everyone does things for their own benefit or enjoyment, no need to project your values and what is important to you on them.

 

[AmyPJ]

I suffer through climbs on the MTB knowing there is a reward. Although today, we have a planned ride that suffers at the end. It's all relative, because I know I am doing so much good for my health while "suffering". Strava can be much-maligned, but when used as a personal tool to help me compare my times against each other, it is a great motivator.

 

[Tony S]

What about those rides where you just feel like your riding at 110%?

That happened to me once! I think it was in 2008!

 

[scott43]

That happened to me once! I think it was in 2008!

I remember once in hockey I was chasing someone down taking these giant power strides and I thought to myself, wow! I'm actually playing like a pro!! Lasted 3 games, back to garbage..that was like 2005...done...and...dusted...

 

[Tom K.]

Some great perspective in here. In no particular order:

"Suffering" is so subjective. A long hill with any pitch or - worse - a persistent headwind puts me into suffer mode pretty reliably.

QFT. I'll suffer up any climb, and enjoy it (albeit in a slightly sick, twisted way), but I've had enough headwind for two lifetimes. If it's windy when I'm heading out on a ride, I grab the mtb, unless mud is a factor.

What about those rides where you just feel like your riding at 110%? Where every climb seems easier than normal and you clean every obstacle? The day you finish the ride and think "I wish today was a race day cause I would have kicked butt."

I hear you! I doubt I'll ever race again, but there are days when I finish a ride and think that "today would have been a great day to race".

Hmmm. Not sure if serious or just trying to be funny. Why do things have to be hard, why cannot we enjoy things at different levels? Does skiing need to be hard? Do we need to ski the most difficult terrain every run? No, if you cannot find the enjoyment in a blue groomer or some nice gradual terrain on a bluebird day, hmmm.

Could not agree more. Aging perhaps? Some days the easy skiing or mtb riding calls to me. Just a day of lovely, effortless "flowing".

 

[Philpug]

I get a kick out of some of this "suffering" talk. You want to suffer on your rides, go grab a Schwinn Varsity 10 speed or a department store mountain bike..and check back in with how much you like to suffer.

 

[Philpug]

..because I know I am doing so much good for my health while "suffering".

We're all gonna die, some just in better shape. Seriously, is it healthier? There is a member here who had a heart attack from "suffering" in the gym doing cross fit...all for perception of better health/fitness. There is a cost for everything.

 

[martyg]

Yeah.... I don't agree with the "suffering" mentality. It sounds like those people do not put in the time, or work, to achieve their fitness goals, and then bite off more than they can chew. None of here are racing the continental tours (although our neighbor is), so when someone talks "suffering", I hear a lot of dick wagging. Discomfort? Yes - that creates the response to training. Suffering? No.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Hmmm. Not sure if serious or just trying to be funny. Why do things have to be hard, why cannot we enjoy things at different levels? Does skiing need to be hard? Do we need to ski the most difficult terrain every run? No, if you cannot find the enjoyment in a blue groomer or some nice gradual terrain on a bluebird day, hmmm. As far as the sufferage of cycling, and mentioned by @Primoz ebikes and cheating? Am I or someone cheating themselves for not suffering? You, go ahead and suffer. I will enjoy the ride. Everyone does things for their own benefit or enjoyment, no need to project your values and what is important to you on them.

I love a blue groomer as much as the next guy but somehow I tend to be sweating at the bottom most of the time.

Anyway, no I’m not trolling. I went for my first ride in a week yesterday and damn did it feel slow at first on my “analog” bike. Then the heart rate went up and after a half hour of climbing I felt great and started to wonder. Without pain how do you know pleasure?

@jerseyskier I am reminded of a race I did in RI in the 90s called the Second Start Enduro. They started the race in waves of 10 and it was about a 30 mile race. Usually I would just be aiming to not be last. It poured right before the race started and j was on file tread Michelin Sprints, the green ones. We took off and somehow when we got to a giant mud pit I went straight to the front of my ten guys. Then I started passing people. After an hour so I had made it to the top5 that’s when the pass for 4th went wrong and I broke my seat off. Limped in like 10th place after riding the rest of the race standing or sitting carefully on the rails. Never had legs like that again.

 

[martyg]

I was wondering this morning - if you take the suffering out of cycling is it still cycling?

I think it's kind of the same with skiing. It's not supposed to be easy. If it was easy and everyone could just inherently do it, being good at it would have no meaning.

I'm pretty sure that we want these activities to be inclusive, and not exclusive. Unless if course you don't want safe cycling infrastructure, advances in equipent and materials, new trails to ski on, snowmaking, etc.

 

[martyg]

I get a kick out of some of this "suffering" talk. You want to suffer on your rides, go grab a Schwinn Varsity 10 speed or a department store mountain bike..and check back in with how much you like to suffer.

I agree with the thought Phil. However very, very few people in the US have been exposed to real suffering. If you want to see "suffering" join the Military. Aim for a sporty MOS. Go to a country where human atrocities are happening every day. The position that people are "suffering" by participating in their hobbies is just bullshit.

Perspective people. Especially on Memorial Day.

 

[Mike Thomas]

There is 'Sport' and there is 'Activity', I think skiing and cycling can be either depending on your mindset. Some folks get serious and train/ practice to improve, some folks participate when they have the time and want to get outdoors. Neither is right or wrong, just different.

... what is wrong is getting wound up about using the word 'suffering' in association with cycling. It's kind of a 'thing'. Pain Cave. Hurt Locker. Shut up legs. Get over yourselves.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re sprinting for an Olympic gold medal, a town sign, a trailhead, or the rest stop with the homemade brownies. If you never confront pain, you’re missing the essence of the sport” – Scott Martin

“The best rides are the ones where you bite off much more than you can chew, and live through it” – Doug Bradbury

“The race is won by the rider who can suffer the most” – Eddy Merckx

“It never gets easier, you just get faster” – Greg LeMond

“When my legs hurt, I say: “Shut up legs! Do what I tell you to do!” – Jens Voigt

“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring” – Desmond Tutu