Pillar II: Ride Hard, Live Easy

Every community is shaped by the beliefs it lives by. For Cycle Life Cycle, the first was that Cycling Is Bigger Than Racing. The second is Ride Hard, Live Easy—a philosophy that honors effort without worshiping metrics, and ambition without sacrificing the life outside the ride. This.pillar exists to remind us that how we ride should support how we live, not compete with it.

 

Ride Hard, Live Easy

If you think “riding hard” only counts when it hurts, when the numbers look good, or when someone else notices—this is for you.

Cycling has a way of quietly convincing us that effort only matters when it’s measurable. Watts. Speed. Segments. FTP. Somewhere along the way, “ride hard” became shorthand for intensity and suffering. And while that version of riding has its place, it’s not the only way effort shows up on a bike.

For a lot of riders, that narrow definition does more harm than good.

Ride Hard Means Making the Effort

To me, riding hard isn’t about one thing. It’s about making the effort—and that effort looks different depending on the day, the season, and the stage of life you’re in.

Sometimes riding hard is intensity.
Sometimes it’s consistency.
And sometimes it’s simply showing up when motivation is low and the couch is calling louder than the bike.

None of those are lesser versions of effort. They’re just different expressions of it.

The mistake we make is thinking there’s only one acceptable definition. When we do that, we start disqualifying ourselves from our own rides.

The Rider Nobody Applauds (But Everyone Depends On)

This message is especially for the rider who shows up week after week without much fanfare.

You’re not the fastest.
You’re not chasing podiums.
You don’t always have a perfectly structured plan.

But you’re consistent.

You ride before work. Or after. Or when life leaves a small window and you squeeze it in. You don’t post every ride. You don’t talk much about numbers. And quietly, you wonder:

Am I wasting my time if I’m not fast?

It’s an honest question—and one a lot of riders carry without ever saying out loud.

Here’s the truth: if effort is the currency of cycling, you’re already rich. You just haven’t been giving yourself credit.

You’re Already Riding Hard

Choosing to ride on a day when motivation is low? That’s riding hard.
Committing to consistency regardless of distance or intensity? That’s riding hard.
Showing up again, even when progress feels slow or invisible? That’s riding hard.

You don’t need suffering to legitimize your ride. You don’t need a screenshot to validate your effort. You don’t need to prove anything to anyone.

If riding hard means making the effort—and it does—then a lot of people are already doing it far better than they think.

A Different Season Isn’t a Step Back

I’m in a season of life where my priorities have shifted.

There was a time when I trained with specific metrics in mind. I cared deeply about numbers and structured progress. That path was valuable. It taught me discipline, awareness, and respect for the process.

But today? I’ve realized that nobody cares about my FTP. Including me.

I still want to be fit. I still want to improve. I want the stretch the boundaries of what I think I’m capable of,  I just don’t want high-intensity intervals to be the thing that defines whether a ride was “good” or not. And that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped taking cycling seriously—it means I’ve chosen a different definition of what serious looks like.

Performance-focused riding is valid. It always will be.
It’s just not the default setting for everyone, forever.

Live Easy Is What Makes Riding Sustainable

The second half of this philosophy matters just as much.

Live easy is about balance.

It’s allowing yourself to enjoy the parts of life that exist off the bike—without guilt. It’s understanding that cycling should support your life, not compete with it.

For me, that looks like working in the yard. Sharing a good meal. Hiking, traveling, enjoying a glass of wine with my wife. Letting life feel full instead of scheduled down to the minute.

Living easy doesn’t mean caring less about riding. It means caring enough to make it sustainable.

You don’t live to ride.
You ride to live.

This Is What Not a Racer Is About

At its core, this is the philosophy behind Not a Racer.

It’s not anti-performance.
It’s not anti-ambition.
It’s pro-effort, pro-consistency, and pro-choosing a definition of success that actually fits your life.

You don’t need to apologize for how you ride. You don’t need to explain your goals. And you don’t need to measure your worth in miles, minutes, or watts.

Ride Hard. Live Easy.

If there’s a lesson here, it’s a simple one.

Notice the effort you’re already making.
Give it the credit it deserves.
And let “riding hard” mean something that works for you—not something you’re constantly chasing.

Ride with intention.
Live with balance.
And remember: you’re probably doing better than you think.