Catching Up on Recent Reader Polls

By John Marsh, Editor & Publisher

As is nearly always the case, the results of a few of our recent Questions of the Week surprised in some instances and confirmed my beliefs in others. Either way, I am always interested to see the responses – and see how my own opinions, or actions, mesh with those of my fellow roadies.

Last week’s Question, How Much Time Do You Spend Preparing for a Ride? is the perfect example. I know precisely how long it takes me to get ready for a ride. And as slow as I move in the morning, there’s probably a multiplier in effect for early morning rides.

For most rides, though, I fell into the sweet spot – joining the 40% of you who typically take from 10 to 20 minutes to prepare for a ride. I’d be much closer to the 20!

Next came the 27% of you who take less than 10 minutes. To me, that’s impressive – and kind of makes me wonder if you haven’t already taken care of some of the things others wait till just before a ride to do.

Another 22% of you take 20 to 30 minutes to prepare. This group, and the final group – the 11% who take 30 minutes or more – surely are knocking out more things before leaving than the other groups (mixing their bottles, checking and airing tires, wiping down the bike, etc. Right?

Road Cycling is a Solitary Passion

The Question before this one, How Often Do You Ride Alone, With Others? didn’t surprise me quite as much. 700 of you weighed in on this question and confirmed what I know about most roadies – yes, we love to ride with others, but ours is very often a solitary passion. If you’re anything like me, it can often be quite difficult to sync up schedules with even just one other riding buddy, let alone more. So we ride when can, mostly alone.

In fact, 50% of us ride alone more than 75% of the time (12% said you always ride alone).

Another 15% said you ride alone half to 75% of the time, and an equal percentage said your rides are a 50-50 mix of alone and with others.

The breakdown for the remaining 19% goes like this: 7% of you ride with others half to 75% of the time; 10% ride with others more than 3/4 of the time; and only 2% of you always ride with someone else.

That last number really hits home just how much of a solitary pursuit road riding is.

Finally, We Roadies Love Our Coffee!

This question, Do You Drink Coffee Every Day? surprised me no so much for the results but rather for the fact that 750 readers responded to it – more than responded to either of the other two Questions of the Week discussed today. I guess we love our Java, no!

Here’s how much we love it: Just a tick under 70% of us drink the stuff every single day, while only 17% say they never touch it.

Here’s how the majority breaks down: 3+ cups a day – 13%; 2-3 cups a day – 29%; 1-2 cups a day – 27%.

Another 9% said you drink it seldom or almost never, and 2% (interesting!) said you “actually drink coffee only before riding. I do not drink coffee but take caffeine to improve riding performance.”