General Cycling Discussion - Bike Boredom

I ride between 300 - 600km a week. Some of this is done alone, which brings me to my point. How the hell do you entertain your mind whilst on the road for hours?!! Amuse me....

Well... I prefer to ride with others, so we talk a lot.

When I'm on my own, I look at the scenery, but mostly I focus on training. If I'm doing intervals, I'll entertain myself by keeping to the program and see how far I can redline my HR. If I'm doing sprints, I'll set certain speed goals and see if I can meet them. If I'm doing climbs... well, I don't usually have much on my mind with my HR redlining for 15 minutes and my eyes bulging out of my head.

Basically, it's a matter of setting goals for yourself, making a game of it.

Just thinking...and looking at the scenery, taking in the feedback the computer offers...and thinking. (about the next Bike Forums post?):D

When I'm riding alone (which is at least 95% of my riding) I focus on my speed or cadence and check the HRM to see if I'm still alive. :D
Sometimes I'll look at the scenery or hum/sing a song (but not very loud) that keeps me pedalling.

When I'm with a group I'll converse with a rider near me.

Sometimes all I can do is try to stay sane while riding in traffic. :rolleyes:

Occassionally I will ride by a new office building, factory, etc. and make a mental note of the name and when I get home I'll check to see if they are hiring.
I'm always looking for a better job. :beer:

My new project is memorizing as many digits of pi as I can. So I just start reciting pi when I get bored. I've haven't added any numbers in a few weeks, but I've got 125 already, and I owe it in part to long bike rides.

andy

I have 2 ‘thinking rules’.
Never think about work (including home chores).
Never think about problems.

Other than that I let my mind wander where it wants to. Usually my thoughts wander to:

1. The ride (speed, cadence, road conditions, when to drink, the route etc)

2. The scenery - I live in a very beautiful area.

3. More and more I find myself fantasizing about organizing a group ride on one of my favorite routes - I guess I want to share the joy.

I do so much thinking off the bike, that when I get on the bike I just...ride.

I like to sing to myself. Of course I don't limit it to biking since I do the same while kayaking and downhill skiing. I generally match the song tempo to the frequency of my activity and the more hectic the surroundings the more hectic the song.

A key to this is not giving a darn what other people think as you whip by singing "Blister in the Sun"...

:D

I usually imagine that I am a pro cyclist, and that there is a guy way up there on the horizon that I have to catch. But most of the time, I just block thoughts and every ounce of myself into riding.

I generally ride alone, so to keep me sane, I imagine I'm in a race situation, against myself, and traffic (safely ofcourse :)).

Other than that, I enjoy the scenery too :fun:

Rich

I usually just focus on the road and my route, but when that’s not too complicated... I daydream! Thoughts wandering, the brightest future you can imagine taking shape in my brain... :D

Try to ride with groups at your local bike club. Is a nice experience. It gets worst if they don't let you to get a full workout than you normally do ridding by yourself. Then, you will know the group is too slow for you.

I avoid travelling through places that bore me. I used to cycle to a particular grocery store in the burbs, and I would get REALLY bored passing the endless sea of parking lots and strip malls. So now when I cycle to get groceries, I either do it at local places or at places that are located where I don't mind cycling to them.

Now that I avoid the burbs as much as I humanly can, I find it difficult to get bored on my bike. It seems there is always some Chicago neighborhood to explore further, and I never know what I might find. A variety of parks. historical sites, local hang-outs, public events, etc.

after being inside working all the day long, i think of the freedom and how fortunate i am to be able to steel away for biking. mostly i do my best thinking while riding or swimming laps. i just try to be the most efficient biker possible. there are many things to think about - but not having a beeper or a cell phone or other bothersome intrusions is so peaceful that i never not enjoy it.
but heaven help me if i hear a terrible song right before riding...i've been known to sing my kids t.v. show themes......ugh.

In town Im usually looking for people about to kill me, but in the countryside I like to look for wildlife and generally appreciate the scenery. I also leave any navigation or route planning till Im on the bike.

Lately while riding, I try to work out the physics of bicycling.
It's really rather challenging...cf.- because of the conservation of angular momentum, entering a curve of decreasing radius results
in a Coriolis force accelerating the bicycle so that centrifugal force
changes as the third power of the radius change...or maybe it dosen't.
Barry

I must be a freak I enjoy riding alone. I get really in tune with my self. I hit a cadence that I like, I push it tell my brain goes numb. Then when my tongue hit the handlebars, I don’t have a care in the world just bliss.

When I am out with other people, it often gets to completive for me and that seems to always take away from my rides. So the best thing I can tell you is: find the zone when your alone then you will find nirvana.


Yeapers I must be a freak

I never have time to day dream

My main cycle is the daily commute through 7 miles of London in 45 mins, during that time I will have to do a minimum of 2 emergency stops, (I get approx 600 miles from a set of rear brake blocks and 1,000 miles from a rear tyre if I'm lucky), numerous other stops for lights etc, a hike through the Greenwich foot tunnel and always on the look out for the next loony trying to kill me.

Ahhhh the chance to daydream, or set up a candence, or sing songs. Far too many interuptions.

Well i am one of those people whose has a million things on the go like homework radio talking to roomate watching tv all at once. so when i ride i like to look around and sing and watch the traffic look in cars and anything and everything i can.