Road Cycling - Excited Feeling

Without fail, 1-2 hours before each of my lunch time rides I get a twinge of excitement in my tummy. As I get closer to my lunch break, the feeling gets stronger. Am I some sort of freak? Does anyone else get really excited before each ride? I haven't felt like this since I quit playing basketball and I never felt like this about tennis.

I just wonder if I am the only one who gets like this.

Originally posted by cyclochica
Without fail, 1-2 hours before each of my lunch time rides I get a twinge of excitement in my tummy. As I get closer to my lunch break, the feeling gets stronger. Am I some sort of freak? Does anyone else get really excited before each ride? I haven't felt like this since I quit playing basketball and I never felt like this about tennis.

I just wonder if I am the only one who gets like this. Works for me.Something different about bikes.I have moved on from lots of other stuff,over the past 20 years.Bikes and a good ride are still #1.Duno why. Some special magic.

You are not alone in this feeling. Personally, I think the excitement comes from the realization of how good you will feel and that you will not be disappointed. There's the bike, there's the road, and there's you. Other sports are contingent on other people, nature's whims, and availability of equipment. For example, I got back into cycling three summers ago when the surf hit rock bottom around here. I decided that I would start cycling out to the ocean to make my surf checks. That way I would avoid burning fossil fuel and keep this fossil of a body in shape. Well, the surf continued to be crappy and I cycled more and more. There's nothing quite like riding a wave, but there are so many variables involved. Is there swell? How many places will I have to check before I find something? Will those aggro guys out there let me have any waves at all?

Let's face it: Riding a road bike is instant and perpetual fulfillment!

Rich

Cyclochica,

Read "The Little Prince" by
Antionne de St. Euxberry (spelling is way wrong).
The chapter about the fox explains it all
perfectly! Great book by the way.
And yes I do get a twinge of excitement knowing
I'm gonna get out and ride.

Marty

Cyclochica, I totaly know what you mean, and I've only been riding for 10 years...I get very excited for each ride, cause each one is different, and I love each and every bike that I have, so I look forward to riding them...You're completly normal for someone who loves to bike, like most if not all of the people on this forumn..

Keep it up, remember what Lance said after his cancer and when he started riding again, "I love riding my bike now, because I have a different outlook on it"...Lance rides yes to make a living, but I truely believe that deep down in his heart he really loves to ride each and every time...And that's a special feeling noboby can take away from you!!


Benjamin

Originally posted by Stinger9oh
There's nothing quite like riding a wave, but there are so many variables involved. Is there swell? How many places will I have to check before I find something? Will those aggro guys out there let me have any waves at all?


Rich


I have to whole-heartedly agree with you Rich... Riding a bike is great, but there is nothing at all like paddling out on a nice 3-5 ft. perfect shaped day, and just sliding on waves all day...

Where do you live ?? what kidna board do ya ride ? :-)

I'm in SoCal riding my 9'6" cruiser :-)

Jeff

The building I work in has BIG windows all along the front. When I ride during lunch I get the feeling that everyone that has an office in the front is watching me.
Is it because I'm riding or is is because I'm wearing lycra shorts, colorful jersey and walk "funny" because of my Look cleats? :eek: :D

Mabe you have a burr in your riding shorts?

Closing my eyes and picturing myself spinning down the road will raise my pulse rate. Kind of like a junkie getting ready to fix.

I got same problem here, I can't ride in my best form. coz I can't sleep the night before the ride. can't help it Over Exciting feeling gives me sleepless night

I wouldn't trade this feeling for anything in the world, because for the first time in a very long time I am happy. I just hope I never lose this feeling. But even when I ride the same route, it always seems different. Cycling is defintely the best.

I love the mellow buzz after a workout.....

Cyclochica,
I know exactly what you mean. I wake up every morning impatient to get on my bike for the 9-mile ride to work. In the afternoon, I find myself checking my watch regularly to see how long I have to wait before I can get back on it for the 13-25 mile ride home. As someone else mentioned, the night before a weekend ride with my group I have trouble sleeping - like a kid on Christmas eve.
Keep on spinnin',
Raymond

Hey, SipperPhoto, I'm up near Santa Cruz. I mostly surf the pointbreaks Santa Cruz eastside and the beaches of south Santa Cruz County and north Monterey County.

I ride an old Ben Aipa 9'0" Stinger, hence my handle, Stinger9oh. It's a very maneuverable, longboard thruster.

Have you ever noticed how much surfers and cyclists smile?

