General Cycling Discussion - I find riding my bike w/o a destination BORING!

Okay, is it just me or do you find riding your bike just for the sake of riding rather BORING? Out-and-back, round-the-loop, etc. exercise rides are just boring. But if I have to go somewhere - work, on tour, etc., I find it fun and exciting - seeing new places, etc. I guess I don't have the "love of cycling" where anytime you're on a bike is a fun time.

No. Put me in a velodrome and I'll be fine doing circles for a couple of hours.

It doesn't bore me, mac, but I'll go this far - I feel like I should be bored. I have used stationary cycles in the past. Now, that is boring.

Funny, most roadies that I know tend to AVOID biking as transportation- and treat it only as exercise.

I hedge all bets- commute AND ride just to ride.

I like having a destination with any ride, a park, somewhere to stop for cool water, etc... or on a group ride... starbucks! Cycling should be fun - and the destination is part of the ride!

- And good health!

Mandy

I occasionally aimlessly ride.
All in all, I prefer rides with a destination (work, a park, a far away town, etc)

Maybe it's not the bike, or the ride, that is boring.

I like just getting on the bike and seeing where it will take me. Sometimes if I see a road I haven't been up before and it looks interesting, I will go check it out. It's all about adventure. Sometimes I think I could be happy riding around in a parking lot, just to be on my bike!!!:roflmao:

If im riding on the road, i never ride with out a destination. But XC i just get in to a forest and ride untill i get out or make my way back...

By bike is my transportation. Riding loops around Hains Point is pointless.

Hains Point is pointless.:lol:

Three laps at Hains Point is my limit. Repeating the same route is boring.

One of my favorite types of rides is to start with no set route or direction in mind, or just a general idea of where I'm going. As I ride along I do a mental coin-flips and pick my route at whim. If I see an interesting road that I've never biked, I explore it if I want to. I've found some amazing places that way.

But in the end, the desitnation is back to where I started.

When I am riding with people the people ARE my destination. The route does not matter. Other than that I need a purpose like running and errand or my commute to motivate me. I expect my relatives know I would like to get them to take a bike tour for one of our group vacations but we are on different planets as far as cycling ability.

I like finding new roads. I do this in my car too. Around Md there's lots of trails so thats cool too.

I usually don't have a destination and I'm never bored...even if the places are the same, the conditions are usually different on any given day.

Okay, is it just me or do you find riding your bike just for the sake of riding rather BORING? Out-and-back, round-the-loop, etc. exercise rides are just boring. But if I have to go somewhere - work, on tour, etc., I find it fun and exciting - seeing new places, etc. I guess I don't have the "love of cycling" where anytime you're on a bike is a fun time.

i take it you're not a fan of the indoor trainer?

I'm happy riding for the sake of riding. On the road there are 3 routes I stick to. These are safer routes, not too much traffic and they all offer something different.

I prefer mountain biking without a destination in mind because the place I ride has a total of 35 miles of trails. Lots of side trails and whatnot to explore, though some of them involve more hiking than riding.

i take it you're not a fan of the indoor trainer?
Oh gawd, no! What are you, a caged mouse running on its wheel? :p I had to ride one in the gym while I was injured. The only thing that saved me from going nuts from sheer boredom was looking at the cuties on the stair-climbers. :D

I always have a destination, sometimes the destination is my starting point, with a route that takes me 25 miles out of the way.

I prefer a destination. I feel like I have accomplished something. Riding in a loop just isn't as satisfying, but I wouldn't necessarily call it boring.

it really depends on what your goals and mindset are.

since i focus mostly on doing weekly races, i need to get a specific amount of training in. so, the actual physcial workout i get is more important toward my goal than the destination. however, once racing season is over it'll be very hard to go around the park loop 8 times or ride a trainer. then, i'm more interested in going places.

with my current bike... yeah... but if i had a road bike... and nice, strong, light one... yes... then it would be very fun.

I just try to set out a time limit or mileage rather than destination and that seems to help a little bit. But sometimes I'll ride to another city and back and it makes it more fun.

I just try to set out a time limit or mileage rather than destination and that seems to help a little bit. But sometimes I'll ride to another city and back and it makes it more fun.

What made it worse was his rdiing partner disappeared of to the Carolinas

For me its more about the journey than the destination

Well, I normally have a destination, but I won't be riding straight to that. I have a 5km commute - I've been stretching it out to 20km by just taking side roads, seeing bike trails and going down them to see where they go - even if it is in the opposite direction. And I'll go for a slow ride down to the lake and along the beachfront with the wife just to get her on the bike.

I need a destination. It can be arbitrary and purely symbolic but it has to exist. Only then do I actually enjoy the journey.

I think I find cycling, in and of itself, fun.

I say, "I think I find it fun," because, as a utility cyclist, I never ride without a destination or purpose. If I find myself with nothing I want to do, I won't just go ride one of my bikes. I'll load up a canoe behind the Townie and head out cycling/canoeing/fishing/swimming and sometimes hunting, free-dive spearfishing and photography all in the same day.

