Slow Down and Smell the Roses–and Stay Well

It really burns my butt whenever I see event advertisements like this one, and I see them on nearly every bicycling event that is advertised on the Internet and on cycling club web pages.

I would love to participate in the events and go the full distances.  But how can I when the event organizers place such rigorous speed restrictions on the farthest distances? Is there something wrong with just wanting to go the full distances at a moderate speed and actually enjoy the journeys?

Who in their right mind would want to pedal a bike at breakneck speeds for 100 km? In the first place, to do so would require all cyclists to tailgate the cyclist that’s in front of them for drafting purposes. Those speeds would also require the cyclist that is behind you to tailgate you as well – and you then hope to God that they are able to stop quickly enough should you have to hurriedly slow down or come to a full stop. Chain reaction bike crashes are common because of this pace line impasse.

I fully understand that event organizers have to limit the amount of time that volunteers spend at rest stops, finish lines, etc. mainly because of budget concerns and time frames. I also ‘get it’ in reference to how many police officers it would take to escort all speeds on all distances. Most events, however, do not hire police officers.  Cyclists are pre-warned that they must participate at their own risk.  And volunteers and just that, volunteers!

Going back for a moment to the pace line, I do not find it fun or entertaining to ride in a pace line having to stare at the ass end of the cyclist that is riding directly in front of me. Nor am I comfortable with some hammerhead cyclist riding my rear tire just so that my body and bike shields him or her from the headwind. Consider the potential of multiple fractures plus painful road rash whenever the wheels tap one another, which, like I previously said, happens quite frequently. And don’t think this cannot happen to you.

In my opinion, we have become victims of our puzzling willingness to accept speed as our number one prerequisite, not only in sports but also in our everyday lives. We rush from point A to point B only to hurry once again after we arrive to wherever it is we are headed. It’s a vicious cycle of self-imposed, unnecessary ridiculousness.

Speed causes undue stress – and stress causes unwanted illnesses.  Slow down, smell the roses, and stay well!