Cycling Comparisons You Have Used to Indicate Submaximal Effort

[TommyGun]

Up here in Boston, the Boston Marathon drives me nuts. I have come to terms with it, I pretend it does not exist although all the roads are closed, traffic is a nightmare, and the sight of thousands of undernourished people hobbling around uncomfortably the day after causes my blood to boil.

So I think I figured something out regarding your use cycling as an example of submaximal effort. You often state that if you can get a cyclist under the bar and get him/her stronger, then that same person would be a much more competitive cyclist because each pedal revolution is even less effort compared to his maximal effort. Sometimes you have taken it further - one of my favorite Rip stories is when you mention if you could kidnap a cyclist and keep him/her in your gym for two months and then put him back on the bike to see what happens to his race times.

Is your disdain for cycling in anyway related to this thing I stumbled upon, the Hotter’n Hell Hundred which appears to have hundreds perhaps thousands of cyclists descend upon Wichita Falls every year? Are you amused by the spectacle or does it drive you nuts? If you have come to a peaceful acceptance of this event taking over WF, what advice do you have for me when the Boston Marathon rolls around every year?

[Mark Rippetoe]

The Hotter 'n Hell is the same thing as Boston, with hardware. 15,000 people, all of them smug, skinny, and expert. Very tiresome. And they ride right in front of my house. I always sleep in that day.

[Travis Reid]

Great thread guys - really needed a good laugh. 'Smug, skinny and expert'. Such a good call.

Unfortunately down here in Melbourne we our own versions of both 'Boston' and a 'Hotter n Hell'. The Melbourne Marathon 'festival' had around 34,000 participants over its various course lengths last year, whilst the 'Around the Bay in a Day' ride attracted some 17,000 riders, each with their own hardware!