Anything that promotes your personal ascent (or descent per some) into cycling is good. That you have found RIvendell, read the literature, seen product and found this forum implies some inclination in this direction.
When I returned to road riding in my 20s after a few years hiatus that included my entry into mountain biking, my motivation was to see more miles of my Ozark Mountain region than my trail rides afforded. Most others on these rides were racer-types seeing these as very adventuresome, but were more like training rides to which Eddy Merckx would subject himself, just add more topography than all of Belgium has. I did abide with his cobbler wrapped in a linen from his mother's kitchen in his jersey pocket as lunch but the full kit racers' influence put a decline on the potential of my experiences on those rides. I was a realist about my physical limitations and the miles it would take to reach par, if ever, with those folks so I branched out and away. I rode dirt roads in the mountains and forests on my road bike and found it aligned with my desires, the only comparison/competition being with myself. Those folks would never go on the rides I liked. That's the for fun part, I've also been a full time bike commuter for 16 years because of the simplicity, efficiency and mental release the riding offers me before and after work. Someone once said that when grouped women compare, men compete. I don't like to promote gender based distinctions that differentiate but there is a type who make every distant sign, mountain summit or twisting descent into a race opportunity and my own non-scientific data collection results do have a gender differentiation. Ride with mixed groups of folks, it's always better for all. Who asks how much your bike weighs? You aren't going to miss out on anything any more than you would by deciding to buy a technology item like a phone or laptop (I know, "what's that?") which instantly leaves you at the station as the train of progress moves away from you. The pursuit of the newest cycling things is distinct from how you appreciate riding a bicycle. It is very personal and you will become quite astute at seeing the potential for various products and how they may be applicable for advancing your experiences. The greatest potential reward you have before you is the possibility that cycling will remain consistent and continuous in your life. Others like me will recount lapses and the difficulties of "coming back" to riding with limitations and difficulties alliterated. The more you ride what you enjoy, the more specific your preferences of how and what you ride will become. They may differ from those of others but you will both recognize the differences and respect that they came to be from the unique paths those others have had. The conclusions that I have found and my riding objectives shaped the bike I had made for me and those objective needs. I took 20 years of almost there, but have it nailed now. Worth every penny I saved and minute I rode to assure myself of what I like (and don't) not veering off on each new expensive tangent. I let my preferences tell me what wouldn't improve my cycling experience but included technology I know and prefer, excluded much as expensive distractions to me and my riding. I continue to admire the Patagonia founder, Yvon Chouinard's line about the objective in outdoor pursuits being to traverse the wilderness with as little as possible. You can buy a 4 pound frame that ends up 37 pounds built if you went for every widget and innovation of space age materials and light weight yet somehow in old fashioned steel and realistic counsel with my builder I gota wonderful bike that, in my absolute most favored measurement, doesn't limit my riding. I don't even know how much it weighs with the bag on or a water bottle filled, I need both when I go out so what's it matter? Andy Cheatham Pittsburgh On Saturday, March 5, 2022 at 11:48:32 AM UTC-5 lkbr...@gmail.com wrote: > Dear RBW Owners Bunch, > > This is my first post here, so hello! I have been struggling with my own > perception of my interests in bicycles lately, and I thought you might be > able to help me parse out my thoughts and ease my feelings. > > In the past year, my seemingly unattainable fascination with bicycles > quickly solidified into a more practical part of my life than I could have > imagined. It began as I vowed to stop driving and speculated some updates > to my first bike, which was an old mountain bike I received from a friend > five years ago. I gave up on the updates when someone at the local bike > co-op said the changes wouldn't be worthwhile, and I internalized it. A few > months later, I took the plunge and bought my first big kid bike: a > new-to-me Velo Orange Polyvalent. During the summer, I embarked on a > thirty-day-long tour across Montana, where I met brilliant people, saw a > new part of the world, and shook down my new bike. Soon afterward, I > departed for a research project to measure the impacts of wildfires on > trout and stream invertebrates, and I discovered the joys of bike fishing > in my spare time. In the fall, I began to work as an advocate for > alternative transportation at my university, but I was disappointed in the > fact that I was the only student advocate who rode a bicycle. Then, I gave > my old bike, complete with alternative handlebars and a basket, to my best > friend, and it is so joyful to hear stories of their adventures. Most > recently, I read Grant's book *Just Ride*, which clarified my > understanding of his ideas, and I began to volunteer as a mechanic at my > local bike co-op. I have been struggling to fulfill my desire to tinker > with my own bikes, so it is awesome to put my time toward my community and > help others fall in love with bicycles in the process. > > All this to say, I stumbled across Rivendell during my search for > alternative handlebars, and I was quickly drawn into the standards of > optimism, utility, and beauty that you, or we (please interject if I > missense the collective attitude), embrace in bicycles and the world. > However, there are a couple of issues I have been struggling with lately. > > My first concern has to do with my own consumer habits, which I often > excuse as curiosity. My journey into more “serious" cycling has involved a > number of significant purchases. I don’t see an end in sight because there > are so many neat things to try. Albatross and Towel Rack bars have been > calling my name lately (I can’t decide which one to try because their > suggested stem lengths are inversely proportionate). Don’t get me started > on all of the bags and tires, bits and bobs. Will it ever end? > > The other issue is less immediate, at least in a physical sense. I’m > relatively young. I just turned 20. If I lean into the unracer's mindset > now, will I miss out on something? Did I skip my formative bicycle > experiences and arrive at the ultimate form decades too early? Will I watch > my athleticism and socially demanded competitive spirit slip away? > > Anyway, enough about me. What do you think? > > Sincerely, > > Brother “the Instagram algorithm made me fall in love with bikes” Bunny > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/6e83fecf-ce00-481d-b2a5-1dff72052796n%40googlegroups.com.
