When talking about #bicycles, don't conflate fitness riding with competitive sport.
Fitness riding is about expending the maximum amount of energy you can, for a variety of reasons, including: athletic performance, general health maintnence, or cardiovascular health.
Racing is about going as far/fast as you can, meaning you want to expend a minimum of effort per unit of time/distance.
It's obvious these are two diametrically opposed goals.
I also want to say that America is not homogeneous, and I personally come from the East Coast urban bicycle culture of the 1980s and 1990s.
We were the hipsters and bicycle messengers. We carried shoulder bags and nothing that wouldn't fit in them (no laptops and cellular phones to worry about), because in a city, you can't leave anything with a bicycle that isn't a lock.
Our bikes were strippers and beaters: fixie track bikes or mountain bikes fitted with city tires to cope with potholes.
Now that I'm older, and not living in a major city any longer where bicycle theft is so common, I still ride a utility bicycle, but I have it fitted with panniers and baskets to carry my cargo, because I need to carry more than what fits in a messenger bag.
My EDC #bicycle is a Rad Power Bikes RadMission single-speed #ebike, and my fitness bike is a 1991 Trek 820 mountain bike stripped of its derailleurs and fitted with city tires.
Going far and fast is never a concern of mine.
Since getting the ebike, my old Trek is used only for fitness rides, during which I have approximately one hour 4-5 nights per week to make a circuit of my neighborhood burning as many calories as I can.
How fast or how far I am going is not as relevant as my average power output. I don't need a racing bicycle, because I'm not competing with anyone but my waistline and my heartrate.
I carry no luggage or locks on my fitness bike, because I don't make stops during fitness rides, and I never go far from home, because I don't have time for that. I have maybe 60-75 minutes I can carve out 4-5 nights each week, for a regular fitness routine.
My circuit of my neighborhood never takes me more than about 2 Km from my home. I don't even carry a patch kit. Just me, my bicycle, a water bottle, a flashlight, my house key, my iPhone, my ID, my whistle, and an OC spray canister.
Gemma ⭐️🔰🇺🇸 🇵🇭 🎐