Why road cycling is not for me...for now

During my earlier days of really diving into the cycling industry, I faced the conundrums that everyone else faces; what type of bike should I get? And it was in that period, when I couldn't help but notice the popularity of road bikes all around me.

Maybe it's because I live in an urban environment and the road networks forces that to take place.

Maybe it's because of the amount of media attention and TV coverage professional road races gets compared to other cycling races (for example, the prestige of Tour de France vs other cycle races) which influences society to get involved.

Maybe it's because of the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, aka Frequency Illusion or Bias, aka "I'm seeing [that thing] everywhere now".

Whatever the reason, I quickly knew that it's not for me.

Why do I want to cycle in the first place?

The first thing everyone will always ask you when it comes to buying a bike is "what will you use it for?". For me, at least at this stage in my life, I knew that I will be using a bike for a combination of on-road and off-road, with the latter not being too technical that is more for mountain biking.

You see, the crucial aspect of cycling for me is to be amongst nature, which almost automatically rules out road cycling.

Some people can argue that you could cycle on the road and then reach a part of nature that way on foot or when relaxing. Others will argue that there are plenty of paths that allow you to cycle on road and be surrounded by nature.

But I knew that's not for me, because I knew that I wanted to be cycling INSIDE of nature.

I want the freedom that I crave and need

I remember watching one cyclist, Mary Spender, on YouTube saying that she prefers road cycling because it gives her the ultimate freedom. I would argue that the advantage of a gravel or mountain bike is that you can go on-road AND off-road, which equates to MORE freedom.

However, in the same video (below), there is an argument to be made that it's more meditative to be on road because it's less technical and it doesn't require as much thinking as biking on a rough terrain. That I can totally understand and would agree with that, so perhaps you get to absorb nature more that way.

Not fully trusting drivers with cyclists

It's no surprise that many drivers have a hate-hate relationship with cyclists. Granted, there will be time that cyclists are being unreasonable. But more often than not, it's the driver's lack of patience and road rage that tend to cause dangerous incidents against cyclists.

And let's face it; they're on a killing machine. Cyclists are not.

One of the big issue I feel is the cliche statement of drivers shouting out "We pay road taxes", even though it is incredibly misleading as it has nothing to do with being allowed to use the road. In the UK, road tax is where you are taxed based on the carbon emission of your car. So there are cars that don't have to pay road tax because they don't emit any carbon e.g. electric cars and Smart cars

Does that mean they're not allowed on the road? It seems that "this is different" for drivers. The argument that roads are not for cyclists still rages on.

I will continue to cycle on road because I have the right. Like all cyclists should do, I have a responsibility to make sure that I respect other road users, regardless of who they are.

But it's hard to win an argument when a driver is willing to use a metal killing machine to threaten you.

Maybe I'm biased but I would argue that gravel or mountain bikes gives you more freedom as you have more options.

But here's the thing, everyone has their personal feelings and opinions on what works best for them. That's all that matters. You pick the bike that suits YOU.

I have my own reasons on why I'm very happy with my choice of owning a gravel bike, and I definitely see myself getting a mountain bike in the future.

But maybe one day I will get into road cycling. Or at the very least, give it a go. Because I do love a bit of speed and the ability to get far at a faster pace.

So I should give it a go...Shouldn't I?