Velo Vol 

A research project suggests (New York Times, Huffington Post) that people tend to be more content when they focus on the activity they are performing rather than letting their mind wonder (i.e., daydreaming). This is true even for activities that the performer considers to be pleasant.

That's a bit disconcerting to me, as my mind tends to wonder. And I often use my rides as a venue to do just that.

What about you? Do you concentrate on your physical activity when you were on a ride? Or do your thoughts drift to other topics?

patentcad

I think about cycling when I'm blogging here. When I'm on the bike I think about other stuff.



Duh.

BillyD

I read that article and I can identify.

I'm a drifter. I like it that way.

Velo Vol 

One problem is that if you are simply out for moderate exercise, cycling really doesn't require all that much concentration. What are you going to be thinking about for an hour or two?

LowCel 

So while riding you basicly think about what you are going to post about when you get home?

oldboy

occasionally Ill think about form, relaxed sholders, loose grip, tight core, straight knees, etc. Ill think about cadence as well. When Im not thinking about how im riding, when im riding, and where im going then im thinking about what im going to eat when i get back..

surgeonstone

Ali- " You were drifting"
Lawrence- " I was thinking"
Ali- "YOU WERE DRIFTING"
Lawrence-" Quite right, It won't happen again"
Ali - " BE Warned- You Were Drifting"

I drift all the time, I still like it.

mrvile

I think about cycling when I cycle. Sometimes I go for a ride because I need some alone time to think about something else, I always end up just thinking about cycling.

bismillah

How do you measure how content a person is?

rat fink

Smiles per mile.

Velo Vol 

Is there a psychologist in the house?

mrvile

I'm pretty sure Quarq is coming out with a crank based happiness meter by Q2 2011.

Caracalla.

when on solo rides, my thoughts are outside of cycling or i am blank and just enjoy the peace and quiet of being alone. i will find it real hard and boring to focus on cycling 100% (if that is even possible) while riding for 2-3 hours.

Daytrip

I think about cycling to the extent that I appreciate the fact that I'm doing it. Other than that, I try to concentrate on the scenery, the cool sensation of zooming around the countryside on my own power, and the Fundamental Questions of Life. Basically, if I'm thinking about cycling, I'm thinking about something that hurts or needs adjustment. My easier (but not necessarily more satisfying) rides are when my mind wanders and I just space out for a couple of hours. Nice and relaxing--no pain.

ciocc_cat

When I'm cycling, my mind often drifts back to races long past. I travel back in time to the 1984 Tour de France, but then my mind veers off the race to the "incident" at the hotel involving the maid who got her toe stuck in the bathtub facet the night before Stage 13 . . .

KiddSisko

Roadiebot.

KiddSisko

Here's a serious answer to the OP's question: Depends.

For the most part I multi-task when riding. I don't like not being in control of the bike at all times, so part of my conscious mind is constantly aware of road position, avoiding obstructions, and staying alert for traffic. Then there's qualitative and purposeful riding, which means I'll be aware of form, comfort, efficiency, location, time, speed, effort, and gearing depending upon the length and difficulty of the ride. The remainder thinks about whatever pops into my head.

And its wander, not wonder.

ciocc_cat

A truly memorable scene from "Lawrence of Arabia"!
Sometimes happens to me when I'm riding . . .

SRHilden

I am the same skiing as biking...some days I just need time to relax and get away from things, those days I normally don't push myself and ride the MUP's or ski the easier stuff for the majority of the time and get my mind back in line. Then I spend the rest of the day pushing hard and thinking about what I am doing, jumping off cornices on skis requires some thought about it, at least for me same with going down a road on my bike at higher speeds.

pdedes

depends on the purpose of the ride. anything with intensity, i'm pretty focused. rides with the ipod are especially lazy.

coasting 

i never think of cycling while riding. i think about how to achieve world peace.

chasm54

depends what you mean by thinking about cycling. If you mean the mechanics of pushing the pedals around, changing gear etc I rarely think about that at all at the conscious level. If you mean the whole of the activity - awareness of what is going on around me, what I can see from the bike, how I'm feeling as I'm climbing this hill and whether I need to back off, then I guess I'm thinking about the cycling most of the time. I don't listen to music on the bike for this reason - I prefer to be in the moment, in touch with what I'm doing.

On that subject, I notice from the article that people having sex were most likely to be concentrating on what they were doing. But I'll bet they weren't concentrating on the mechanics, they'll be concentrating on what they're feeling, on the feedback they're getting from their partner, and so on. I guess that's the distinction I'm trying to make.

Occasionally my mind will drift off to whatever is preoccupying me on any given day, but I agree with the findings of the researchers. Those rides are less satisfactory than those on which I can stay in the moment.

carpediemracing 

As a normal teen I rode to escape the other things stressing me in life. When I had a stressful race coming up, I'd do the things I escaped when I trained, instead of training (i.e. reverse escape).

Nowadays I have a lot less escaping to do. I focus on other things, like:
- form
- traffic, road conditions, etc (riding environment)
- music (without necessarily listening to music per se; I'll end up mentally humming songs)
- getting through a hard part (counting pedal strokes... on long rides I reset the counting meter when I get to 1000)
- when I can go really fast next
- replaying potential race situations and thinking about how to react to them

I rarely focus on:
- scenery. It actually annoys me when riders focus on scenery and therefore lose riding focus. It's like having a conversation in the car. When I talk while I'm driving, I don't look at the other person/people. I look straight ahead and keep my eyes on driving. As a passenger I also don't look at the driver, in order to encourage the driver not to look at me. I've had riders do endos right next to me as they take in some beautiful view and ride right off the edge of the road.
- catching/dropping other riders. It's not a race if I'm out training on my own. In fact, if I catch someone who is going pretty well, I drop back on purpose. I'd rather use them as a mental pacer rather than having them trying to beat me. If I catch them over and over, either because they had to ease or because of lights and stuff or because they keep blowing through lights/stops to pass me, I'll commend them on their speed (except the light runners).

cdr

ahsposo 

I'd say it depends on the road and my agenda for the ride.

If I'm climbing or descending I'm pretty focused on those efforts and they are two very different kinds of focus. If I'm riding with a fair amount of vehicular traffic or with other riders I'm paying close attention to that.

If I'm out by myself on good roads with little other traffic my mind can wander pretty far off the road.

roccobike

My mind occaisionally wanders, but I'm usually thinking about cycling. When I'm riding MTBs I'm 100% focused on the trail ahead and the next turn.