Racing is not a bad thing, and there are plenty of arguments for the benefits of athletic competition. What I think is unfortunate is how competition focused the bike industry has become, which really addresses only a small part of the bicycling world. For those of us old enough to remember Bikecentennial, the industry back then pushed touring, at least for a short time.
Grant was a good amateur racer and won, IIRC, the Mt Diablo hill climb at least once. Long time RBW'er Mark -- greatly responsible for the Legolas and Roadeo -- was a national cyclocross champ. At Bridgestone, Grant helped design the RB1 and MB1. The RB1 was a budget racer that could compete with the Italian bikes, and the MB1 was one of the best early NORBA racers. Racing experience certainly shaped Grant's current approach, even if he has moved away from competition. I raced bikes, but as I got older, having my stem slammed all the way down became uncomfortable. Fortunately I talked with Grant around that time, and he got me to raise bars and widen tires. If you want to try bike racing, go for it. It doesn't have to be one or the other, though if you want to be competitive a lot of your riding becomes "training", especially during the season. If you don't know whether you're drawn to competition, you probably aren't, I'd guess. If you are drawn to compete, it could be a different sport, and you could continue to "just ride" the RBW way. jim m walnut creek, ca On Saturday, March 5, 2022 at 8:48:32 AM UTC-8 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/7b840139-e096-4cb3-af95-f86d7ca24e63n%40googlegroups.com.
