I've been cycling for a long time. Well, at least, I've been riding for longer than most people, though the current shape of my body might belie that. Still, even after more than three decades of riding even when I had no logical reason for doing so, there are still some things I can't explain.
Here's one of them: In spite of my advancing age and declining strength, my past few rides--whether commutes or pleasure rides--have been faster and smoother than I expected them to be. Now, what I am saying is completely unscientific: I am saying them mainly on the basis of having finished the rides I took in less time than I anticipated, or than I would normally take to do them. And this has happened without any effort on my part to make to make "better" (i.e., faster) time.
What's more, I have noticed this on riding three of my four bikes: Arielle, Tosca and Vera. I guess if I want to make a really valid claim, I have to take Helene out, too. (It's been a month or so since I've ridden her. I can rationalize it this way: For the rides on which I would have taken Helene, I rode Vera in order to fine-tune her.) But if I were to ride her with the intention of testing this hypothesis, it would sort of invalidate what I'm saying, wouldn't it?
On the other hand, there have been times in my life when I was in much better shape than I'm in now, yet the rides were slower and more arduous than the past few have been.
Have you, dear readers, experienced anything like what I've described? If so, can you account for it in some way?
Here's one of them: In spite of my advancing age and declining strength, my past few rides--whether commutes or pleasure rides--have been faster and smoother than I expected them to be. Now, what I am saying is completely unscientific: I am saying them mainly on the basis of having finished the rides I took in less time than I anticipated, or than I would normally take to do them. And this has happened without any effort on my part to make to make "better" (i.e., faster) time.
What's more, I have noticed this on riding three of my four bikes: Arielle, Tosca and Vera. I guess if I want to make a really valid claim, I have to take Helene out, too. (It's been a month or so since I've ridden her. I can rationalize it this way: For the rides on which I would have taken Helene, I rode Vera in order to fine-tune her.) But if I were to ride her with the intention of testing this hypothesis, it would sort of invalidate what I'm saying, wouldn't it?
On the other hand, there have been times in my life when I was in much better shape than I'm in now, yet the rides were slower and more arduous than the past few have been.
Have you, dear readers, experienced anything like what I've described? If so, can you account for it in some way?