Rich

Originally posted by Stinger9oh
Hey, SipperPhoto, I'm up near Santa Cruz. I mostly surf the pointbreaks Santa Cruz eastside and the beaches of south Santa Cruz County and north Monterey County.

Have you ever noticed how much surfers and cyclists smile?

Rich


Ain' t that the truth... being in OC, I mostly surf Newport Beach, Doheny, San Onofre, sometimes San Diego... Surfers and cyclists always smile much more than other people... I work for a surfwear cataloger, everyone here surfs or skates, and everyone is super cool all the time...

I'd love to surf Santa Cruz sometime... I'd have to pick me up a 5/4mm wetsuit to keep my nads warm though ! :-)

Jeff

This is so weird, I thought I was the only one that had that feeling in their stomach before a ride. I couldn't decide whether it was nervousness or excitement, but it definitely interfered with my ability to get a good breakfast down before a ride, or sleep before a really big event. When I ride to work, I am edgy in the afternoon until it's time to change and head out. It's always a relief to be on my way at the end of the day.

I always had that feeling since I started to ride seriously. Then, after a really nasty crash that took me off the bike for half a year, I thought I was nervous from fear of crashing again. But always, the nervous feeling goes away as soon as I'm on the bike. Then, it's just me and my bike, flying.

I like the way you guys interpret it, and I'm going to try and adjust my attitude to enjoy the tingle of excitement, rather than thinking it's some strange form of anxiety!

I had a similar feeling for about four weeks in the lead up to my tour in November. I must have driven my work colleagues mad incessantly counting down the days. Mind you, I also had some trepidation about taking a bike on a plane for the first time. :eek:

I am feeling that in my stomach now tomorrow will be my first commute in a week. First ride since Sunday. The forecast calls for rain and wind, I don't look forward to that. What I do look forward to is the smile that will be on my face all day. Its the smile I get whenever I ride and it doesn't really go away. The Burke Gillam trail goes through our parking lot at work and there is a park right across the street (Gas Works re: Dwagenheim through the Americas 10.16.02) and many riders use it as a start off point. I always feel a twang of jealousy whenever I see a bunch of riders take off and I can not join them.

Whenever I see a group of cyclists on the other side of the fence- at work- passing by, it is a nice day, and I can't take off with them, I feel as If I am caught within some kind of prison.. Worse, being at work from sun up to sun down and know, that will be the case for maybe 4 days- it is downright sickening.. Enough to put you over the edge..

Chris.. I feel much better when I put my bike on the trains.. Is not Australia very much into the railroads... The US is not, but I still use it, whenever I can..
Just some kind of statement- I do not favor the mosf favored means of transport- automobiles and airplanes..Those we have no qualms of subsidiizing.. But bike paths and railroads- to many those are special interests.
Special interests to me are the asphalt and aircraft lobbies...

Originally posted by cyclezealot
Chris.. I feel much better when I put my bike on the trains.. Is not Australia very much into the railroads... The US is not, but I still use it, whenever I can..
Just some kind of statement- I do not favor the mosf favored means of transport- automobiles and airplanes..

If you're travelling interstate in Australia you don't have much choice. Most of the railways in this country were built when there was no Australia as such - but six separate British colonies. As a consequence, getting a train from say Brisbane to Melbourne simply isn't going to happen. And to be honest I wouldn't really want to even if I could. A train trip like that would take anything up to two days. The plane flight was less than 2 hours.

Sounds like trains are somewhat better supported in the US, even over Australia.. Here, train travel for distances greater than 1,000 miles is not good. But, trips from like San Francisco to San Diego or Boston to Washington are popular..
I like putting my bike on trains.. Very convenient. Can keep an eye on it. No baggage handler has his way with it.. Trains are great for getting on and off and exiting with your bike and finding your way home on two wheels..

When I am able to commute to work, I get that same feeling. Most of the time I only get to ride on weekends though, and I get that excited on Thursday and it stays with me through the weekend.

Interesting . . . My family says that I seam "Grouchy" before some rides, but always happy afterward.

I think that on some of my training rides I start ‘pulling inward’ before the ride. I’m concentrating on what I want to accomplish. To others I seem preoccupied or sulking.

Other times I am in a bad mood before a ride, and I go on the ride to help me feel better. That always works.

Originally posted by cyclochica
Without fail, 1-2 hours before each of my lunch time rides I get a twinge of excitement in my tummy. As I get closer to my lunch break, the feeling gets stronger. Am I some sort of freak? Does anyone else get really excited before each ride? I haven't felt like this since I quit playing basketball and I never felt like this about tennis.

