Your Simplest Pleasures Cycling ? ?

[CrossChain]

Some of your simplest pleasures derived from riding?

A few of mine:

A hot shower after a long, cold ride.
A flat on the front, not the rear.
A string of cars and trucks passing by to punch a hole in the wind.
Riding tucked in at a nice pace with friends.
Pulling into the driveway or up to the car after miles in bonk mode.
A thoughtless, smooth friction shift.
A cold frap or hot mocha (depending on weather) post ride
Beating last week's (year's) mileage
Meeting a rider you know "way out there".
Climbing some hill better than you did a few weeks ago.
Kicking off the cleats and wiggling the toes post ride.
Gliding past cars stuck in traffic.
Guiltlessly eating like a pig post-bigride
Riding along and successfully stealing a Clif bar out of somebody's jersey pocket.
Etc.

[BSLeVan]

The feeling of a perfectly setup bike and the balance and comfort it allows.
The smell of the air after rain... wild roses and honey suckles in the summer along the road side.
The warm sun on your back after a long cold winter.
The sound of my cleats clicking in.
The hiss of the tires rolling along.
The sensation of dancing up hills that used to wear me out.
Just looking at how beauitful my bikes are.

[RockyMtnMerlin]

Here are my favorite simple pleasures riding near my home.
- Riding on a warm Wyoming morning with a couple of antelope pacing you and then leaving you behind.
- Riding near the Little Laramie River and having gold finches flying along at the same speed.
- Riding at 45-50 mph around the curves coming down Woods Creek Canyon.

[Jet Travis]

Haiku

Cresting blue mountains
I roll silently homeward
To beer and a nap

[Big Paulie]

This thread is so friggin' wussi-fied, it's gonna to make me sick! :eek:

C'mon people, let's get real! When was the last time you blew past a 65 year old grandma on the bike path? And did you turn and give her "the look" when you did it???

[CrossChain]

Big Paulie.......another dimension, another level, another plane of being:

I walk through the grass, and bend not a blade;
I enter the water, and cause not a ripple.

A chosen few here at BF have grown beyond conflict, beyond turmoil.

Join us.

[biffstephens]

Pie!!!!

[RockyMtnMerlin]

Ha! I post two photos of riders not wearing helmets, and 10 minutes have passed without anyone freaking out! How's that for a zen moment, C.C. ??? :D
So we don't disappoint you:
PUT ON YOUR HELMET BIG PAULIE :mad:
STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES :)
(way better than smelling those antelope if the wind is from the wrong direction - they smell like - well - like billy goats)

:D

[Big Paulie]

OK, let me get in the spirit of the thing and try my hand...

Crisp sunrise morning
Flat tire greets me at dawn
At least it's the front

[Retro Grouch]

Gliding past cars stuck in traffic.

A favorite ride in the St Louis area is Calhoun County during apple picking season. The way back is via the Golden Eagle Ferry across the Mississippi River. Traffic will be backed up for a couple of miles waiting for the opportunity to fit onto the ferry. I think that the ferry round trip takes 30 or 40 minutes so the wait can be hours. If you're on a bicycle, however, you just coast (it's downhill) past all of the stopped cars to the ferry landing. After they load as many cars onto the ferry as will fit, the ferry staff will signal us bicyclists to crowd between the cars wherever we'll fit. Bicycles always get to take the next boat.

[Retro Grouch]

C'mon people, let's get real! When was the last time you blew past a 65 year old grandma on the bike path? And did you turn and give her "the look" when you did it???

I give "the look" whenever the opportunity presents itself. If that only happens when I pass a 65 year old grandmother, so be it.

[MichiganMike]

Believe it or not, I live in wine country here in Michigan. So one of my favorite things is to be out on my bike in the late summer riding past all the vineyards, smelling the ripening grapes. It's such a rich fragrance.

http://www.michigan.gov/images/MDA_AED_pgrapes_56565_7.jpg

[I_Bike]

"Riding along and successfully stealing a Clif bar out of somebody's jersey pocket."

Okay. I'm reading the list going "Yeah, yeah, okay", and then I hit that line and almost spewed my coffee! That was funny, thanks...

[DnvrFox]

This thread is so friggin' wussi-fied, it's gonna to make me sick! :eek:

C'mon people, let's get real! When was the last time you blew past a 65 year old grandma on the bike path? And did you turn and give her "the look" when you did it???

I give "the look" whenever the opportunity presents itself. If that only happens when I pass a 65 year old grandmother, so be it.

As my wife is 67 year-old non-grandma, and we ride together:

I am glad we are able to give you your jollies - sot of a sick jolly - but evidently a "jolly" for you none-the-less. We aim to please!

Do you get the same pleasure out of passing (and giving the "look") to 5 year old kids?

