Great article, definitely resonates. I'm ashamed to admit that I drank the Strava koolaid a few years ago (sure sign of a mini-midlife crisis, with 50 looming), and started riding faster than I ever had before. Chasing times, pushing hard, and flying into tricky DH sections when I was already beat tired from hustling on the climbs. Basically racing solo, after 30 years of patiently explaining why I never raced. It was fun, super dumb, and so dangerous. Although I managed to avoid serious injury that season, I scared myself enough to take a step back. Sold the 160/160 and bought my first hardtail since 1998, which has been a ton of fun even though I've slowed way down, and kept Strava for the satisfaction of seeing the kilometers and vertical meters piling up.
May 21, 2022, 10:13 a.m. - Jeremy Hiebert
Great article, definitely resonates. I'm ashamed to admit that I drank the Strava koolaid a few years ago (sure sign of a mini-midlife crisis, with 50 looming), and started riding faster than I ever had before. Chasing times, pushing hard, and flying into tricky DH sections when I was already beat tired from hustling on the climbs. Basically racing solo, after 30 years of patiently explaining why I never raced. It was fun, super dumb, and so dangerous. Although I managed to avoid serious injury that season, I scared myself enough to take a step back. Sold the 160/160 and bought my first hardtail since 1998, which has been a ton of fun even though I've slowed way down, and kept Strava for the satisfaction of seeing the kilometers and vertical meters piling up.