Advertise on Bikeforums.net



View Poll Results: Which of the two best describes your rides?

Voters
32. You may not vote on this poll
  • I ride as hard as I can.

    14 43.75%
  • I spend my time checking out the senery.

    18 56.25%
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 37
  1. #1
    Watching and waiting. jethro56's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Mattoon,Ill
    Posts
    2,016

    Gung ho or flower smeller?

    I'm definitely more of a scenery checker.
    Last edited by jethro56; 05-04-12 at 09:42 AM.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Seattle Forrest's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    9,110
    Both.

    I climb mountains on my bike. That can take all out effort for tens of miles. I also stop to enjoy the scenery. These aren't opposites.

    Don't believe everything you think.

  3. #3
    Watching and waiting. jethro56's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Mattoon,Ill
    Posts
    2,016
    Please use the poll where I used correct spelling. Can't seem to delete.

  4. #4
    Starting over CraigB's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Indianapolis
    Posts
    4,116
    I can't pick just one and be accurate, though I admit when I'm alone I tend to push my limits, such as they are. I have a hard time riding leisurely unless I'm with friends. Then it's no problem, and I enjoy it a lot.
    Craig in Indy

  5. #5
    Senior Member goldfinch's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    on your left
    Posts
    3,077
    Depends. I am most definitely a scenery checker on my hybrid and I love going down the local trails where I am right now, listening and looking at birds, just generally watching as I go through the woods and fields and around the pongs. I enjoy it so much that I am thinking about getting a mountain bike.

    On the road bike I tend to push myself. Plus, because of neck issues I have to spend a fair amount of time with my head down and it is harder to check out the scenery as I go.
    "The most important take-home message with diet and health is that anyone who ever expresses anything with certainty is basically wrong, because the evidence for cause and effect in this area is almost always weak and circumstantial…"--Ben Goldacre in Bad Science

    1969 Schwinn Collegiate, original owner
    Trek Madone 4.7 WSD
    Cannondale Quick 4
    Terry Classic
    Trek 800

  6. #6
    You gonna eat that? Doohickie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Fort Worth, Texas Church of Hopeful Uncertainty
    Posts
    13,648
    My answer:



    I guess I'm a scenery checker.
    I stop for people / whose right of way I honor / but not for no one.



    Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."

  7. #7
    Senior Member Black wallnut's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Ellensburg,WA
    Posts
    791
    I ride as hard as I can while checking out the scenery, rarely stopping to smell flowers.




    Please consider making a donation on my behalf to the American Diabetes Association. I have singed up to ride in Spokane WA Tour de Cure May 2013.



    Mark

  8. #8
    Senior Member Street Pedaler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    NW Louisiana
    Posts
    562
    There's not a category listed for me. While I do attempt to ride as hard as I can, it really doesn't get me past the flower smeller stage. I'm an enigma.

  9. #9
    Bulky Bullet Sayre Kulp's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    New Smyrna Beach, FL
    Posts
    1,340
    Both depending on the ride.

    If it's a training ride, then I'm pushing myself to achieve targets that may be based on time, speed, heart rate, or a combination of those criteria.

    If it's a social ride, or just an "I want to putz around on my bike and enjoy the beautiful weather / explore a new area" type of ride, then I ride at a comfortable relaxed pace.
    "Obstacles don't like me very much. I make them look bad."

  10. #10
    Senior Member Seattle Forrest's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    9,110
    Quote Originally Posted by Street Pedaler View Post
    There's not a category listed for me. While I do attempt to ride as hard as I can, it really doesn't get me past the flower smeller stage. I'm an enigma.
    Are you an enigma wrapped in a mystery, or the naked kind?
    Don't believe everything you think.

  11. #11
    Senior Member IBOHUNT's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Western Maryland - Appalachian Mountains
    Posts
    1,019
    I could have started off with "How can we not say the word if you don't tell us what it is?" but that's for another thread.


    Like most that have posted... both although I tend to push so given the choices, much like the political scene of choices we have available to us, I'll choose one.

