{"id":198796,"date":"2025-06-18T15:41:24","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T15:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=198796"},"modified":"2025-06-18T15:41:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T15:41:24","slug":"the-cyclists-guide-to-dating-is-it-love-or-just-someone-who-can-hold-your-wheel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2025\/06\/18\/the-cyclists-guide-to-dating-is-it-love-or-just-someone-who-can-hold-your-wheel\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cyclist\u2019s Guide to Dating: Is It Love or Just Someone Who Can Hold Your Wheel?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Dating as a cyclist isn\u2019t just a matter of heart\u2014it&#8217;s a matter of cadence. Is your partner really <em>the one<\/em>, or just the one who always remembers to bring a spare CO2 cartridge? Let\u2019s shift gears and examine the signs.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2><strong>The first ride: Modern courtship on two wheels<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Forget flowers\u2014bring chain lube. The first ride together is like a first date and a mechanical check rolled into one. Do they wait at the top of climbs or attack you when you&#8217;re reaching for a gel? Do they compliment your pedal stroke or question your saddle height? These are your red flags and green lights.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Strava or suffering?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>You know it\u2019s serious when they share their <em>private<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.strava.com\/onboarding\">Strava<\/a> rides with you. But be warned: if every ride ends with \u201cI didn\u2019t push, that was just endurance pace,\u201d you may be dating a liar\u2014or worse, a time trialist.<\/p>\n<p>Also, if they name a ride after your date (e.g. \u201cCruising with Cutie \ud83d\ude0d\u201d), proceed with caution. If it\u2019s titled \u201cZone 2 slog ft. traffic &amp; drama,\u201d well\u2026 you\u2019re the drama.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Sock length compatibility<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>No one talks about it, but it&#8217;s crucial. You can weather different political beliefs, but if you\u2019re in Team Long Sock and they wear ankle bib blasphemy, can it ever truly work?<\/p>\n<p>Also: if they refer to anything under 28mm tyres as \u201cdeath wish rubber,\u201d marry them.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Communication breakdown? Check the radios<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Arguments are inevitable. But healthy cycling couples communicate like pros. &#8220;I\u2019m bonking&#8221; isn\u2019t an insult, it\u2019s a cry for help. &#8220;You\u2019re on the wrong gear&#8221; might sound like criticism, but it&#8217;s love. Probably.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The meet-the-crew group ride<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Bringing your date to the Sunday group ride is like introducing them to your parents, only sweatier. Do they hold a steady line? Take equal pulls? Refrain from half-wheeling your mentor Dave? If yes, congratulations. They\u2019ve passed the test. Dave approves.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>When things get serious: Tandem territory<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>You know it\u2019s true love <a href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2020\/03\/23\/we-need-to-talk-about-tandem-racing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">when you ride a tandem<\/a>\u2014and still speak afterward. Bonus points if you switch captain and stoker roles <em>without<\/em> passive-aggressively blaming each other for every missed light and wrong turn.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Love isn\u2019t about watts<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>At the end of the day, you\u2019re not looking for the fastest wheel. You\u2019re looking for someone who brings snacks, shares chamois cream, and doesn\u2019t judge your pre-ride rituals. Someone who waits when your chain drops and knows the true meaning of a coffee stop.<\/p>\n<p>So, is it love? Or just a well-matched FTP? Either way, may your hearts\u2014and your tyres\u2014never go flat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dating as a cyclist isn\u2019t just a matter of heart\u2014it&#8217;s a matter of cadence. Is your partner really the one, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":198798,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[334],"tags":[8443,2668,8575],"global-categories":[3366],"class_list":["post-198796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-socialising-and-culture","tag-cycling-as-a-couple","tag-cycling-fun","tag-dating-as-a-cyclist","global-categories-cycling"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.3 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Cyclist\u2019s Guide to Dating - We Love Cycling Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dating as a cyclist isn\u2019t just a matter of heart\u2014it&#039;s a matter of cadence. Is your partner really the one, or just the one who always remembers to bring a\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2025\/06\/18\/the-cyclists-guide-to-dating-is-it-love-or-just-someone-who-can-hold-your-wheel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Cyclist\u2019s Guide to Dating: Is It Love or Just Someone Who Can Hold Your Wheel?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dating as a cyclist isn\u2019t just a matter of heart\u2014it&#039;s a matter of cadence. 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