General Cycling Discussion - let me live thru u

I haven't been on my bike in months...yes, months...help !
does someone want to describe a great ride to me...I need it....details. The trainer in the living room is just not the same as being outside...I'll take any description...let it be urban or rural.
Help...I'm falling into a great state of depression...I'm laying around in my bed...it's sad:(

Betta,
Sorry to say that some days I'm like you. I haven't been on the bike (outside or on the trainer in weeks :crash: :o and the weight has been collecting in the wrong places! :mad:

What I do (and I promise I'll get back on the bike tonight) is watch a "good" movie or TV show or (most of the time) listen to music on my MP3 player. I can download the songs I want to hear and mix them any way I like. I pick songs that have a good beat that get me moving.

If the weather is ok and you can ride outside find a friend to ride with. S/he can motivate and encourage you, make you feel guilty, whatever works.

If you want a description, think about the best ride you've ever been on (warm weather, scenic, lots of friends rode with you, did your fastest ride, etc.).
If you search the forums you'll find lots of pictures and description of members' commutes, centuries, weekend rides, and tours.


Good luck. :thumbup:

OK, Betta, here’s something that happened on a ride last summer. (hope this isn’t a rerun for you).

I live In a rural (farmland) part of central Pa. This happened one very early Sunday morning.

The air was balmy and the fields were glowing pink from the rising sun behind me. I’m coming down a long incline, going 20 – 25 mph. On my right is a field of soybeans with a flock of small sparrow-like birds in it. On the left side of the road is a corn field. As I come up on the birds they startle and fly across the road, at an angle moving more or less with me. Suddenly a large Hawk swoops down and is right behind one of the little sparrows. The two of them are about 30 feet from me, going across the road, but at an angle that keeps them ahead of me at an ever decreasing distance.

The sparrow is squeaking and flapping like crazy to get away. The hawk has opened his wings, going from a dive to a fast glide. I can see his talons stretched out, reaching for the sparrow who is now only inches from his grasp. They’re half way across the road, right in front of me. I see the hawk’s wings dip slightly as he makes a slight correction for the cross winds. That gives the sparrow a few more inches of life between him and the large talons that are desperately outstretched behind him. The hawk makes a little dip in his flight path to gain speed and is almost touching the sparrows tail feathers. They’re now only 4 feet of the ground as the sparrow flys right between the cornstalks. The hawk looks up to see the corn rushing at him and his 3 foot wingspan, and his life’s goal suddenly changes from food to survival. At the last minute he drastically pulls up, and his wings just clear the tops of the corn stalks as I wiz past him and the whole scene is behind me.

WOW what a 10 second rush!

One more thing.
I'm still riding (albeit shorter rides) here in Pa. Last Saturday it was 28 degrees. Warm enough to use my road bike instead of the mountain bike with the studded tires. I did 26 miles in a snow storm that was melting as soon as it hit the road. It was great fun and I was not cold at all.

NC can’t be as cold as PA. Why don’t you invest in some warm riding clothes and get out there? Its cheaper than a trainer and more fun. Plus the neighbors get something new to talk about.

It probably isn't much colder herein NC than in PA, but it's the south and they don't handle snow real well. The roads suck. (I'm originally from Chicago…they know how to deal with snow and ice) Anyway…this has been a harsh winter. Single digit temps & snow every week. I live in the Appalachian Mountains…so things are even more dysfunctional here. Plus, the winters really aren't long to justify spending money on serious gear. I just need to hold out for another month…It's hard, but it just makes the summer even sweeter.

I live in the Appalachian Mountains

Must be pretty in the mountains. Do you take hikes in the winter? I know it's not the same but the winter hikes in the mountains with a little snow would be pretty.

I also like to go sledding. The new plastic sleds are nice and light. I got a big 5ft plastic toboggan at a Mennonite hardware store near me. It’s great.

Originally posted by MikeR
I got a big 5ft plastic toboggan at a Mennonite hardware store near me.

MikeR: "Excuse me sir, Where are your toboggans?"
Store Clerk: "Yea verily Brother, They rest gently betwixt the hand crank drills and the peg hammers."

Betta, you seem to have the will, so I guarantee better days lay ahead.

The other day I got a hall pass from the wife to take an evening ride and took off on a thirty mile coast run. The tempeture was warm so I was able to wear minimal kit and took only one bottle. Spinting mode. It had been quite a while since I'd ridden in the evening and the sounds and smells were so different to my usual 6:00am rides. All the homes had their interior lights on and one could see deep into the houses where people were busy in the kitchens cooking dinners and setting tables. When the suns' last rays dipped below the Pacific Ocean I noticed up and down the coast that people were either paired in love or single and wanting and just standing staring at the sea. I got home well after dark and was in such a great mood. Everything just seemed right with the world.

