well, here’s what i’m getting at. when i press people on this issue, it’s remarkable what a high price they put on their riding time. they usually say, “i wouldn’t do that deal. there’s no price.” then i say, “how about a hundred thousand dollars?” they reply, “well, yeah, in that case, perhaps.” to which i reply, “okay then, it’s more than a thousand dollars, and less than a hundred thousand.”
two months, that’s usually worth about $20,000 on average (i’ve asked a lot of people this question). it seems like a lot of money. but then staying off the bike for two critical months is a very big sacrifice.
then you take the hours on the bike, say 30 hours a month, 60 hours total, divide it up, that’s more than $300/hr. “actually,” you might say, “i’d do that deal for $5000.” okay, then it’s $80/hr. either way, the price a person puts on his bike riding hours is very expensive, and it’s always a HELLUVA lot more than the price someone puts on what he’s willing to pay, per hour, to have himself fit properly on his bike.
personally, i put a VERY high premium on what my bike riding time is worth to me. that’s why i’m willing to spend what it takes to have the right equipment under me, and by “right equipment” i’m almost NEVER talking about performance-based stuff, but comfort-based stuff. power and fitness equal, performance is measured by how much time you’ll spend in a good aero position, and the right saddle, right cycling shorts, right aero bars, is key to that for me.
also key to that would be the position i’m riding in. before it was my business, i spent an AWFUL lot of time working on my position because it was so key to my misery index while on the bike.
i go thru this exercise with people to get them to remember why it is this is of interest to them. if i was to ask them about the price they put on a good fit 50 miles into a 70-mile ride on their tri bikes, the price is very high. when i ask them that question off the bike, as they’re typing on their computers, all of a sudden the price goes down a bunch.