It struck me the other day that we as cyclists all gather metaphorical baggage as we go through our athletic career. No I’m not talking saddlebags or panniers but clothing, equipment, and pre-conceived ideas.
After all the Velominati ‘keepers of the cog’ https://www.velominati.com state in rule 6 ‘Free your mind and your legs will follow - Your mind is your worst enemy. Do all your thinking before you start riding your bike. Once the pedals start to turn, wrap yourself in the sensations of the ride – the smell of the air, the sound of the tyres, the feeling of flight as the bicycle rolls over the road’.
Rule 5 states …..Well never mind all that, but you should!
We all start baggage free, some have ‘hand luggage’ but they are soon relieved of that by the more experienced ‘baggage handlers’ or influencers as we call them.
Let’s start with clothing.
When younger we used our bikes simply as transport and didn’t care what we looked like the only necessity was something to keep you warm and dry, helmets and lights were an option and the bike was fixed when it stopped working or had a puncture and even then it often limped on a while. Now take a look at yourself! Lycra, helmets, fancy shoes etc. I’m even aware of some groups of riders and clubs that look desperate bunch of outlaws in a hotchpotch of clothing mainly black doing their best to blend with the shadows.
Next is equipment.
I’ll be first to admit that some stuff or baggage does make you go a little quicker, I remember in the first racing season when tri bars were used in domestic time trials all the competition records fell but just by having something doesn’t always make it so and said accessory needs to be applied properly otherwise you’re just carrying around more dead weight.
Equipment baggage is something visited on us by our peers and the media for example my first real racing bike had just 5 sprockets at the rear, this has grown recently to 12. Question is, does it make you better or are you simply carrying more baggage?
Stuart Dangerfield one of our top domestic time trial champions a few years ago used just 3 sprockets maintaining that was all he needed in a TT so why carry more. Graeme Obree rode a fixed gear winning almost every event and setting an hour and course records along the way, some still stand today.
Others seem to get lost outside their front door without a GPS or have a melt down if a ride isn’t recorded so they can upload to Strava. The simple joy of just cycling seems lost somehow.
A local cycling legend that clocks some serious mileage puts it thus; ‘All the gear and no idea’ He’s right and is often seen out just enjoying a ride. No GPS often just a simple old school cycling computer – trust me, he knows all the lanes and most go uphill …a lot! Try and stay with him though and you’re in for a serious pasting.
Last but my no means least is pre-conceived ideas. Things like ‘the roads are dangerous and full of potholes’ Some riders I haven’t seen for a while because they only ride indoors. Of course its complete nonsense, the roads are poor in places you just need to pay attention and our fellow road users are generally OK – I started riding seriously back in the 70’s and encountered the odd nut job even then. Yes, the roads were a little quieter but we had no protective equipment and learned to ride defensively. Frankly if you don’t cycle on the road what is the point? Might as well sit on the sofa and play a video game instead.
So baggage - Take a good hard look at yourself and ask should I be charged excess luggage?