The ride is everything- music, people, even scenery though appreciated are seperate from the beauty of the ride. No matter how much I may fight getting on the bike, I know that once on it I reach a state of bliss. It's not about killing myself or seeing how fast I can go, these efforts numbers also detract from the ride. It's about the beauty of a fit body interacting with a well tuned and well made bike and with the beauty of this world. It is the sweet, quiet swish-chunk of a chain moving to different sprockets, the wind rushing by, thoughts drifting from the subconcious. I do it every day save one a week for rest.