Ummm....Mennonites are not the same as Amish. Around here, there are further distinctions of "town" Mennonites, compared to "rural" Mennonites. Most Mennonites drive pickups, shop at Wal-Mart, and go to public schools. A ggod friend of my mother is Mennonite, and she only rarely wears the bonnet (usually only when they sell their vegetables at the public market on Saturdays...).

D*Alex,

Please apologize to you mom's friend for me.

Being from the West Coast, the boundries of the two are a bit blurred for me. Actually the joke works pretty well for me both ways, but then again, I always make myself laugh.

Come on now D*Alex, I know you hava a cute little riding story for this depressed, bed riden Betta.

Originally posted by Betta
Help...I'm falling into a great state of depression...I'm laying around in my bed...it's sad:(

Real depression = knee injury (no riding inside or out)

Please don't ask me how I know. :(

Here you go. Sun was shining, got off to work 3 hours late so it was a nice warm day for a 21 mile bike ride into work. The first half was just your average urban road ride in the 70 degree sun. the second half was next to lakes and parks riding alongside the Salt River bed. As I turned onto the Rio Salado parkway I could see the lake and a small mountain in the distance. I sped up going down the hill and enjoyed seeing a park or two on my right where people were sitting out in the sun enjoying the beautiful day. I was thorougly enjoying it too keeping a speed of about 20 mph. I could see the underpass for the 202 off in the distance and sped down the hill towards Tempe Town Lake. I decided to keep to the road rather than use the Multi-Use path along the shore, after all, I was still on my way to work and didn't want to slow down to a safe speed for the path as it usually has many walkers and fishermen on it. As I cruised down near the end of the lake it started feeling warm and I realized if I didn't start my cooldown I would arrive at work all sweaty. It was such a beautiful day I didn't even mind the slight headwind as I road alongside the lake. It was just a great ride. Nothing too uncommon about it, just a warm sunny day, and a bicyclist to enjoy it.

Hi Betta,
You need to go to the bike forum's home page and look under
touring. Koffee Brown Goes To Italy is a great read!

Mennonites are not the same as Amish

Right. Around here the Mennonites wear normal (but very concretive) street clothes. The women are always in dresses, usually with a small, pastel, flower print. The Amish ware blacks and browns, drive buggies and farm or have construction businesses.

The Mennonites have cars and are often the store owners. The average Mennonite hardware store caters to the farming community, including the Amish. The store is more like a general store with tools, clothes, housewares, and kids’ toys, all with a verry country, family flavor. So you'll see family board games, sleds and toy tractors instead of Barbie dolls and monster action figures.

Neither Amish nor Mennonites talk “funny” but Amish have a Pennsylvania Dutch accent. To an outsider they look like nuns but they are not devoutly religious in their actions. They go hunting and, when you get to know them well, many have a very funny sense of barnyard humor.

For some strange reason the joke still works for me.

Are you feeling betta Betta?

Originally posted by Betta
I haven't been on my bike in months...yes, months...help !
does someone want to describe a great ride to me...I need it....details. The trainer in the living room is just not the same as being outside...I'll take any description...let it be urban or rural.
Help...I'm falling into a great state of depression...I'm laying around in my bed...it's sad:(
I feel for ya, man! :cry:

But, hey--I've tasted about 2 weeks of not riding, and let me tell ya, I was slipping into that general state of dullness that creeps up on me when I don't ride. But this morning, after a long "break," I rode into work, about an hour's ride.

Man! What a difference! I felt so good during, and after, the ride that I was going to start a whole new thread about it! But your thread gave me the opportunity instead.

I won't bore you with the details you so deeply desire. No, my prescription for you is to get out and flush out all that gunk in your spirit! It's the only answer!

:D

Hi Betta......I feel for you as I am prone to feeling very down especially when bad weather as we are having at present in my part of the World prevents me from long rides.

I can do better than describe my lovely cycling area, here are a series of photos by a local guy, especially nice are the ones titled Hadrians Wall, country Panorama, county Castles and seashore scenes..... 65c by the way shows myself (yellow top) and two friends sitting on a bench in front of our local church before setting off on a ride early Spring morning.
Enjoy.. www.graemepeacock.com

Sorry that should be. www.graeme-peacock.com