I just wonder if I am the only one who gets like this.

I know what you're feeling...and then some :thumbup: Due to weather, sprained two fingers on right hand and holiday travels, I've been unable to ride since just after Thanksgiving... major bummer. I've been known to walk into my toy garage and just stand there... all my toy's are just setting or hanging.

But, most of all, I stare at my Titan Level 9 hanging on the wall as if it's wall art of the endangered species kind. Only redeeming factor is my wife bought my a great commercial auto espresso machine for xmas... consiquently, I am drinking lots of delicious espresso and burning it at the gym, in wait for this supposedly beautiful weekend coming up. :beer:

Originally posted by cyclezealot
Just some kind of statement- I do not favor the mosf favored means of transport- automobiles and airplanes..

I should also add that airplanes aren't actually subsidised in this country (although the government did think of bailing out Ansett before they went down the crapper). In fact, the airline I used (Virgin Blue) wouldn't have even been allowed to operate in this country at all had those tossers at QANTAS had their way.

Luckily, the tossers were no match for Alan Fels, head of the ACCC, my all-time hero and generally spanky dude!

In the US we say airlines aren't subsidized but trains are. That is a bunch of crap.. We build/ maintain airports, support the FCC, and after 9-11 gave the airlines like $4 billion to stay afloat.. that is not a subsidy ? right... Last I know, the airlines still want more "loans." I have not read when they are expected to pay back the taxpayers...
Asphalt contractors. . As the "Asphalt Nation" points out, one single freeway interchange can cost more than the entire train/ mass transit subisdy..If you believe our gasoline tax pays for all that- believe it if you want.? I don't ... Plus, I hate airline travel. I only use it if I have to.. Much prefer the way things are in Europe. You can take the fast train and get there almost as fast as airline travel..

Follow up question: Has cycling given you the incentive to take better care yourself? Since I started I have been making a real effort to focus on my health, study more, and *gasp* I'm more pleasant. Could this be attributed to cycling or just general maturity?

Sorry ChrisL, I had to change the subject from transportation issues.

Originally posted by cyclochica
Follow up question: Has cycling given you the incentive to take better care yourself? Since I started I have been making a real effort to focus on my health, study more, and *gasp* I'm more pleasant. Could this be attributed to cycling or just general maturity?

Sorry ChrisL, I had to change the subject from transportation issues.

No cycling hasn't done that for me... Being diagnosed with Diabetes and realizing that even though I am in great shape, that doesn't alway make it so.

:D Attribute your changes to maturity and realizing more of your values... And, good move changing the topic back...

Originally posted by cyclochica
Follow up question: Has cycling given you the incentive to take better care yourself? Since I started I have been making a real effort to focus on my health, study more, and *gasp* I'm more pleasant. Could this be attributed to cycling or just general maturity?

Sorry ChrisL, I had to change the subject from transportation issues.

I think that is true in my case first it was cycling then it was better diet and now it is just more generally keeping track of my overall health

And to think, I neglected to pay attention to this thread all last week, shame on me!


Originally posted by cyclochica
Follow up question: Has cycling given you the incentive to take better care yourself? Since I started I have been making a real effort to focus on my health, study more, and *gasp* I'm more pleasant. Could this be attributed to cycling or just general maturity?

Absolutely! Heck, before I got into cycling seriously I was headed down the road of becoming a permanent welfare bum living exclusively on junk food. Cycling gave me the incentive to get out of that completely. Even now if ever I'm feeling down or disheartened about anything I go for a ride and immediately feel more confident and optimistic about whatever challenges lay ahead.


Originally posted by cyclochica
Sorry ChrisL, I had to change the subject from transportation issues.

I believe it was Cyclezealot who brought those up, but that's OK, as long as I can get in one final plug for Alan Fels. ALAN FELS IS GOD!!!

:D

Sorry all. I guess the tie in to this thread, sometimes to get your bike to Perth for a tour, you may not cylce it the whatever KM to get it there to start your tour..
Should you put you bike on the plane and the airlines beats the hell out of the wheel, spokes, fork, you get a little excited ! When you anticipate a nice tour and the airlines diminishes the quality of the tour, by putting your bike in a shop for awhile- it effects the anticipated happiness when you are not ready at the start.. Well, it happened to me twice...
I have a bike box so lets hope that will not happen. In spite of fact, a friends' cylcing friend participated in Hawaii's Ironman and a US airline demolished a $4,000 within a bike box.. Hard case..