[Jet Travis]

I give "the look" whenever the opportunity presents itself. If that only happens when I pass a 65 year old grandmother, so be it.

My wife gave me "the look." But not in this century.

[PaulH]

Watching the moon rise over the snow.
The satisfaction of making it through a heavily-ruttted icy moonscape.
The scent of flowers on a spring morning.
The sight of a summer storm approaching as I turn in to my neighborhood.
Stopping to watch a Redtailed Hawk perching in a tree overhead.

Paul
(who watches cyclists go by, with envy, and contemplates starting a thread on crutches -- wood, steel, aluminum, or carbon)

[Red Rider]

Believe it or not, I live in wine country here in Michigan. So one of my favorite things is to be out on my bike in the late summer riding past all the vineyards, smelling the ripening grapes. It's such a rich fragrance.

Same here.

Other pleasures: Wet eucalyptus, freshly-mowed grass, a red-winged blackbird's song just as you draw even with it. The cool, slight dampness of riding out of the sun and into the shade near the creek. The exhilaration of the chase.

[Retro Grouch]

As my wife is 67 year-old non-grandma, and we ride together:

I am glad we are able to give you your jollies - sot of a sick jolly - but evidently a "jolly" for you none-the-less. We aim to please!

Do you get the same pleasure out of passing (and giving the "look") to 5 year old kids?

If and when I find a 5 year old that I can beat - of course! At my ability level I have to take those pleasures when I can.

I'm thinking that one of us might be a little too uptight.

[DnvrFox]

If and when I find a 5 year old that I can beat - of course! At my ability level I have to take those pleasures when I can.

I'm thinking that one of us might be a little too uptight.

I was thinking the same thing! Great minds, you know.

[Retro Grouch]

I was thinking the same thing! Great minds, you know.

I appreciate the comment.

[Big Paulie]

Actually, one of my most favorite "small pleasures" in cycling is watching another cyclist ride past me when I'm working, or driving in my car. It takes me completely away from what I'm doing!

[centexwoody]

Some of your simplest pleasures derived from riding?


Making the stoplight crossing the highway and RR tracks without having to slow down
Smelling that organic garden and waterlily pond
Sensing the cooler temperature as I cross down and through creekbeds
Having a dog bark but not chase
Getting the Harley riders to acknowledge me with a Texas 'headbob'
Passing the new riders out in our neck of the woods with a 'Howdy'
Watching the new calves run up and down along the fence line
Having the wind blow me home after fighting it for 10 miles riding 'out'
Seeing the dew glisten across the pastures
Spotting the white wild plum blossoms and bright pink redbud blooms along the treelines

[Digital Gee]

I believe I hinted at a simple pleasure of cycling when I posted a question about beach coaster miles. I can repost the photo, if there is a desire. Just let me know!

[stapfam]

Riding- then theres the riding Oh and the riding. then the Pie- Maybe two pieces of pie if the ride is good enough- and then ride some more. Then I get home to "The grass needs cutting"- "I want a new Flower bed" or "You'r not coming in the house in those clothes- AND TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF"

I just love riding the bike.

[The Weak Link]

Hving your daughter, son, and son-in-law ask, right after a mountain bike ride, "When can we go again?"

[MikeR]

The smell of Honey Suckle on a May morning ride.
The taste of roadside blackberries on a June ride.
The feeling of almost being naked on the first warm day riding in shorts and jersey.
A lonely stretch of road anytime I got'a pee really bad.

[Red Baron]

Taking a bath after a winter ride and your toes, stomach and hands not knowing if the bath water is too hot or too cold.

Putting on shorts, socks, a jersey, helmet and shoes and thinking I'm missing a cape.

Climbing a tough hill and the feeling that the SINGLE ONLY important goal in life is reaching the creast

And - knowing that there are many more hills in my life waiting for me to climb.

[rule]

Chewing up the hill at 25mph that I used to have to skip when I first started riding.

[Digital Gee]

Going no handed and getting the same thrill I got forty years ago doing the same thing. :)

[Jet Travis]

Chewing up the hill at 25mph that I used to have to skip when I first started riding.

Keep your phone line clear. Team Discovery may be calling any time now. That's impressive.

[Red Rider]

Off topic -- what does your avatar mean, JT?

I like the look of it.

[Jet Travis]

Off topic -- what does your avatar mean, JT?

I like the look of it.

I've been reading up on Taoism lately and found the image by Googling around. Apparently it means something like this:

"The rich and varied journey of life, encompassing all opposites, connecting all things."

[keytree]

The feel of my Reynolds cro-mo frame gliding over the pavement.:)
Riding to the front of a long line of traffic at a stoplight, looking at the drivers and :lol: .

[Coyote!]

