5 Things I Learned During my 1st Year of Cycling

Welcome to the weekend! The evenings are in the 40s, the days are in the 60s and 70s, the grass needs mowing and the black flies are out! Oh the black flies! How I really don’t like these things! Well, there’s a lot to share in this week’s newsletter, so without further banter…

5 Things I learned in My First Year as a Cyclist

Ok, first to level set what I mean by a ‘cyclist’. I still don’t do the bib shorts without a normal pair of shorts over them. I’m not a road rider. But I have certainly come around on some things that I used to scoff at as a non-cyclist (bib shorts make a huge difference! Tight fitting shirts also make a big difference).

Also, I did do some biking in the years that led up to what I am calling my first year as a cyclist, but it was very far from anything consistent and far from any volume to speak of. Of course I biked all over the neighborhood as a kid, but after that I seldom biked. I did get a nicer Giant mountain bike in 2018 and due to that was biking maybe once a week for a couple of summers. Nothing in the winter, with the occasional indoor stationary bike (like when I broke my ribs playing soccer).

But the bigger shift for me came in early 2022. After riding a used gravel bike in 2021, I knew I wanted to step up the cycling. So I did. I bought a better gravel bike, also bought a Wahoo Kickr Snap to connect it to for indoor riding in the winter, bought a subscription to Zwift and then starting logging hours in the saddle. According to Strava, my first indoor ride (and really the start of this increased biking volume journey in general) was February 2, 2022:

I then quickly ramped up the mileage to 100+ miles a week on the bike, amid running (since I am primarily a runner after all, though the past 5 weeks won’t indicate so!). This transitioned to outdoor gravel riding once the snow melted, and adding it all up, I logged about 3800 miles in 2022 on the bike. Which is up from just a couple hundred miles in 2021!

So, what did I learn from riding so much in 2022? Well, below are 5 things I’ve come to realize, and appreciate, about riding a bike as a means of training and enjoyment.

1. It’s nice to have an alternative that is not “punishment”

   I think for many runners, the bike is that dreaded thing you do when you have to because you are injured. But what I found is that since I started riding for the enjoyment of it, I grew to really like it, and then later in 2022 when I actually did need that alternative to running due to a knee issue, it wasn’t like punishment. Sure, there were some days that I wished I could be running, but biking was a great alternative. I would suggest this to anyone who runs - find something that you enjoy as a backup or alternate to running. It doesn’t have to be biking, it could be the stair stepper, the elliptical, swimming, weights, yoga, whatever it is. The point is to do it because you enjoy it, and do it every once in a while to keep it fresh. Then, while I hope you don’t encounter a running injury, if you do you will have that backup at the ready to fill the void.

2. You can get good quality work and effort in on the bike

   It was naive of me, but I never really thought of biking as a form of intense aerobic exercise. I guess I just never really tried to push myself. But you can absolutely get a high intensity workout in on the bike. I’ve done some structured training workouts like 5×3 min at 300 watts, or some not-so-structured sprints and other hill work. That’s actually one of the really cool parts I enjoyed about the indoor trainer and using Zwift - kind of like Strava segments, there are short, medium and long distance segments all over the place so you can attack that sprint finish or really work away at that long climb, spike the heart rate over 160 and get in a very solid workout. Intervals, fartleks and hill repeats don’t need to only exist for running. I even enjoyed some races like crits on Zwift and that was a blast!

   

3. Less pounding on the body

   This one is obvious and one of the reasons that most people talk about using biking as a means of cross-training. But it is definitely worth looking closely at. During the spring and summer of 2022, I had a goal to run at least 50 miles per week and bike at least 100 miles per week. This would usually require several days of doing both, and at least one day of no running to be able to fit in a longer ride. I was netting 12-14 hours of training a week but didn’t feel as beat up (and potentially injured) as I would have if that was all running, no doubt about it.

   

   One of my first Zwift Crit races - one of the most intense 23 minutes of my life!

4. A time for thinking

   This one became more and more of an important one for me. It is more true for indoor riding than outside riding. What I was finding when biking, since it was a lower body only workout, I could zone out a bit more while using the indoor bike. Or I could zone into an audiobook, or podcast, or just deep in my thoughts. I got a lot of great thinking and plan development in, and was able to jot down notes at the same time, for things related to personal development, growth, nothing really related to biking or exercise, just good thinking.

5. You go far - and it’s fun!

   I love running, I really do. But unless you are doing an extra long training run or drive to a place to run that you have never been to before, you tend to wear out some of the same patterns and routes. With biking, since you can so much farther in the same amount of time, you just get to experience more of the surrounding area. I am blessed to be in the midst of a ton of gravel roads, and I could ride a bunch of different combinations of them within an hour or less. You go more places, and you have fun doing it!

I certainly am not waning in my love of running, but have grown in my love of cycling over the past couple of years. If you don’t already bike, I’d suggest you try it out! And speaking of trying it out, I would be super appreciative if you checked out the Etsy store we recently started called OutdoorEndurance, where we design and sell gravel biking and trail running themed comfy t-shirts.

Until next time, happy running and happy riding. Cheers!

Ricky