Distracted drivers
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Not sure where you are at but aging bodies and genetics are big players here.
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The fact that I’m 40+ yo and I don’t have a time machine to go back in time and tell myself, “go ride your god damn bike”. Any other problem is relatively easy to solve.
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Nope its true whether you like it or not…
“President Donald Trump’s transportation department has been pulling back grants already announced for recreational trails and bicycle lanes, telling local officials their projects fail to promote road capacity or are “hostile to motor vehicles.””
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The biggest problem is that clubs are dying, and there is less and less racing available.
I’m the president of a cycling club, and over the last decade, we’ve lost 1/3 of our members (which is consistent across the state), two other clubs have essentially stopped operating, and the races that we host are being run by fewer and fewer over-worked volunteers.
We, as a sport, are not doing a good job of providing pathways for juniors to a) get into the sport, and b) continue participating in the sport regularly. We therefore don’t have access to the parents of those juniors who SHOULD be our most useful volunteers.
And the biggest problem is that people just seem to be ok with it.
NICA is HUGE around here. But like most sports the drop off from high school to post collegiate / club is equally as huge.
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Cycling infrastructure is alive and well in Va. More bike trails are being made in state and counties. No tearing down here.
Trails or lanes? There’s a big difference between building more MTB trails and dismantling road cycling infrastructure.
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The idea that it is sunny for you implies it can’t be raining elsewhere, which is short-sighted by definition. Great for you but the reality elsewhere may be very different.
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This topic is temporarily closed for at least 96 hours due to a large number of community flags.
A big problem I see in much of the cycling population these days is the lack of presence in the activity of pedaling a bicycle in your current surroundings.
So many of us have become distracted and obsessed with gear, numbers, and the assumed cycling culture that we hardly take in the experience of what we’re doing in the moment.
For one ride, ignore your kit, and gear. Don’t look at average or max power or speed numbers. Try not to let grams of carbohydrates be on the top of mind, and instead, write down something about the experience you had that was unique or impactful for you.
I love the “sport” of cycling, but it tends to take on a persona that doesn’t allow for much wiggle room, and I find myself distracted by it quite often. I like to keep a basket bike handy to get out on rides where I’m almost forced to have a different take on cycling, and it does push me to think about the experience differently.
Make the sport your own, and enjoy the ride. Bicycles, shorts, shoes, and carbs are there to take you on a journey, not the other way around..
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Wait….this is supposed to be fun? 
I try to stop and take pics a few times on long rides. I still stress too much about power/speed etc. but at least it helps keep me grounded as to why I enjoy riding in the first place. 
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In the UK the shitty booking system, low capacity, and pathetic cupboards on long distance trains. Makes you feel like a second class citizen if trying to take the bike long distance by train. No wonder so many are put off doing this. You compare that to many trains in Europe where you can get 20-30 bikes in a carriage or other trains where four bikes can be carried in every single carriage
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Those Europeans complaining about public transport… At least you have one! 
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Absolutely!
I considered switching sports because of that, for example running is safer, one can do it everywhere, less material and you don‘t have to bring a bicycle to the holidays.
On the other side this bike tours are priceless and incredibly beautiful.
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Both a problem and gift depending on the perspective… N + 1 
It’s even worse when the weather is semi ok. That you probably bear it. It’s relatively quiet traffic wise. But the lure of efficiency rather than having to set up everything etc and potential rain. Just make it much much easier.
You ever just want to ride inside even if it’s all good in life weather and safety?
Not me. I only ride the trainer when riding outside is impractical and then only to maintain an modicum of fitness in support of riding outside. I started a plan two weeks ago in anticipation of winter WX making riding outdoors unlikely, but due to unusually nice wx I’ve only done two of the 8 planned workouts doing unstructured outdoor riding instead. The plan seems relatively unfazed, just incrementally decreasing my Predicted FTP by a Watt or two after each workout replace by an unstructured outdoor ride.
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We also have pavements, so if you need to walk 3 miles into town and back etc you can. No bother 
None of this being lazy and jumping in a car for such short trips.
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