Monday 29 April 2002

Cycling Vocabulary

Anon Cyclist

For those new and old to cycling, you will hear cyclists say various things before, during and especially after races. As what they say can only rarely be taken literally, here are some examples of what they really mean:

What they say:
“I have not ridden my bike all week.”

What they mean:
“I have trained at least 600km (A grade) / 400km (B grade) / 300km (C grade) / 200km (D grade) / 100km (E grade) / 50km (F grade) this week.”

What they say:
“You rode well today.”

What they mean:
“I beat you today!”

What they say:
“You have been riding well lately.”

What they mean:
“I have beaten you in all the recent races!”

What they say:
“You look like a promising rider.”

What they mean:
“I am always going to beat you!”

or alternatively:
“Very soon you will be moving up a grade and we won’t need to race you any more.”

What they say:
“I’m feeling tired.”

What they mean:
“I’m about to launch an attack and drop you.”

What they say:
“Come through!”

What they mean:
“I want a rest and then when you’re tired, I’m going to attack.”

What they say:
“I’m not feeling well today.”

What they mean:
“I intend winning today.”

What they say:
“Let’s work together.”

What they mean:
“I feel tired and need a tow.”

or alternatively
“I want a free tow to close the gap so I can jump across by myself and leave you behind.”

What they say:
“I’ll just sit on the back and not race.”

What they mean:
“I intend just sitting in and waiting to win the sprint.”

You will undoubtedly have other examples which could be added to this list and the stories told are the same in all grades. Hopefully this new found knowledge will increase your enjoyment of cycling and ability to race.

Anon Cyclist

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