I love this handy comparison chat from Bicycling Magazine: you versus the peloton.
Of course the speeds astound me (look at their average uphill speed! ) as do the distances, hours on the bike, and all that.
But I’m also amazed at how how they sleep! Since sleep is my super power that might be the only measure which I could compare with a Tour rider.
When they’re riding fast on the flats, they make it look so effortless, no matter how fast they’re going. I appreciate the occasional glimpse of the back of the pack where you can see some grimacing as they struggle to stay with the other riders.
I like the metrics the comparison charts use even though I’m a world away from their numbers. Do I find the comparison demoralizing? Not really. Between them and me, there’s age and sex and children and academic and career achievement. What I like is that the comparison measures are mostly things that I track and care about and they remind me that even though I’d be well off the back of that group and I’d never make it up those mountains, that there’s a place for me in cycling world. Whippersnappers, wait up!
