What hobbies did you pick up during the pandemic and have you been able to keep them up?
I had been wanting to learn how to play the guitar for years, but laziness, i guess, kept me from it. I picked it up with moderate seriousness and am very greatful i did. I wish i would've started sooner.
I started taking biking more seriously around the time Covid started. I built my fitness up over the course of the last few years to the point where I can ride almost anywhere in my city if I have the time and the weather cooperates. Last week I did my favorite 40 mile ride for the 5th or 6th time in recent history and I now average around 80-100 miles a week. My mood is better and I physically feel much stronger.
The best part: all this fitness stuff is a side benefit because I originally started riding for the purposes of sunshine and exploring and just happened to stumble into better health!
Same! It eventually led to racing, which has opened up a fun new world I didn't know existed.
Before covid I remember thinking averaging 20mph on my 10 mile commute was impossible, i was struggling to hit 19. A couple weeks ago I averaged over 21mph for 100 miles.
I live near the mountains and have made it my goal to ride up a proper mountain. I am still early in that goal; still calibrating to where I think I am and where my limits are. I usually ride alone and get lost in the experience on a nice long path or trail. After the ride, stats, though imperfect, help me see a sense of progress and I don't often feel a desire to compete with others, though I did go on a group ride with some roadies once through one of our most iconic regional landmarks and they pushed me so hard I haven't ridden that much high intensity cardio and leg melting endurance in any ride since then. I absolutely want to do it again.
20mph sounds crazy fast for an average speed. I'm crawling up hills at 6-7 mph and the fastest I've ever gone on the downhill was 46mph, yikes! I think I average 12-15. You're killing it! What's the most enjoyable race course you've been on?
Yea I'm less into the competitive aspect more into the community. People who race just really love riding their bikes. I like office park crits more than anything just because it has a grassroots feel, and you're always racing the same people so it's really just an excuse to get together. I'll average 14-16 on commutes nowdays because I'm not on an aggressive bike and don't have my aero kit on and stuff, so don't feel like you're doing bad. I don't like going over like 35, it's scary... 45 is pretty insane