Is cycling the new Golf.

[aide]

Cupramax said:

aide said:

I was on the promenade in Brighton recently and an elderly gentelman in tennis shorts and trainers pulled a team sky pinarello out of the back of a nice bmw estate, hopped on with no helmet, and rolled off down the road.

My cousin is in his mid 80's and still cycles 25 miles twice a week and lives in Brighton, he's probably fitter than me despite having 40 years or so on me he was chairman of the british cycling federation from the mid 1960's for god knows how long, you make it sound like old people have never cycled before the recent upsurge in interest.

Not at all actually, apologies if it comes across like that, it wasn't my intention at all.

I know lots and lots of retired and semi retired ace cyclists.

It was the contrast of tennis shorts and no helmet juxtaposed with a pro level bike that prompted my post.

Hope this is clear

Best regards
Aide

[aide]

Seasonal hobbies (coupled with having kids) means some toys only get aired a couple of times a season

[snowdude2910]

aide said:

Seasonal hobbies (coupled with having kids) means some toys only get aired a couple of times a season

I hear ya, road bike goes away when it gets cold I'm too soft and despite every year p[lanning to cycle through and maintain the 20mph average that I get to by the end of the summer it never happens. The snowboard comes out for 3 weeks or so in winter and the kayak normally stays in hibernation until about now when the water should be warming up a little incase I go for a swim :-) wakeboarding and a jetski are next on the list for summer hobbies :-)

[deadtom]

aide said:

is cycling the new golf?

yes.

[Kermit power]

Partly yes, in terms of being able to escape with your mates, and being able to spend ludicrous amounts of money on it.

Where it differs, I think, is that cycling - certainly mountain biking, maybe not so much road biking - can be the attraction in its own right.

Whilst I prefer to head out on the trails with friends - not least because it makes the post-ride pint rather less of a strange saddo affair! - if I can't find anyone to ride with, I can still go and bury myself in the woods for a few hours and have a ball, spending most of it grinning like a slack-jawed yokel.

Playing golf on one's own, however, isn't something I would perceive as being a particularly attractive prospect.

[aide]

Kermit power said:

Partly yes, in terms of being able to escape with your mates, and being able to spend ludicrous amounts of money on it.

Where it differs, I think, is that cycling - certainly mountain biking, maybe not so much road biking - can be the attraction in its own right.

Whilst I prefer to head out on the trails with friends - not least because it makes the post-ride pint rather less of a strange saddo affair! - if I can't find anyone to ride with, I can still go and bury myself in the woods for a few hours and have a ball, spending most of it grinning like a slack-jawed yokel.

Playing golf on one's own, however, isn't something I would perceive as being a particularly attractive prospect.

I'm guessing that you're not a golfer?

Playing a round of golf on your favourite course at 6am, fresh as a daisy, with no one around is bliss!

Same goes for long rides in early summer, where the sun is shining but the breeze on your shirt is comfortably cool

There are comparable merits in both

[Kermit power]

aide said:

I'm guessing that you're not a golfer?

Playing a round of golf on your favourite course at 6am, fresh as a daisy, with no one around is bliss!

Same goes for long rides in early summer, where the sun is shining but the breeze on your shirt is comfortably cool

There are comparable merits in both

I have played golf, although my clubs have languished untouched in the garage for years, as the amount of time afforded to me by a young family will always mean they lose out to the MTB.

I didn't ever find it unpleasant or anything, but any time I did play on my own, it was more of a "something pleasant to do whilst enjoying some solitude" sort of thing than the full on "do it for its own sake" endorphin blast that I get from mountain biking.

[Zigster]

aide said:

I'm guessing that you're not a golfer?

Playing a round of golf on your favourite course at 6am, fresh as a daisy, with no one around is bliss!

Same goes for long rides in early summer, where the sun is shining but the breeze on your shirt is comfortably cool

There are comparable merits in both

I'm not a golfer (despite my Dad's efforts when I was a teenager) but I can see what you mean. A bit like skiing - the bliss of being the first one up the lifts and heading down a freshly groomed piste by yourself with that wonderful stillness and quiet in the mountain air. That's quite special.