Kansas Don

Use to really enjoy the "runners high" on long distance runs, but have never felt that way biking.

Is there such a think as riders high?

Does it take a certain fitness level, or intensity and distance level to achieve it?


Don

Shuffleman

[QUOTE=Kansas Don;16966796]Use to really enjoy the "runners high" on long distance runs, but have never felt that way biking.

Is there such a think as riders high?

Does it take a certain fitness level, or intensity and distance level to achieve it?

I definitely get it from my running but I do not get it from my biking. I am not sure the reason for that but it is curious. I am quite serious about my running and have only gotten really into biking over the last 2-3 years. If I miss a day of running it really bothers me and I feel badly about it. I only ride 1-2 times per week. If I miss my Sat. ride, which is usually 30-50 miles, it does not have the same impact on me emotionally. I still look forward to my rides but it is not the same as it is for running. I actually think about my running regardless of the distance before I go to bed. I get more excited for the 10-12 miles days than I do the 4-6 mile days but either way it is a great feeling. Perhaps biking just does not have that level of passion for me yet or perhaps I just don't know how to channel it yet either. I do no that if I ride 50 miles it wipes me far more than running 15 does. Neither one keeps me on the couch in need of a nap but I definitely notice that I recoup from a run faster than a ride. I have gotten home from rides and lied down on the floor with my son rolling hot wheels and accidently nodded off a few times. That has never happened after a run.

Makel

Yes, but not the same as running.

RollCNY

I believe "runner's high" is a myth created by runners to not make their sport look so silly. (NOTE: This is a joke. Important to label as runners also lack humor(#notajoke))

I also believe in what I call "second day legs", which I have experienced multiple times. Do a century or more on day one. On day two, do another one. For me, miles 20-70 on day two are awesome, and I have some of my fastest fifty mile times in those situations.

BillyD

Mountain bikers get a high, at least that's what I hear.

Dunbar

I get an endrophin buzz from riding. I'm guessing it's the same thing as a "runner's high." While I think there's a certain intensity required I feel the "buzzed" feeling after my easy (2 hour) zone 2 rides as well.

merlinextraligh

I'd agree there's an intensity factor at work.

"runner's high" has been shown to occur from the release of endorphins. Runners' High Demonstrated: Brain Imaging Shows Release Of Endorphins In Brain -- ScienceDaily

There doesn't appear to be a physiological reason that you wouldn't get the same effect from exercise on the bike for a similar duration and intensity.

However, for an awful lot of people the intensity level of a 2 hour plus bike ride is more equivalent to walking than running.

Pushing to a higher level, more equivalent to running and you should get the same endorphin release.

Personally, I know that my mood improves significantly after a long hard ride.

big chainring 

Blazing up before riding can help it along a little bit.

kc0bbq

No matter how torched I feel after two hours of hill repeats, I feel awesome when I get off the bike and regret stopping. Doesn't matter that my body was making it clear that the last repeat was it, and I couldn't sustain anywhere near the effort I had been. I think it is there if you've been pushing hard enough. Only happens when I've spent enough time near the max I'm capable of, which, admittedly, isn't all that impressive.

hairnet

Yes, but it took 18 hours of riding to reach while I had 6 hours to go.

knobd

I definitely get some sort of mild high off of just about any ride; pretty much proportional with the effort. Another thing I notice is that if I've been riding a lot lately the longer I go without riding I sort of start making a transformation into an a-hole with a short temper.

banerjek

Absolutely.

There is a running comic I'm particularly fond of. It's every bit as much relevant to cycling or any other endurance sport.

brianmcg123

Yep.

saeyedoc

Especially in CO or WA

Kansas Don

2 back-to-back century's, guess I'll never experience it again.

Thanks for the replies, guess I just don't ride far enough, 30 - 40 miles a ride is about my average.

Don

RPK79

Ride harder.

saeyedoc

Or higher

StanSeven

That makes a lot of sense. I used to get "runners high" occasionally running. Usually it happened on a day when I felt good starting out and could push myself without discomfort or extra effort. Then it occurred.

I've never felt the same cycling. The biggest reason like you said is my intensity level isn't the same. It's hard to maintain a high intensity going downhill, stopping for traffic and intersections, and as well as just having to slow for so many other reasons including traffic. I assume I would need at least 30 minutes of consistently hard effort (maybe a 7-8 on a scale of 10) to reach it. That just doesn't happen where I ride.

caloso

Yes, but in my experience you really have to bury yourself to find it.

dave5339

Personally I've hit an endorphin high once on the bike and once running. Both times were incredible.

I can still remember finishing up an 80 mile ride, flying along in the big ring at 110+ rpm, just watching the legs fly and not feeling anything below the waist. Got done with the ride and was bouncing around the shop till the endorphins and adrenaline crashed, I was toast then.

Semper Fi

Null66

Yep!

I also get something like this from lifting really heavy.


Daughter loves the buzz she gets from riding.

Mopar440ci

ya i get it for sure, you just need to hit the road hard enough. if i go out for 30 mils on my own, nothing. 30 miles with my club at a normal pace, nothing. but on a good day when i hit the fast group for 38 miles at 21average and a good deal of hills i feel it for sure. and when i go out alone for 85 miles with 4800 feet of climbing i feel it. Also i feel really depressed if i have to miss a day i wanted to bike, im certainly addicted to it.

on the path

I think so. I don't run so I can't compare what I get to what runners get. I've gotten the exact same feeling at the same place on the same loop multiple times. The specific place is a fast false-flat after a 7 mile climb, which followed a flat 10 miles. The feeling was amazing..

Machka 

Yes, there is ... but it is a rare and elusive thing that takes a huge effort to reach.

24 years of cycling, and I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've had the "riders high". The last time I experienced it was during the 2006 UMCA 24-hour road race ... 24 hours in the saddle.


But I used to get it just about every time I ran, and when I was into bodybuilding, I used to get it with just about every workout.

WhyFi

I had a nice, euphoric buzz the other day, stayed with me for about an hour after the ride. The ride was a little more than two hours, and I had to push pretty hard to finish in time for a couple engagements afterwards (I got home with 10 minutes to shower and get out the door).