The Slow Way to Get Fast: Why Cyclists Who Wait Win

The Climb (#147)

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about patience. Or rather, the complete lack of it that seems to run through everything we do.

Maybe it’s living in London, but everywhere I look, people are in a rush. Cyclists can’t wait 30 seconds at a red light. Pedestrians step into traffic before the green man shows. Drivers lean on their horns if you hesitate half a second when the light turns green. It’s like everyone’s chasing a few seconds they’ll never get back.

And honestly, it’s not just out on the streets. It’s baked into everything we do now. You can order something on Amazon and get it the same day. You can stream any film instantly instead of waiting months for it to come out on DVD like we used to. We’ve all been conditioned to expect things now.

Even when it comes to our health.

You’ve seen the ads: “Drop a stone in a week,” “Detox in 3 days,” “Get shredded in 6 weeks.” It’s all designed to feed that need for instant gratification. And sure, maybe it works short-term. You sweat it out, drop a few pounds, and feel great for a minute. But then the weight creeps back. Because the methods that promise speed rarely offer sustainability.

And right now, the biggest example of that impatience in the health world is GLP-1 drugs, Mounjaro, Ozempic, Wegovy, take your pick. They’re marketed like miracle fixes for years of weight struggles. I’ve seen it firsthand in the clinic: people desperate for change, willing to try anything that promises a shortcut.

But the truth is, it’s not a shortcut; it’s a pause button. And when you come off it, unless you’ve actually addressed your habits, environment, and mindset, everything rewinds. That’s the side of the story no one’s really talking about.

Meanwhile, the people who do get results, the ones who look healthy, strong, consistent, aren’t doing anything flashy. They’re just doing the same small, often boring things, day after day. Waking up early to train. Saying no to the cake in the office. Getting enough sleep. Showing up. Every. Single. Day.

It’s not because they’re superhuman. It’s because they’ve built patience into their routine. They’ve accepted that progress takes time, months, years, sometimes decades. And they’ve learned to enjoy the process.

And nowhere is that truer than in cycling.

Think about Zone 2 training, the rides that feel too easy to be doing anything. You’re pedalling, your legs feel fine, your ego’s whispering, “Go harder, this isn’t doing much.” But that slow, steady effort is exactly what builds your aerobic base.

It’s what lets you ride stronger, longer, and recover faster.

The catch? You don’t see it right away. It takes patience, weeks, sometimes months, before you notice your heart rate dropping at the same power or your endurance holding up deep into a ride. But when it happens, it’s magic. That’s the reward for trusting the process instead of chasing instant results.

You know what’s funny?

Studies on lottery winners show that most of them end up feeling less fulfilled after their win. They thought money would solve everything. But when something comes easily, you don’t value it the same way. The effort is what gives meaning to the result.

So here’s a challenge for this week.

Next time you’re at a pedestrian crossing, even if there’s no traffic, press the button and wait for the green man. Just stand there. Notice how your body wants to move, how impatient you get. That’s the same impulse that makes us rush progress in every other area of life.

If you can slow down for 30 seconds at a crossing, you can slow down long enough to let real progress happen in your health, your training, and everything else that actually matters.

Because how you do one thing really is how you do everything.

And patience, that boring, unsexy trait no one wants to talk about, is the difference between a quick fix and a lasting change.

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