    This is *NOT* a political statement. I think all politicians should serve two terms...

    One in office
    One in prison

  12. #12
    Senior Member Street Pedaler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    NW Louisiana
    Posts
    562
    Quote Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest View Post
    Are you an enigma wrapped in a mystery, or the naked kind?
    Lol. Seattle, whenever given the choice, not the nekkid kind.

  13. #13
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    1,412
    I ride with my wife most days, she can't spell slow. When we hike I tell her all the time she goes so fast she could walk over a bear and never know.

    Of course I can't actually keep up with her on the bike, but it makes all my rides at my max trying to keep her in sight.

    Evey now and again she agrees to what she calls a love ride, and that means I can actually talk without gasping for air lol

  14. #14
    Senior Member Seattle Forrest's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    9,110
    Quote Originally Posted by vesteroid View Post
    I ride with my wife most days, she can't spell slow. When we hike I tell her all the time she goes so fast she could walk over a bear and never know.
    Don't believe everything you think.

  15. #15
    Senior Member WonderMonkey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Vandalia OH
    Posts
    1,056
    On my normal rides I go as hard as I can and make it through, with an eye on the fact I will ride tomorrow. As my recovery improves I want to go so hard that I have to lay in the yard at the very end and wonder if I am going to die or not.

  16. #16
    Senior Member Black wallnut's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Ellensburg,WA
    Posts
    791
    Perhaps a Mod can merge these two threads, delete the duplicate, fix the spelling error as this seems to be the first thread and has the earliest replies but what do I know.............. just an Admin of a different forum running vBulletin... guess I should shut up now before someone thinks I'm volunteering.....




    Please consider making a donation on my behalf to the American Diabetes Association. I have singed up to ride in Spokane WA Tour de Cure May 2013.



    Mark

  17. #17
    Senior Member marmot's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Ottawa
    Posts
    423
    I ride hard once in while just for the fun of going fast, but mostly I'm a flower-sniffing, bird-watching, livestock-inspecting, real-estate-appraising tree hugger.

  18. #18
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    547
    Depends on the ride.

    If I'm commuting I'm doing my best to make tracks. After all, I have somewhere I need to be.

    If it's a day off and I'm just bombing around I'm stopping to smell the roses.

  19. #19
    Senior Member kookaburra1701's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Eugene, Oregon
    Posts
    1,000
    I occasionally ride all out, and I do love the feeling of going fast (having always been the slow kid) but I'm definitely more of a scenery-checking, cow-mooing, bird-watching type rider. I do really "hammer" it when I'm on the way home and I know I have ice cream in the freezer.

    I've found that if I make my rides more about going out and doing and seeing things I tend to go on more of them. Since I started commuting by bicycle (I haven't driven since early April) I've lost 9 lbs without paying attention or trying, where previously no matter how hard I trained I stayed at the same weight (or gained).

  20. #20
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Henderson/Las Vegas NV
    Posts
    1,498
    Scenery 99%. I choose my bikes to carry cameras and lunch. I choose my bikes to be very efficient on the hills and comfortable for sun up to sun down adventures. I chase scenery and it may take me 12 hours to cover 50 miles but smelling the flowers also means wind in my face and the longer I ride the more my body demands and feels good about a lot of push and somehow that push just couples well with the euphoria I get from the spirit-of-place.
    Today I am rushing around to make sure I have absolutely nothing I have to do tomorrow. It is likely I will be out sunup to sundown, turning out the miles for body and mind and taking more pictures along the way.

    These are just a very few. This is what I live for.



















