Many of us cyclist don’t go out on the bike for under an hour, at a minimum. What’s the point? It is barely a ride if it is not at least two hours on the bike. I need half an hour to convince myself maybe I do feel OK. After an hour, the first queries can go down to the engine room, is everything good down there? Some people feel better as the ride progresses, some don’t. The ones who say they really start to feel unblocked after five hours, I hate them. @GogglesPizano weighs in on hour number three.
Ride to live and live to ride, Gianni
I have always ridden bikes and as I expect is the case for most of us here I can perfectly describe every detail of every bicycle I have ever owned, starting from cruising the neigbourhood on my blue CCM Swinger in my younger years then moving on to through my Kuwahara BMX then onto some real bikes. Biking was just what I did – every day.
Things changed though roughly 25 years ago in my late teens when on one spring afternoon I hauled my Father’s blue Raleigh Record 10-speed out of the shed and hit the highway for the first time with the sole motivation to ride my bike far and ride fast. I had been running cross-country in high school so I had a pretty solid aerobic base and the start of a decent set of guns. I remember a couple of things about that ride very vividly, the first being that I felt like I wanted to go on forever the second being that all I wanted to do was eat when I got home and finally I made my mother drive the route right after to figure out how far I went (she got tired of doing that after about the 2nd time). Within a month or two I had purchased myself a stunning blue Trek1000 and began to ride more and more approaching the century distance fairly quickly. I never quite fully understood my connection to the ride during these years but I knew it was there and it was strong.
Fast-forward to the present. There is something that I have learned to love more than anything else about riding. For me I long for the 3rd hour of the ride; I can’t really describe it fully but I will try.
What is so special about this 3rd hour? On longer days for me the first hour or two is usually about settling in, letting it warm up a bit, let the breakfast and coffee dissipate and clear the head of all of the challenges of the week. Then as I enter the third hour a few things start to happen, the endorphins are starting to really kick in, I know if I am on or off for the day, the temperature is warming up, the aches are loosened up, all of the Anti-V is clear out of the way and usually I am also as far out from home as I will get on my ride. This for me is my happy place, it is where I want to be – always. The ache is slowly beginning to build in the legs, the hunger is starting but I still have lots left in the tank. Occasionally I may catch glimpses of The Man with the Hammer but the 3rd hour is not where he tends to show up, and usually at this point I still think I can outride him. Don’t get me wrong – I love the latter hours of the rides and the sensations that come along but for me I will always long for that way I feel in that 3rd hour.
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I always recognise the 3rd hour, it is preceded by The Knock and I have to say I rarely remember it unless I have been wise enough to put in a judicious cafe stop...
@Roger
I hear you. It never fails to amaze me how the body responds (well, mine anyway) to the onset of cold weather. Rides that just a few weeks earlier in warmer, more temperate conditions were relatively easy. Once the temps dip into the 20s and 30s riding just gets harder. Personally, I blame the fact that cold air is denser than warm air. It could also be my body saying take it easy and slow down, it's the off season.
Indeed, a bad ride is better than no ride. That's the truth.
@Rob
YES! Agreed on all parts (esp the xyxax part!!!)
Nice piece!
Club rides have been closer to 3 hours of late, but was able to get out for 6 on Saturday in the hills near Prague. There does seem to be some Anti-V rubber band that gets stretched and then seems to dissolve after a couple of hours. It also seems to be when the chit chat dies away and the sounds and rhythms of the ride settle in.
@rfreese888
That is quite true! The early chatter that eventually fades away as the ride continues it always indicative of my favorite time during the ride. I for one, am not much for the chitter chatter. I don't mind the non-serious, unimportant short conversations. But the rider who is compelled to single handedly carry on in depth, serious conversation about training or gear ratios, ride around others and through the group, just to stay next to me and convince me they are an expert on some cycling subject, make those first stretches of the ride a metal challenge. I'm just not one who has that much to say, and when Chatty Kathy rolls up beside me, I find things to be immediately less enjoyable.
Nothing wrong with an hour long ride...as long as you can ride around 50kms in that time.
Goggles - agreed; nothing like losing yourself in your ride. Once in a while, just stop and take it all in; then roll on again. Below - the rewards of a three hour ride, leave the cities and the traffic behind. @Nate and @Frank will recognize.
how appropos! on my last 3 hour ride, as my mind was clearing, i noticed leaves falling and suddenly this zen-like thought popped up (i'm not sure if it's a koan or not):
-a falling leaf moves no mountain;
but a blown one does.
it instantly reminded me to pedal harder/faster.
@wiscot
I love that definition.
The 3rd hour was good to me today. Haven't been out much lately (my rule #9 compliance isn't the best), but was determined to do some cycling today. Hour 1 is spent loosening up the legs. Hour 2, I start to get into it, but am distracted by intermittent drizzle and a crosswind that had just enough westerly in it to annoy me. Hour 3, I swing south and pick up a tailwind. The sun comes out, and the roads seem to be doing the moving.
Hour 4, and now the legs are starting to suffer - inclines that were powered up earlier now have me shifting gears and the quads are starting to burn. A visit to the parent's house (strategically located at 90km out of a planned 130km) brings some respite, but the first five minutes back on the bike hurt like hell. Into hour 5 and I start to suffer. My stomach is having trouble with food, and although I feel thirsty, drinking seems to offer no respite. Every incline and lack of hedgerow exposing me to headwinds are cursed; downhills and reappearring shelter are welcomed. I make it home, legs sore, but it felt good to get out on the bike again.
And even though the last 2 hours were a slog, it was worth it for the third hour.