sbhikes

What is a fun ride to you? What makes it fun? Is fun even important to bicycle advocacy?

I will answer later.

derath

Being on my bike is a fun ride to me. Seriously. I just enjoy riding. Road, path, offroad trail. I love em all.

-D

chephy

Fun is a basic ingredient of cycling advocacy. That's one of the biggest reasons to ride!

There are so many different ways to have fun on a ride, I have trouble picking one. Urban riding, rural riding, mountain biking could all be fun and they are very different. I personally am primarily an urban utility cyclist. The key things that make my typical ride fun are something like this:

- other road users obey traffic laws and respect my rights and needs
- the ride is not constant stop-and-go (i.e. no extreme congestion or stop signs every 100 m)
- the road surface is fairly smooth and debris-free
- I have a destination and I don't have to make a huge detour to reach it

Of course, stunning scenery, gentle tailwind and cute puppies on the sidewalk make the ride even more fun, but I don't think cycling advocacy has any effect on these matters.

N_C

Any ride I do is fun. Hills, heat, headwinds, flats, tailwinds, what ever. Bring it on, it is fun regardless. If I did not get any fun out of riding I would not do it.

Yes, I think fun is important to bicycle advocacy. Unfortunatly it is not often if at all advocated for. We say before you can have a fun ride, you need to have a safe ride. And by having a safe ride you need to practice safe cycling skills, what ever they may be or how ever a cyclist interpretes what safe cycling skills are. There are certainly enough postings here to find out.

Maybe we should find other way to advocate fun cycling other then the safety issue. Yes, the safety issue is an important one, but it can't be the only thing that makes a ride fun, can it? So let's add to it & advocate for it.

nova

im guessing this came from my ot bit in the danger will..... thread
but heres one i did a fair number of times last year with various tur around spots
https://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=299376
Its a fairly hilly rout lots of hills most on the low grade small side. I call them roller coaster rolling hills. I maintained a avarage speed there last year when i wasnt in as good of shape as i am this year of 18.2 on the one ride i reset my comp on.

I dont feel like i need to watch over my shoulder every secound of the ride and can relax and just ride. The few cars that pass me on that road give plenty of room. I motioned for one to pass last year and the guy mouthed "no need" he was behind me for a good mile i would guess.

I like any ride where i can just ride thats what i consider fun. Esp if that can just ride route is through some prety nice country side. Call me weird buut i love riding by farms (other than nats i hate them blasted things hahah).

I invite any and all of you out here for a ride. I probably know every nice fun rout with in 20 miles and some hills that will make you nervous no matter how good you are heheh.

Roody

I have fun riding my bike to work, to the stores, to friend's houses. I love riding to parades and festivals and outdoor concerts. Here is one of my favorite recreational rides, which I try to do at least once a month. I like it because most is on country roads, but parts are on single-track, an MUP and city streets. One ride can entail many kinds of riding:

https://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=299597

And of course fun is important in advocacy. But really, Diane, you're the only rider I know who's all hung up about the concept of fun. You've mentioned it several times in the last year or two. What gives? Do yopu find it necessary to distinguish between fun riding and other forms of riding? I don't.

nm+

I'm on it.

Eli_Damon

The most fun I have on my bike is a day of running many small errands. Riding to a bunch of different places in rapid succession, crossing items off of my mental list as I complete each task, rewarding myself with a hearty lunch or dinner at a restaurant, I love it.

Carusoswi

So, where is Norton, OH? I grew up in SW OH. What big city are you near (I remember in state history class how proud OH was of its big cities - I think in that day they numbered 8 - "more than any other state in the union" - or so it went).

Just curious. I've read about that trail - have to try it sometime.

Caruso

cyclezealot

The club I ride with now are great people. Little more serious than I have been used to. No stops; possibly on a really hard ride- time out for a power bar . That is it. Every great once in awhile We stop at our club house for a drink after a ride.
But, then I am getting skinnier and stronger.
Still think a lite lunch is a good idea. A little reprieve from the bike energerizes one for the return. That way, maybe even a little incentive to extend the ride a little longer than originally planned.
I favor great scenery, a little social time for lunch, and some hard climbs that demand you stop for a little recovery time before your return.

genec

Low traffic; best if none at all. Smooth roads. Varied terrain. Mellow climate. Quiet. Interesting views, if I can wish for it all.

To me the ability to get into and hold a smooth cadence over a long time is important... and sure, given the opportunity... yes, I too would like to daydream... even for milliseconds.

The varied terrain is important... it gets me out of the saddle and aggressively pedaling... I like the feeling of that and the challange that hills represent... not to mention the "reward" of coasting a bit after a hill.

nova

Im 34 miles sout of cleveland near akron (about 10 miles from downtown akron). You can get a better idea if you zoom out on the map in my link . Silver creek park is 1.1 miles from where i live.

The towpath trail is a very nice ride. As are soem of the roads around here. Ohio has every thing from pancake flate terrain to near mountainous to deep vallys.

A more dedicated person than me could probably plan a century that ither all went up hill or all down hill here in ohio. And thats on a looped route.

recursive

Any time I ride hard enough to throw up is a good ride. Unfortunately, it doesn't happen often.