    Road Bike: Trek 2.1 Apex
    SPD Pedals
    Continental Gatorskin tires
    Kool Stop brake pads

    Hybrid/Commuter: Giant Escape 1
    Panaracer 28c T-Serv tires
    Ergon GP2-L Grips
    Serfas Lycra Dual Density Saddle
    Eleven81 BMX Pedals
    Kool Stop brake pads
    Planet Bike Blaze 2W front light
    Planet Bike Superflash Stealth rear light
    Topeak Explorer MTX Rack
    Topeak MTX Trunk Bag EX
    Topeak MTX TrunkBag DXP with Expandable Side Panniers
    Topeak Aero Expanding Wedge - Medium
    Garmin GPSMap 60CSx

  21. #21
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Henderson/Las Vegas NV
    Posts
    1,498
    Quote Originally Posted by marmot View Post
    I ride hard once in while just for the fun of going fast, but mostly I'm a flower-sniffing, bird-watching, livestock-inspecting, real-estate-appraising tree hugger.
    Yep. Anything outside. That's how the bicycles came to be for me in the first place.
    Road Bike: Trek 2.1 Apex
    SPD Pedals
    Continental Gatorskin tires
    Kool Stop brake pads

    Hybrid/Commuter: Giant Escape 1
    Panaracer 28c T-Serv tires
    Ergon GP2-L Grips
    Serfas Lycra Dual Density Saddle
    Eleven81 BMX Pedals
    Kool Stop brake pads
    Planet Bike Blaze 2W front light
    Planet Bike Superflash Stealth rear light
    Topeak Explorer MTX Rack
    Topeak MTX Trunk Bag EX
    Topeak MTX TrunkBag DXP with Expandable Side Panniers
    Topeak Aero Expanding Wedge - Medium
    Garmin GPSMap 60CSx

  22. #22
    An "American Flyer" IndianaRecRider's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Chicago's Southern Suburbs.....for now
    Posts
    438
    Definitely a flower sniffer.


  23. #23
    Senior Member goldfinch's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    on your left
    Posts
    3,077
    Quote Originally Posted by Igo View Post
    Scenery 99%. I choose my bikes to carry cameras and lunch. I choose my bikes to be very efficient on the hills and comfortable for sun up to sun down adventures. I chase scenery and it may take me 12 hours to cover 50 miles but smelling the flowers also means wind in my face and the longer I ride the more my body demands and feels good about a lot of push and somehow that push just couples well with the euphoria I get from the spirit-of-place.
    Today I am rushing around to make sure I have absolutely nothing I have to do tomorrow. It is likely I will be out sunup to sundown, turning out the miles for body and mind and taking more pictures along the way.
    Beautiful pictures! I want to ride with you!
    "The most important take-home message with diet and health is that anyone who ever expresses anything with certainty is basically wrong, because the evidence for cause and effect in this area is almost always weak and circumstantial…"--Ben Goldacre in Bad Science

    1969 Schwinn Collegiate, original owner
    Trek Madone 4.7 WSD
    Cannondale Quick 4
    Terry Classic
    Trek 800

  24. #24
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Henderson/Las Vegas NV
    Posts
    1,498
    Quote Originally Posted by goldfinch View Post
    Beautiful pictures! I want to ride with you!
    Well you are certainly most welcome. Plan on a slow and leisurely day. LOL.
    I think I'm starting my day tomorrow on my hybrid as a spectator at the Lake Las Vegas Athleta Iron Girl Triathelon. Should be plenty photo ops there then I transition to my road bike to take a 35 mile spin around the River Mountain Trail. Better get on that bus if you're going to make it on time.

    Road Bike: Trek 2.1 Apex
    SPD Pedals
    Continental Gatorskin tires
    Kool Stop brake pads

    Hybrid/Commuter: Giant Escape 1
    Panaracer 28c T-Serv tires
    Ergon GP2-L Grips
    Serfas Lycra Dual Density Saddle
    Eleven81 BMX Pedals
    Kool Stop brake pads
    Planet Bike Blaze 2W front light
    Planet Bike Superflash Stealth rear light
    Topeak Explorer MTX Rack
    Topeak MTX Trunk Bag EX
    Topeak MTX TrunkBag DXP with Expandable Side Panniers
    Topeak Aero Expanding Wedge - Medium
    Garmin GPSMap 60CSx

  25. #25
    Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    31
    I cant do anything slow... I can't even hit a tennis ball gently....but I AM a commuter and I DO have a goal...and am ever so happy when I don't make a light

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •