Hermes

I find posts that say "make sure you have fun" interesting. These comments are generally provided to riders who are riding in a manner someone else does not like to do or does not approve of.

I always have fun riding my bike or I would stop doing it and assume others are as wise and smart as I am. I started to think that there may be some riders who ride their bike that do not have fun. If you are currently riding your bike and not having fun, this is the thread for you.

Tell us how you are riding and hate your bike. This should be a short thread. Or maybe not.

Looigi

What does "fun" mean in this context? Can something be enjoyable or enjoyed without it being fun? For example, I can enjoy doing hard intervals on a trainer, but I wouldn't call it fun. I could say I always enjoy riding my bike, though it's not always fun.

chasm54

Pain is pleasure.

Rick@OCRR

Very True Hermes,

If you're not having fun (or getting paid good money to do it) why do anything, even cycling? Of course I realize sometimes there are family or social obligations that are neither fun nor profitable (going to funerals, for example), but overall and generally, if it's not fun, don't do it!

I really like climbing big (tall, long, steep) mountain roads on my road bike and quite often when I finally reach the summit, I remark (whether anyone is listening or not) "That was fun!" On several occasions, other cyclists have not been in agreement with that statement. Thus, "fun" is a personal definition as well as social definition.

That's my take on it, anyway, YMMV!

Rick / OCRR

ericm979

When I was racing in the late 80s and early 90s, I stopped having fun. It became a chore. Looking back, I probably was overtrained, and certainly was training wrong for me. The season where I got injured halfway through the previous season and when healthy decided to start training in august for next year finally did me in. By the next May I hated riding. The last ride was a beautiful summer day up the mountains. I got up there and said "I hate this ****. It's stupid. I am going home".

I quit riding and took up motorcycle racing and chasing goth girls.

I took up riding again when I was 40. At first I was just riding for fun and to get into shape as I was fat and pathetic. I wouldn't even use a bike computer and swore that I'd never race again. After a while I decided that maybe a half century would be a good goal. It was so hard! My friend had to tow me the last 20 miles. Then I got in a bit better shape and tried some centuries. That got easier so I did the Death Ride. I'd never gotten around to it when I was racing. The first time was the hardest thing I'd done. It was so miserable and I swore I'd never do it again. Two weeks later I was planning for next year. A couple years later the Death Ride was no longer enough of a challenge. I heard about this two day race called the Everest Challenge. 29,035 feet of climbing in two days. I figured that if I was going to do that I'd better learn how to ride in groups again, so I started doing racer group rides with lots of climbing.

My new friends on the group ride suggested that I should get a license rather than riding in the public category. I did EC as a cat 5, couldn't finish, but that made me determined to train harder and finish the next year. Part of that training would be to do normal races. So it took about six years but I am back to racing again. Since then I've finished EC three times and placed as high as 12th in the 45+ field and gotten some top 10s in other races. There is a large gulf between me and the good guys, but it's fun to see how well I can do with what I have.

This time I am less dumb about training and rest, and I am only doing the races I like instead of trying every race on the calendar.

teachme

I think I understand what you are going for here Hermes... If you are asking what we don't like about cycling or what we wish cycling emcompassed, I guess I could begin with :
1. There are no MUPS in my area.

sarals 

I have to keep reminding myself that I'm having fun when I'm climbing a long, steep grade. I'm lying to myself, of course....

YokeyDokey

My vintage steel bike is cute and all that, but it has a steel-reinforced-concrete seat ordered from Sheldon Brown. It'll be fun with a new seat, I'm just sure of it.

bradtx

Hermes, Reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw about fishing. "A bad day fishing is better than a good day at the office."

I don't always have fun on my bike, but something has kept me in love with cycling since the second grade.

Brad

Kurt Erlenbach

Hermes makes an intresting point, and it's one I've thought about a bit. I really do not like cycling all that much. It hurts sometimes, and it makes me tired. Drivers scare me, and I have trouble with the nagging, largely irrational, fear of instant death on the grille of a pickup truck. The scenery around here isn't all that interesting, and much of the year it's really hot and humid. That said, while I'm not a big fan of riding, I really love having ridden. I enjoy how I feel after, I like the many health benefits, I like the amazed looks I get from people when I tell them about my rides, I like how it makes me look, and there are a dozen other things about it that I love. Sometimes when the weather is nice and I'm feeling good, riding is fun. But mostly it's a chore done for the benefits on the other side. And it beats by far every other form of exercise that can provide similar benefits.

t4mv

Kurt, to add on to what you started, I *hate* overanalyzing getting ready to go out for a ride, but once I'm actually out on a ride, it's a great feeling. But to Hermes' point, it is definitely not my idea of fun slogging up a 5+ mile long 6+ % grade on a 95 F day, w/ or w/o humidity, and a tailwind + sun directly on my back. Not fun at all.

DnvrFox

It is not fun having 3 flats on one ride, or a broken chain or breakdown of some sort.

Otherwise, it is always fun, and I carefully program my riding with variety and different challenges to make sure and accomplish that.

And I program my non-riding exercise time that way also, such as my 5.5 mile hike today.

curbtender

I'm not fond of my commute, but I always feel better when I do it.

DX-MAN

I did the second (of probably the ONLY two!) epic ride today; the first was over 40 miles, today was 52.

My taint hurts, and everything else aches.

I still went out with the kids tonight, on our bikes.

I will still get on it tomorrow for the commute, too.

I'm addicted to riding; don't feel right if I don't do it.

Artkansas 

Bike riding oscillates from fun to not fun. A while back on a commute I was having fun rolling down a steep hill. It stopped being fun as a truck attempted a left hook at speed at the bottom of the hill and we missed each other by a few feet. The best part of that incident was that if i hadn't had such fun going down the hill fast, he probably would have hit me.

John_V 

This may sound strange, but I actually get bored if I am home and not riding. For me, most of the time, riding is fun. I am very relaxed after a long ride and it makes me feel good. It's an addiction.

StephenH

One thing that complicates the situation is that for me, part of the fun of riding is the feeling of accomplishment when I'm done- especially true on a longer or harder ride. Then also, even during a ride, you can have some things that are fun and some that are not. So I've ridden into a headwind with sore feet and a saddlesore, but was also in the company of an attractive and friendly lady, so who's to complain?

gcottay

For me that hits an issue dead center.

Novice riders, I think, often hit the road (or MUP or even sidewalk) with high expectations of instant long distances and high speeds. When they find themselves riding a few slow miles the bike goes into the garage. I join you in assuming most people are plenty wise enough to do what they enjoy, I encourage beginners to ride slowly, ride short and focus on having fun. Once they are hooked we talk about the delights of the burn.

ModeratedUser150120149

One of my Life Mottoes:

Whatever you do;
Do it for fun; or
Do it for survival, or
Don't do it at all.

I've followed that for most of my life. I think it applies generally.

Terex

In about the last 7 years (since I started road riding again), I distinctly remember ONE day that I wasn't having fun. Mental, physical, whatever... During the ride, I told another person that I wasn't having fun and that I shouldn't be on the bike.

I generally just LOVE being on a bike. The love for riding has recently been shared with fast hikes up super rocky, high altitude trails in my Saucony Peregrins (trail running shoes) and as soon as the snow gets deep enough, skiing and snow shoeing.

Got to watch Doc Martin now.

JanMM

Thank goodness there are no MUPS in my neck of the woods. Playing in the street, playing in traffic on a bike is (almost) always fun. Riding on quiet country roads is fun, too, of course.

kr32

Why am I even reading this thread? I have fun all the time when on my bike.

rubic

Are we having fun yet?

JanMM

teachme

+1 You totally captured the true meaning of this thread.