Here is an urgent question: Are we cyclists; or aren\’t we? Am I, myself, a cyclist?

If being a cyclist has to mean a $5K bicycle gracing the home, count me out. I don\’t have that kind of money to spend on a bicycle; or on anything else.

If being a cyclist means reading about cycling; planning a week\’s rides every Sunday; and feeling \”off\” when you miss a day of riding, I\’m in!

It\’s interesting to read The Cyclist\’s Training Bible, even I can\’t really train that way. The book seems to be aimed primarily at riders training for racing; but it does discuss structured training, which is important for any cyclist who wants to improve. For me, that means increasing my cruising pace.

To do that, I began doing \”force intervals\” once a week; far in advance of the upcoming Tour de Cure. I\’ve described those exercises before: I shift into harder and harder gears until my cadence (rpm) is slowed to about 50. Then I work to jam it up to 70 rpm.

I began with 10-second intervals, and at first it took most of those 10 seconds to reach 70 rpm! Over time, I lengthened the intervals until I was at 60 seconds or more.

Oops! I\’m drifting off the subject here. Let\’s get back to the urgent question.

You don\’t train for bicycle racing; and you don\’t do interval workouts? That\’s OK. Do you happen to be the \”from point A to point B\” type of rider? I\’d say don\’t let that get to you. You still ride a bicycle, right? That\’s the important thing. It\’s what makes you a cyclist!