Gale's Bicycling Blog: Becoming a Hard-Core Cyclist

Created 4/20/2021

Hard core is not for beginners, you definitely need to know how to avoid the motorist / cagers (People who ride in a smoking metal box with wheels on it), you also need to know how to navigate various types of terrain, and how to go the furthest without tiring, because getting to your destination is just as important as the ride itself. Crossing the finish line is more important than being the first person to cross, because one day you will be the first person crossing eventually, and doing this every day makes you a hard core cyclist, whether you compete or not it makes no difference.

I've read a lot of great tips on cycling on 4Chan's Transportation image board, please keep in mind this site is NOT FOR CHILDREN, and one of those tips is: "If you're on the road, always ride as if car drivers are actively trying to kill you and/or can't see you and they're about to do the most retarded thing imaginable." You can learn a lot about cycling by socializing or reading forums, every cyclist has their own perspective or opinion on cycling and the life as a cyclist is often rife with turmoil, anguish, and struggles, especially if pressed for time.

Every bicyclist must have basic repair skills, even if you cannot change a front shock, chain, or install new bearings in a hub, basic repair skills will save you a lot of money, and that's because going to a bike shop can get insanely expensive, also you need to know how to properly care for and protect your bicycle. Obviously I'm referring to more than one thing when I say protect, which also includes ensuring your bicycle is safe from theft (Locked at all times, even in your home) & attached to something that's not easy to move with a bike locked to it, and it's also includes protecting your bike from getting wrecked by foolish riding or mistakes, like braking on gravel, running into obstacles, or riding over deep potholes cause you weren't paying attention.

Hard core cyclist have significant experience riding, especially downhill & jumping, which is where things get dangerous fast, and knowing how to control a bike at higher speeds is critical to becoming a better rider, therefore, you should at the very least know how to avoid gravel and greasy / muddy surfaces unless you have tires equipped to handle that type of environment. There are of course different styles of bicycles, road / comfort / commuter bikes use slicker smaller tires and require finesse while riding, no sense in going off the sidewalk or road with these, it become dangerous, and that's where riders end up get hurting themselves &/or their bikes. (Improper Tires for the path)

We all learn from mistakes, liking braking while on gravel / sand (use the front brake and you are going down fast), and develop our own skills over time, like learning to how to avoid gravel / sand on turns while on a bike with slick tires. Skills are necessary to take away a lot of the fear that come with riding, that's even more applicable to mountain biking, which is where things get really dangerous, and unless you can overcome your fears, then your skill level will not improve much.

If you are planning on riding every day, then becoming ultra smart is necessary, and one tip I would definitely leave with the cycling community who ride on the roads, is always travel on the left, that way you can see the cagers / nut jobs coming at you. (Cagers often will not yield to cyclist!) Every driver on the road has the potential to end your commuting or road biking life permanently, never forget that, and so you should take riding on the road with extreme seriousness, I cannot tell you how many times I've encountered speeders and people running stop signs in the city.

(Not to mention high speed police chases that ended in terrible consequences for the public.)

When you are a hard core cyclist you kind of figure out for your self what is smart and what isn't, it's a learned thing, and it's only learned from experience, you just cannot teach people how to jump, do tricks, and ride difficult paths, they have to try and fail for themselves. Even if you have to take it slow at first, until you gain confidence, obviously this doesn't apply to jumping, but you can jump smaller hills at first, till you get more confident at jumping larger ones, and that's exactly why I wrote this blog post, to help you see that bicycling is an experience.

The skills of a hard core cyclist are much higher than your basic riders, you won't see young kids doing what those in their 20s can do on bicycles, older people tend to not be so devil daring, and with good reasons too (We have families to look after), but the worst thing that can happen to a cyclist is they become crippled from wrecking their bike by taking on a challenge too great for them. The secret to becoming a hard core cyclist is moderation, go slow at first, learn slowly, and eventually build your skills, no need to climb the mountain all at once, and learn to take breaks!

Listen to your body, if you are tired, if muscle or tendons are starting to burn, you are doing too much, take a break, and give your self a chance to heal or rejuvenate, obviously no serious cyclist travels without water or a drink of some sort. Hard-Core / Daily Riders are cyclist who love to ride, they live for that, and they may seem fanatics to some, but to those who love bicycles they are entirely normal and even cool.

Being able to bust wheelies, do an endo, and other bike tricks sure impresses the hell out of the local kids (Who often need someone to look up to today mind you, considering where are these days), but being a hard core cyclist doesn't mean you can't teach some local kids how to ride, and you might be able to make a few bucks fixing their bikes and also teaching them how to fix their own (Preferably). To me, bicycling is a lifestyle, it's a multifaceted daily adventure, and you get to encounter a lot of different type of people, especially if you do urban commuting & nature trails.

People are like flowers, sometimes you just got to stop to smell the roses (^.^), indeed you can learn a lot by socializing, which also helps to build a good judgment of character, and you can ask for information which helps you advance faster! I've run into quite a few shady characters in my life, you can usually tell by their face if they are good or bad, but today a lot of people are wearing those diapers on their face, so it's hard to tell, and that's annoying, but also their demeanor, hair, and clothes are often a big tip off too. (You wouldn't talk to this guy with his hair sticking up and out, with dirty clothes on, and wild looking / bugged out eyes like he just ate a cat raw, would you? Me neither!)

I don't like to ride around a lot of cars, the brake dust is far too much, so I stay off of high traffic roads, not to mention many police chases end up on main roads, and that's where cyclist can get killed by accidents, so learn to follow this advice well. To me, in today's world, where poverty is growing, the cost of gas, cars, and insurance continues to go up and up, well cycling makes much more sense!

This is precisely why I started this blog, this particular post is to help experienced riders get into the mindset of the cyclist crowd, we just think differently than the cagers, and we respect everyone on the road, especially pedestrians and other cyclist. It's just that road riding has become pervasively more dangerous for us cyclist, bicycle theft is so common don't even bother calling the cops, and it's not uncommon for cyclist to get robbed for their expensive bikes these days in the cities of America.

I don't know much about life as a cyclist in Europe, Africa, South America, or Asia, I'm sure it's entirely different there, but in poor countries like India, well, it may be the only way to live for many millions of people, and I'm sure that many great cyclist probably came from poor families and countries, so I don't judge cyclist much. Indeed many cyclist are actually rich people, I had an old boss who owned a business who was a daily commuter, so don't judge a cyclist ever, and you never know who you might run into while riding, some cyclist are actually undercover cops or cops in my city. Also, some are very intelligent and very nice people, I know because some of the most selfless and intelligent people I know actually ride bicycles, and I don't waste my time with the rude ones, I just keep on riding.

Today, it's important to be remember that cycling is a means to travel (For some), it is not the best form of transportation, but for many it is the only form of transportation, and if you can afford an electric bicycle, that's awesome, but they are way out of most people's budget, that's for sure! I for one have to chuckle at the people running down the trails on electric bikes, it really does defeat the purpose of cycling off-road, I mean I can see it for daily commuting, but electric mountain bikes?

Anyway, cycling is changing, some people can afford all of the latest and greatest or neatest bicycles, but I for one would never pay over $300 for a bicycle, ever, not even if I had $100,000, it's just obscene to see people drop more than $600 on a bicycle to me, I mean it's not even a dirt bike! Sure, electric bicycles may be cool and nice, but unless they can go 50+ miles, they aren't worth much to me, and that's because most people would rather use a vehicle to travel over 20 miles, but hard core cyclist may ride 20-40+ miles a day.

Are you ready to start taking cycling seriously?