>>> Simplest Pleasures Cycling

1. Wildlife spotting,
2. Blessed solitude, [occasionally interupted by]
3. A bike-to-vehicle-driveby flirt with somebody's grandmother,
4. Oh, and endorphins ["Don't Return Home Without Them"]

[RockyMtnMerlin]

Keep your phone line clear. Team Discovery may be calling any time now. That's impressive.
+1; along with a few other Pro Tour teams.

[BluesDawg]

Feeling strong at mile 50 after feeling like warmed over death at mile 25. Kick it in, second wind!

[ollo_ollo]

Riding in to work at 6 AM with a big, full moon hanging in the cold sky while the coyotes yipp & howl in the distance. Riding down a country road just before dawn & smelling fresh brewed coffee, bacon & eggs drifting from a nearby home. Spotting 2 eagles cruising low over the bay & local fields as I ride past. The soft whirr of my coasting bike.

[Dogbait]

...A Few Simple Pleasures...


The first ride after a week of heavy rain:
http://www.pbase.com/billd9/image/55834512.jpg


Taking a break and just listening to the traffic noise:
http://www.pbase.com/billd9/image/59094962.jpg


Knowing that there is a reward at fifteen miles:
http://www.pbase.com/billd9/image/59094965.jpg


Getting home just in time to find this at the end of my driveway:
http://www.pbase.com/billd9/image/36711263.jpg

[Tom Bombadil]

Actually, one of my most favorite "small pleasures" in cycling is watching another cyclist ride past me when I'm working, or driving in my car.

Or when he is pedaling as hard as he can on a long flat.

[bobby c]

...A Few Simple Pleasures...

OK, OK, you win! Though pie would be better.

[lsits]

Tripping the signal sensor with my bike when crossing a busy highway. Knowing that they have to stop just for me. That and giving the people in the stopped cars "the look".

[Big Paulie]

I passed a pre-shcooler on a plastic hot wheels trike today. I gave him and his mom "the look." Man, it felt good!

[bobby c]

You should have seen "the look" we gave this guy when we finally blew by him:

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c62/bclasen/Bikes/P1010176a-1.jpg

[CrossChain]

Some of us are teachers. We are well-practiced in The Look. I can launch one across the classroom like a photon torpedo. It says, "You will never see a recess again even if you are immortal, you will never get a bathroom pass no matter how rainy the day, your soul hangs on my laundry line."

Anyway, I save The Look for drivers who barely brake for stops, inch out even when they see me, pass really close or cut me off dangerously (The Look plus sometimes The Finger), etc.

[trackhub]

Riding my fixie around on a warm summer night, with just enough haze in the air to make everything look like a scene from a Ridley Scott movie.

Riding through the Campus of Boston college, or Harvard on a warm spring afternoon, and enjoying "the scenery".:D :D

Making it home in Bonk mode, but just in time to beat a summer downpour.

Riding through Nipper Maher park in Waltham MA, on my fixie. Logic: Today, it's a municipal-owned baseball field, tennis courts, and playground. But, 100 years ago, it was Waltham Bicycle Park, and there was a velodrome there.

[Thrifty1]

Surprise/excitment of my 12 year old granddaughter with a new Specilaized CrossRoads when she came to our house after school........and sharing her joy with completing her first non-stop 10 miler.

[maddmaxx]

Knowing that I'm going to get back the 1100 (cumulative) feet I've climbed in the last 10 miles when I make the return trip.

[PAlt]

The look on faces of non riders when you say, if asked, what you did over the weekend, and reply, "I rode XXmi. Saturday & /or Sunday.", when XX = >10. Even if we know it's not a huge deal, they think it is, and you get to smile a bit inside;)

[rule]

+1; along with a few other Pro Tour teams.

Heh...I just came in from tagging along for a bit with one of the local teams who were out on an early season training ride...which for them is an 80 mile, hilly route that cuts across part of my lake loop.

They can ride like that one best moment from one of my best rides and keep it up all day long. I managed to sit in with them for a little while though.

I don't think they will be calling any time soon, but that won't stop me from reeling in one of those little moments when I can. That's what keeps me coming back. :p

[Terrierman]

My very best simple pleasure is riding with my grandsons. I only wish it were more often.
My next best simple pleasure is riding with Lovey. I wish it were more often too.
My next to next best simple pleasure is riding with son. It happens pretty often and it's still great to hear him say, "that was fun".
Other simple pleasures:
Knees finally getting warm enough and loose enough to forget about them.
Cow watching.
Goat watching.
Spotting cool looking old cars.
That view to the east on one of the high places where I swear I think I can almost see the ocean.
The taste of water when it's really hot and I'm really thirsty.
Sunset shifting into evening, temperature moderating, possums roaming.
The shower.