Bicycling for the rest of us: Not so fast!

By Bob Allen

If riding a bicycle can be considered a revolutionary act in a car crazed society, riding a bicycle slowly may be the ultimate act of defiance against our obsession with all that is bigger, stronger, richer, more powerful and faster.

This year I set a new personal best at the annual Lake Pepin 3-Speed Tour. In my fourth try, I finished the first day’s ride later than ever! Our band of stragglers rolled into Wabasha, Minnesota, a full nine hours after we set out from Red Wing, just 45 miles up the river.

Despite our laggardly 5 mph average speed down the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi, we weren’t the last to arrive. We’ll just have to try harder next year.
Unlike most organized rides where the imperative is to arrive sooner than later, nobody wants to be the first to arrive anywhere on the 3-Speed Tour. This deliberately different event is to fast riding what the slow food movement is to gobbling a Big Mac.

By slowing down, believers in both movements get a chance to better appreciate what we are doing, whether it’s relishing pastoral scenery or contemplating pleasures on a plate.

In the case of the 3-Speed Tour, there is a good bit of both. Few riders miss any excuse to stop and eat or drink or simply take in a nice view.

Slow-food proponents occasionally face criticism for being elitist. Locally grown organic ingredients can cost more, presenting a challenge for people on tight budgets. This is arguable. But the same cannot be said of the slow ride movement (if there isn’t such a movement yet, I’m starting one here). Saying “not so fast” is a good way to make bicycling not so exclusive.

The 3-Speed Tour (www.3speedtour.com) involves some of the most accomplished riders I’ve ever ridden with. But right along with them were people who had never been on any kind of organized ride or gone as far as 45 miles in a day. Some rode expensive collectable vintage machines; others proudly pedaled $25 garage sale finds. The fact that most of the newcomers finished well ahead of the veterans showed that nobody was out to embarrass anybody or prove anything.

Unfortunately, examples of experienced bicyclists reaching out and actively welcoming newcomers are few and far between.

Riders who have invested thousands of dollars in equipment and countless hours developing the fitness required to go fast tend to see mere mortals pedaling along as little more than obstacles to be gotten around as quickly as possible. In this, “serious” cyclists show little more patience with slower riders than the typical motorist.

If riding fast is your thing, that’s great. But fast riding is just one expression of bicycling. And while speed dominates cycling culture and marketing efforts, it truly is overrated.

Some would even argue that it isn’t even particularly healthy in the long run. Mark Sisson, former marathoner and triathlete extraordinaire, abandoned the hyper endurance lifestyle when he noticed that death or debilitation was stalking an alarming number top endurance athletes he knew.

Sisson theorizes that pushing the body hard for extended periods is counter the human being’s “evolutionary blueprint”.

“Humans aren’t designed to work at extended periods at 80-90 percent efforts. Our evolutionary blueprint… set us up as great slow-movers and occasional fast sprinters,” Sisson writes in a provocative piece recently published in the Rivendell Reader.

Continually pushing the endurance threshold actually can age a body faster than never getting off the couch, Sisson argues. Punctuating a sensibly-paced ride or walk with brief intervals of intensity, a nice hill will do, is part of Sisson’s prescription for health.

It’s important to note that Sisson isn’t a doctor or scientist. He’s just a guy who has thought about and researched the matter and has developed a plausible theory, along with a company eager to sell you nutritional supplements. So, take it all with a grain of sea salt. You can read more about his ideas at his website: www.primalnutrition.com.

It’s equally important to note that nobody who questions the health costs of constantly pushing endurance limits is suggesting complete inactivity as a substitute. Human beings are meant to move around. When we don’t, we suffer. It’s just a question of how we move.

There was a time when I had a lot of fun trying to go fast on a bicycle. I won some races. Now I have fun not worrying about going fast. I won’t win any more races. But I can get to and from work and all over town. I can take long rides into the country when I have the time.

While very few riders win races, almost everybody can ride in a way that will get them around town and help them feel better. A useful start is allowing yourself to feel good just for getting out there and riding.

Of course, riding slowly doesn’t necessarily mean pedaling slowly. It’s actually easier to ride at any speed if you develop a good spinning cadence, using lower gears to keep the legs moving briskly even at low speeds. Spinning lower gears is easier on the knees and generally more efficient.

And sometimes, especially when covering longer distances, it’s actually easier to work up a good, purposeful rhythm and push yourself than it is to slog along meekly getting battered by a headwind. Pace and rhythm develop with practice. As you ride more, even if you don’t ride fast, riding will become naturally easier and you can extend your range.

Going easy might be tough for a Type A go-getter. And the very idea runs against a strong cultural tide. But, being willing to give yourself more time is a useful starting point if you are trying to get out of the automotive habit.

While there are exceptions, especially in urban settings with difficult parking, it typically takes a bit more time to get somewhere on a bicycle than it does in a car.

The difference on my short commute to work is a matter of five to 10 minutes, depending on how I hit the stoplights and what the weather might be doing.

I can knock myself out and shave a few minutes off the bicycle ride, or I can dawdle comfortably and listen to the birds sing at the cost of a few more minutes.

The key is, once I’ve allowed myself five more minutes to ride to work instead of drive, adding a few more minutes to enjoy a comfortable pace isn’t a big deal. Of course, if I can cruise comfortably instead of constantly pushing up against my pain threshold, I find I’m more likely to ride and less likely to use the car -- and that is a big deal.

Bob Allen is a commuting and recreational bicycle rider from Middleton.