The Old Guy Bicycle Blog

By Bruce | The Old Guy Bicycle Blog Cycling long distances often feels like a solitary pursuit — just you, your bike, and the miles ahead. But if you ride the same routes often enough, something surprising happens. You begin to notice the constants — a dog that runs to the fence to greet you, a man sitting on his porch with his dogs, a student with a bubble machine playing with her pet. You don’t know these people or animals. Not really. You don’t know their names or stories. But you miss them when they’re gone. Why I Ride Familiar Routes I’m the kind of cyclist who tends to ride the same roads almost every day. Sure, I mix it up depending on distance or wind direction, but the bones of the route remain the same. There's a reason for that. When I’m on a long tour or a tough event, and I’m five miles from the finish, I like to picture where I’d be if I were five miles from home. It grounds me. It’s familiar. And that mental trick helps me push through, even when I’m exhausted. But...