Are you a serious cyclist? I mean seriously devoted? Dedicated? Absorbed? Perhaps obsessed? You don’t have to be a licensed Category 1 racer. You don’t need to have conquered Alpe d’Huez. You don’t even need to own a 15-pound exotic carbon fiber road bike. Seriousness isn’t measured in ability or accomplishments. Seriousness is a very clear frame of mind that pushes the body to do what you never thought possible. Seriousness is about testing yourself. Going outside the comfort zone in the face of potential failure. Stretching for your goals, not those of anyone else.

Between now and the end of 2012, I’m jotting down characteristics of riders I’ve met whom I would categorize as serious cyclists. Some would have remained strangers to me were it not for bikes and paths that crossed. Some are buddies I ride with in San Diego. Some are cyclists from around the world with an “@” before their name or “handle.” What, in your opinion, makes a serious cyclist? Here’s my first 10 random things:

1. You track your mileage (religiously)

2. You know what 7% gradient feels like without looking at your Garmin

3. You’ve bought Muscle Milk

4. You have “The Stick”

5. You have–or badly want–a power meter

6. Your cycling shoes cost more than your best pair of dress shoes

7. Your bibs/shorts cost more than your favorite pair of jeans

8. You periodically lean forward in your car seat while driving because it “just feels right”

9. You’d like to know “Rudy” and more about his “Project”

10. You take vacation time in July because, well, because you know why

  1. bikecrave posted this