Any knowledgeable cyclists out there who may be able to have some input onto this cycle race I’ve been roped into ?
Basically at work some Jonny big balls has been giving it the big ‘un showing off and also trying to belittle my cycling abilities based on the fact that he’s an ex pro cyclist (allegedly) and the fact that he has all the latest and greatest Specialized cycling gear (colour co-ordinated jacket,helmet,shoes,gloves etc etc)
The fact that I ride a hybrid for my daily commute not a road bike, and that I do it in ordinary sports gear obviously proves i’m not a fast, or competant cyclist.
What started as a bit of banter escalated a little bit and resulted in this bloke bragging that he’s so much a better cyclist than me, we can do a 10mile race and even if he gives me a 5 minute head start, he can still beat me.
I called his bluff, so the race is on.
Now I’m not stupid, I wont be doing it on a Hybrid, someone is lending me a pretty good road bike for the race (he’s obviously using his road bike), but i’ve NEVER ridden a road bike before, and may only get a few miles practice on the day before the race.
The opponent is 41yrs old and has been a member of a various local road cycling teams for 20years, but not anymore. He still rides regulary and does some pretty long rides regularly (50-100miles) but im pretty sure he’s past his best.
He bragged about doing 10miles in 24mins, but apparently he’s admitted privately to another colleague he’s realistically looking at 27-28mins these days.
Myself, well I’m no cycling novice. I’m 35yrs and pretty fit, even of my main hobbies is off road Mountain biking and has been since I was a teenager (he doesn’t know this hahaha) i'm regulary out on the trails at the weekend and every day I commute to work on a Hybrid bike which is 4.8miles each way, and have been doing so for 12years – so I can ride when i need to !!!!!
I have done some ‘Time trials’ on my Hybrid the last few days and over 8-10mile routes that I have done, I can easily average 17mph, and last night I did 10.2miles and averaged 18.1mph. This is on a pretty heavy Hybrid (GT Transeo Disc 2.0) with front suspension (locked out but still some bob), and 700x32c tyres that are designed for mix of city and trail riding, certainly not slicks.
Basically those that have them, how much faster do you think I will be on a road bike vs the hybrid that i have above ?
Will it be easy to adjust to riding a road bike ? As i've never ridden one yet. Or should I be looking to get more time on the bike I’ll be using. (note size should be ok the bloke i’m borrowing it off is my height and weight roughly)
The race was meant to be on Sunday 10th, but he’s already rescheduled it until the following week 17th (I think so he can practice more)
Alot is riding (no pun intended) on this, and many from work are turning up on the day to watch, no doubt relishing the fact that someone is going to lose and get some stick.
Loser, as well as having the shame of losing also has to do kitchen duties when on duty (cooking and cleaning) at work for the whole station, for a month. Which on a busy fire station is a real bum job I can tell you, once a week is bad enough !!!!!!!!
Basically at work some Jonny big balls has been giving it the big ‘un showing off and also trying to belittle my cycling abilities based on the fact that he’s an ex pro cyclist (allegedly) and the fact that he has all the latest and greatest Specialized cycling gear (colour co-ordinated jacket,helmet,shoes,gloves etc etc)
The fact that I ride a hybrid for my daily commute not a road bike, and that I do it in ordinary sports gear obviously proves i’m not a fast, or competant cyclist.
What started as a bit of banter escalated a little bit and resulted in this bloke bragging that he’s so much a better cyclist than me, we can do a 10mile race and even if he gives me a 5 minute head start, he can still beat me.
I called his bluff, so the race is on.
Now I’m not stupid, I wont be doing it on a Hybrid, someone is lending me a pretty good road bike for the race (he’s obviously using his road bike), but i’ve NEVER ridden a road bike before, and may only get a few miles practice on the day before the race.
The opponent is 41yrs old and has been a member of a various local road cycling teams for 20years, but not anymore. He still rides regulary and does some pretty long rides regularly (50-100miles) but im pretty sure he’s past his best.
He bragged about doing 10miles in 24mins, but apparently he’s admitted privately to another colleague he’s realistically looking at 27-28mins these days.
Myself, well I’m no cycling novice. I’m 35yrs and pretty fit, even of my main hobbies is off road Mountain biking and has been since I was a teenager (he doesn’t know this hahaha) i'm regulary out on the trails at the weekend and every day I commute to work on a Hybrid bike which is 4.8miles each way, and have been doing so for 12years – so I can ride when i need to !!!!!
I have done some ‘Time trials’ on my Hybrid the last few days and over 8-10mile routes that I have done, I can easily average 17mph, and last night I did 10.2miles and averaged 18.1mph. This is on a pretty heavy Hybrid (GT Transeo Disc 2.0) with front suspension (locked out but still some bob), and 700x32c tyres that are designed for mix of city and trail riding, certainly not slicks.
Basically those that have them, how much faster do you think I will be on a road bike vs the hybrid that i have above ?
Will it be easy to adjust to riding a road bike ? As i've never ridden one yet. Or should I be looking to get more time on the bike I’ll be using. (note size should be ok the bloke i’m borrowing it off is my height and weight roughly)
The race was meant to be on Sunday 10th, but he’s already rescheduled it until the following week 17th (I think so he can practice more)
Alot is riding (no pun intended) on this, and many from work are turning up on the day to watch, no doubt relishing the fact that someone is going to lose and get some stick.
Loser, as well as having the shame of losing also has to do kitchen duties when on duty (cooking and cleaning) at work for the whole station, for a month. Which on a busy fire station is a real bum job I can tell you, once a week is bad enough !!!!!!!!
Do I have a chance in this cycle race i've been forced into?
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