Helmet Head

All rides are fun, but some rides are more fun than others.

nova

One thing thats fun to me is finding a ride partner that isnt out trying to break some personal record. I like to just ride for distance and to heck with making good time. If i set a few personal bests doing it fine if not thats fine to.

I also enjoy not having a plan when i ride and just taking roads that are nicely paved with nice scenery.

Theres to few such roads here but i love roads that have trees that have branches covering the entire road in a sort of tunnel like effect. Even better when they are long and nearly perfectly strait. You can just kind of zone out a bit and totaly relax.

Not so fun at night though. I had a freakign 250,000 spot light as a head light and i sware even it would not reveal the road well. Add to that the fact there was not a single light on in any house no cars no riders joggers etc it was a little creepy ok alot creepy. In those conditions your mind realy does start to play tricks on you shadows from your ow light start to take on shapes from nightmares. In a way i guess scaring the ever livign crap out of your self can be fun to.

OH306

Just being on the bike again is fun. It's been at least 20 years so I invested this year in a Specialized Crossroads Elite .. just right for my sorry old butt. I ride mostly in the rural hills of Geauga Co Ohio and my favorite is early Sunday morning when the traffic is light and the dew is still on the grass. A quick stop at McD's for some fuel then off to enjoy the quiet ride through the couny. Beautiful!

mechBgon

Cleaning some technical singletrack is as good as it gets, especially if there are awed onlookers along who thought it was teh unridable Singletrack in the woods is so fun. With a couple good high-powered light systems, it's a kick to do it at night, too, and far less concern about an unexpected head-on collision with other trail users.

Road-wise, if I were in shape, then a solo cruise across Spokane, out to Mount Spokane north of the city, a difficult 4000-foot climb, a glorious 4000-foot descent, and the ride back home... that would be a fun ride. Right now I'm not in shape to do it, because it's about 75 miles.

sbhikes

I think I read something on the commuting forum that made me start this topic. I can't remember what now. But it had to do with hills.

My idea of a fun ride is hills. I feel like my best rides bring my average speed down. And any time I'm feeling kind of crummy, if a big hill stands between me and where I'm going, I always feel so much better after I go up the hill. They give me energy. The best hills to me have no pesky downhills in between them. The best hills to me are grueling, relentless climbs with one optional big payoff downhill at the end.

To me the best thing with hills is the way they eventually gain you the freedom to ride anywhere because you know you have the stamina to conquer any terrain. The freedom from a nagging "hmm, can I go there? Can I make it?" fear. Now the question isn't, "where can we ride that isn't too hilly?", it's more like "where can we go today?" This is a deep sort of fun to me. A liberation.

Anyway, so many cyclists I know do everything they can to avoid hills. I find it a bit limiting to plan any rides here in Santa Barbara because of this avoidance. There's just nowhere you can go in Santa Barbara that doesn't have a big hill in the way at some point. I've been trying to plan a ride here, but the whole no hills, no traffic thing is such a huge wrench in any plans.

I know that we all talk about safety and traffic all the time. Life and death stuff always seems like it ought to be more important. I wish there was a better way to get across the value of fun and freedom and the happiness that good health and strength gives you. People already equate cars with freedom and adventure with fun. I wish we could make more people aware of the different kind of freedom and adventure you can get from cycling. And to me, making peace with hills is as important to that goal as learning to ride in traffic.

DieselDan

Any ride can be fun. Every ride is better than work.

UmneyDurak

It's no a good ride untill I drop a granny on a mountain bike with panniers!

-=(8)=-

Nice thread Diane !
A nice ride for me would be the one I had last nite......
I rode almost 15 miles to another town to have dinner with my wife.
Some nice hills which I too have come to enjoy because it is liberating
to not worry about them anymore.
On the fixed gear bike there is nothing but a slight whisper of wind as
I passed thru miles of scenery that get put on post cards and not one
car passed me in my direction for the whole ride, until I got into town....
A beautiful, soul enriching hour.
Advocacy didnt cross my mind once. Who would I try to advocate to ?

iamtim

I have fun on every ride; that goes without saying. But rides that I consider especially fun are rides that I share with others, where there is good conversation and good camaraderie.

Roody

Great post Diane!

I think I know what you mean. The way you feel about hills, I feel about weather. Where I live, we have a lot of weather. Today it was almost 100 degrees. A few months ago it was 15 degrees below zero. Knowing that I can operate outdoors in both extremes, and everything in between, gives me a feeling of fun and freedom also. No matter what kind of day it is, what season of the year, I can go where I want under my own power with nobody's assistance. And the feeling of physical accomplishment is fun too. One night I was riding home against a cold headwind, snow stinging my face like needles, and I suddenly realized, "I could ride like this all night long if I had to--my motor just keeps on going around and around, no matter what."

But I'm not sure this is quite the same as fun for me. I think I can feel proud and accomplished when I ride up the hill, but for a true sense of FUN--excitement!--I like riding down the hill!

Roody

Diane, does knowing how to ride in traffic give you the same feelings as mastering the hills? Why or why not?

jwc

Like many, I enjoy it any time I'm riding. After driving in traffic for so many years, being able to commute to work helps me to slow down and enjoy my surroundings. Life is short, too short to be in a hurry to work and back home again. To be able to slow it down, smell a garden as I pass by it or hear birds overhead on a street shaded by huge oak trees is perfect.

People in cars just don't know what they are missing.