Living Car Free - Biking Buzz....

OK here it is. When I bike, even before I went car free, when I finish a trip I feel great. Its like I'm high- even coming in to work. Its like I think more clearly. I've heard ex drug users who are into bikes say they used racing and the training regime to help get off drugs. Are some of us just hidden addicts who use biking instead of coke or heroin? It doesn't seem bad. I feel like bike commuters have an edge over car commuters at work- they're a little more ready to go when they come in in the morning where someone with a street drug or alcohol habit usually isn't. Addiction is probably too much of an exaggeration since my life isn't consumed by thoughts of getting and using the drug. If I walk to work for a few days in a row I don't get cravings to bike. Maybe its just certain people who feel this effect.

I know the feeling well. I think it's really the same endorphin rush that people have called runners high. I do think that "Biking Buzz" has a much cooler ring to it. I intend to use that phrase, with your permission. :)

It was only after I started cycling a lot that I was able to quit smoking.

One poster on the Commuting forums used to describe commuting to work as a lovely bike ride with an 8-hour break in between.

I have to agree with you. I feel miserable if I can't bike somewhere during the day... like I haven't woken up yet.

It's called endorphins ... most racers seem to feel it. If you posted this in the Road Forum, you'd get a heap of responses. I, however, rarely get an endorphins buzz when I ride for some reason. I'm not sure why, but I get much more of a buzz when I'm weightlifting. I think the last time I had a really good endorphin rush from cycling it was during the 2006 UMCA 24-hour Time Trial:

http://www.machka.net/24hour/2006_UMCA24hour.htm

It was only after I started cycling a lot that I was able to quit smoking.
It has helped me quite a bit too. I'm almost done!

It's called endorphins ... most racers seem to feel it. If you posted this in the Road Forum, you'd get a heap of responses. I, however, rarely get an endorphins buzz when I ride for some reason. I'm not sure why, but I get much more of a buzz when I'm weightlifting. I think the last time I had a really good endorphin rush from cycling it was during the 2006 UMCA 24-hour Time Trial:

http://www.machka.net/24hour/2006_UMCA24hour.htm

By contrast, I crave a bike ride, but weight lifting gives me sore muscles.

I intend to use that phrase, with your permission. :)
Permission granted. I'll add feeling great to my personal list of reasons to be car free even though some people don't experience it. Maybe the biking buzz is the reason some people feel like the have better luck with the dating scene after ditching the car. You can't hide that you feel better and people find that more attractive.

Permission granted. I'll add feeling great to my personal list of reasons to be car free even though some people don't experience it. Maybe the biking buzz is the reason some people feel like the have better luck with the dating scene after ditching the car. You can't hide that you feel better and people find that more attractive.

The problem is that in order to get the buzz you have to do a decent amount of work and will likely end up sweaty/stinky. I've met a few dates on my bike and it is always a good conversation starter, but my own stink might override the conversation if I work too hard to get there. :)

yeah i get that buzz after a day of ultimate frisbee, weightlifting, bike riding, or ideally a little bit of each on the same day!

the buzz is even better when you're stoned

The problem is that in order to get the buzz you have to do a decent amount of work and will likely end up sweaty/stinky. I've met a few dates on my bike and it is always a good conversation starter, but my own stink might override the conversation if I work too hard to get there. :)

Yeah, I've read about the endorphin thing and my impression is that you really have to push yourself to get it. But, I'm a slow rider and I still feel a buzz. By slow I mean that MANY more cyclists pass me than I pass. This morning I took my long route and I didn't pass anyone but many passed me, so I'm not really pushing it. Yet I walked in all perky- the receptionist accused me of having a new lover. "Hey, ya' got ya' a new one last night din'cha? Whats her name?"

On the last leg of my commute to work, I cross a bridge. I push myself for that distance to get the buzz. It also helped me relax for a job interview. I hope I didn't smell for that. :)

the buzz is even better when you're stoned

:lol:

I don't really feel a "buzz" that I'm aware of, but I do feel better than when I used to drive (and compared to my driving coworkers). When I arrive at work at 7am, I'm awake and at least fairly energetic, and I am NOT a morning person. My coworkers stumble in, barely awake and completely miserable. And if it's cold out, they all come in coughing and wheezing, sounding like they're dying, even though I'm the one who's been out in the cold. :D

I get it a lot more when I am getting ready to ride in the morning. Kind of pre-ride jitters or butterflies, for lack of a more technical term. I'm pretty much at ease on the road.