Originally Posted by
PatrickGSR94
I guess I'm just different then. For me, a ride is a ride. Only difference usually is if I'm carrying/pulling stuff or not. I like to ride a bike no matter what.
Maybe it's because 75% of my bike miles are transportational in nature - directly replacing car use, be it commuting, going to the store, riding over to my parents house or the LBS, whatever. Even riding to the start of a ride instead of driving can be a transportational ride. Even if it's a recreational ride, I try to have some type of "destination" in mind. I don't really care to ride a loop without actually going anywhere. I like to go places by bike, and for me I treat pretty much all rides the same.
Sure. I can relate. In my case, the difference in "mindset" between commuting and rec riding is like night and day.
Commuting: 50 hard fought miles, 20 in and 30 back, which I ride as fast as I can. For much of it, all I think about is the bike: how it's doing, what's my time, where are the cars, etc. The route involves roads I would never ride when just out for a fun spin: construction zones, school zones, narrow bridges with heavy traffic, you name it. I'm alert and doing things I normally would not do.
Rec ride: hop on trial behind the house and turn off my brain while I pedal for 50 to 100 miles. I never even once glance in my mirror and barely think about the bike at all. In fact, I spend most of my time thinking about everything but my cycling.