If you see me on a bike, I'm on my way to somewhere to do something, or I am doing something even if it's just test flying a tune-up I just completed.

Sitting around the house, now that's boring. Boring irritates me. When I get irritated I get cranky. The wife and kids would rather I go somewhere and do something, even without them, rather than stay home all day.

Sounds like you need to find better routes. I get that way when I have no variety, or have bland routes to ride.

Boring? No way. Even though I may ride the same loop, with variations for distance, I never feel bored.

Sometimes I get to see a really cool bird. Like the time I spotted my first Northern Oriole sitting on a mailbox. I actually stopped to watch it a bit more. Or the time a bald eagle flew over head.

In the spring and early summer, sometimes I see and/or hear cool frogs. I especially love when I get to hear choruses of frogs.

When I'm not watching the wildlife, I'm keeping myself interested in other ways. Like trying to beat my husband up the final small hill that's a real killer after a long ride. Or getting on a stretch of long, straight, uninterrupted road and seeing how fast I can go.

Some days, fighting the wind is enough to keep my mind occupied.

What made it worse was his rdiing partner disappeared of to the Carolinas
Yeah that bloody traitor. Not only did he disappear but he waited until he got me to join his team, before making the decision to move, to do the MS 150. So I ended up riding solo.

Rode for years and years with minor local destinations in mind... some outlying little restaurant for a beer, or some great loop that just took me back home.

But one day I went beyond the horizon and just kept going... I toured. I had no particular destination in mind and it was very interesting seeing where I would end up each night. Got maps from tourist bureaus as I arrived in each state, and would plot a course on a local road and just take off.

I usually do have a destination of some sort today... be it as simple as picking up coffee (yesterday's ride) or simply doing a local loop as fast as possible (goal, not destination). I find I rarely get bored biking.

Okay, is it just me or do you find riding your bike just for the sake of riding rather BORING? Out-and-back, round-the-loop, etc. exercise rides are just boring. But if I have to go somewhere - work, on tour, etc., I find it fun and exciting - seeing new places, etc. I guess I don't have the "love of cycling" where anytime you're on a bike is a fun time.

The best kind of ride is when you have no idea where you are going. You get to see new things. Since riding I have found places right near my home that I did not know existed, and I have been living here my whole life.

And what is with the avatar? Put a shirt on for Pete's sake. :) Does anyone else want to look at that? :) Well maybe some of the ladies I guess. And who knows maybe a few of the guys. :eek:

If I ride without knowing where I'm going - I just get lost. :D Even if I discover new places, I'd never know where exactly they are or how to get to them again. I also have a fear of being spat onto a dead end (and having to retrace my steps all the way back) or a busy road bikeable only by the bravest when I am feeling like taking a low-trafficked laid-back route...


I usually do have a destination of some sort today... be it as simple as picking up coffee (yesterday's ride) or simply doing a local loop as fast as possible (goal, not destination). I find I rarely get bored biking. Good point. When I have a goal, it basically serves the purpose of a destination. :)

If I ride without knowing where I'm going - I just get lost. :D Even if I discover new places, I'd never know where exactly they are or how to get to them again. I also have a fear of being spat onto a dead end (and having to retrace my steps all the way back) or a busy road bikeable only by the bravest when I am feeling like taking a low-trafficked laid-back route...

Good point. When I have a goal, it basically serves the purpose of a destination. :)

Get a GPS with mapping. It is my favorite toy outside my bicycle and sailboat. Or if you want to go on the cheap, a map should do. What I like about my GPS is that you can go out and get lost. All you need to do is to ask the GPS the way home. It will even give you a route for bicycles.

Even though I really enjoy riding, I ride only for transportation. I've wondered whether this makes me less of a cyclist. Perhaps it is because, when I grew up, cycling was simply not thought of a sport. I'm not sure that I feel that riding without a destination is boring, it's more that I can't imagine riding without needing to get someplace, usually somplace where it is difficult to get to conveniently by car.

Paul

Usually I have a sense of which direction I want to go. Even when I just take off. I just haven't figured out how I am going to get there.
Bored. Not at all. That's when I am out exploring.
Exploring is one aspect of cycling I enjoy the most.

Yeah that bloody traitor. Not only did he disappear but he waited until he got me to join his team, before making the decision to move, to do the MS 150. So I ended up riding solo.

"Bloody Traitor"

I say that sounds like something somebody british would say!!!!

Amazing the accents you pick up in Miami.

I hedge all bets- commute AND ride just to ride.

Same here, although I'm a telecommuter/at-home teacher. Otherwise, I grocery shop and utility-ride, use a bike for transportation, cruise about for daily fitness on almost the same preset course, and tour the world with my bicycles.

Honestly, I do tend to find the daily fitness rides to be less enjoyable than the camping trips or foreign country tours (big surprise), but on the whole I just love riding my bikes, period. Having a bike or 4 that I love for different reasons helps things out though.