Maybe it is because I'm an engineer and accustomed to thinking (too deeply) into things. But since I started bike commuting & shopping with my bike, I feel just a bit silly going for just a joyride. I feel like I should always be on a mission, because I get such satisfaction now from not driving everywhere.

On longer weekend rides, the mission is training.

I find myself not going for short local rides just for the joy of riding any more. It is a weird feeling for me. I feel like I should be riding more (my commute is short, and the bike is not always practical for shopping) I used to go for rides to the local forest preserve bike path. I tried it last week, and I had this feeling like I was a hamster on a wheel. Going nowhere, just burning energy that I couldn't burn at my desk all day. (and maybe shouldn't have consumed in the first place)

I guess I just need to relax and either chalk them all up to training, or accept that hamsters are onto something.

I'm making this a poll because a) polls are fun, b) for folks for whom this is not worthy of a typed reply, and c) because I'm a nerd and like bar graphs to sum things up.

I have two types of rides: short commutes and 1 hour plus rides of at least 15+ miles. Some of those I do on a mission, some I do at a relaxed pace. Almost all are fun.

Yes, you need to stop over-thinking it and just go for a ride. If you absolutely need a mission, go for a ride with the purpose of seeing how long you can ride without thoughts intruding on the ride. Then when one does, drop it and start again, just riding. Repeat until you can do a whole ride without thoughts intruding.

I enjoy going solo and with my group.. The group gives me incentive , when alone ; I can do my own thing. What's wrong with joyriding. It's like a Sunday family outing in the car, back when that was fun... But, on the bike only more so. . No plans , just impromptu. What could be a better way to relax.

I go on joyrides at least once a week, with a local group, not even really a club. It is called Pedal Powered Tuesdays. It is more of a social thing as opposed to a bike club. It is very laid back and informal.
There are folks on Huffy's, Columbia's, Giant's, Trek's and even one yo-yo on an Xtracycle (Guess who that is?)

Riding with no particular destination in mind is good for the soul and I try and do this daily.

Sometimes it is just a few kilometers, sometimes it is 100.

When I get in shape I will do some joyriding. Not right now though because I so tired after the commute.

I'm an engineer too and I don't feel silly going on joy rides. I do, however, sometimes wonder why I'm carrying everything I need to perform minor to medium emergency maintenance on a dark and stormy night, when I'm only going for a stroll down the beach path. I mean, do I really need to carry 2 extra tubes *and* a patch kit on every ride?

since i don't commute, most of my missions are for joy. think of it that way.

for some joyrides i purely do them to see how i am improving my cardio by checking on my speed and distance on my puter. for other joyrides it is about exploring. in my case having lived near nyc most of my life, exploring it on bike is now like finding a whole new city. that is a lot of joy for a small investment. we do 30 miles on a weekend day and explore all kinds of stuff. the flip-side is trails, which are on the horizon for western jersey and upstate NY.

now i know what you mean, when i ride around my suburban hometown, i feel like a hamster on a bike. these are the roads i knew as a kid, the scenery is dull, i hate the town. so i change scenery to make it fun. i'll still do 7-10 mile loops around my hometown just to keep in shape now that i am getting in shape, but the real joyrides are when i am exploring. and nothing beats a bike for that, you see a lot more than speeding by in an insulated car, it can be as intimate as walking, but yet you can see 3-7x as much as an average walk will take you.

nobody can make you feel joy from riding for the sake of riding but why not give yourself a goal? i use mapmyride.com or googlemaps sometimes just to get a rough idea for where we may go that day. perhaps that will give you a more solid concept to hold onto rather than just having a starting point.

All my rides are for fun. I've actually stopped bike commuting recently because I don't enjoy my job any longer, and until I find something new I can't take the fun out of riding my bike by combining it with my trip to the office.

My daily roundtrip commute distance is 30 miles, so that's generally enough cycling for me all by itself on a day to day basis, though i will hop back on the saddle on a weeknight if i have an errand to run, friends to meet up with, etc. Usually when i have some free time after work and feel like i have extra energy to burn after my commute home, i'm much more inclined to hop in my kayak and go paddle a quick 5-10 miles out on the river.

On the weekends, i'm far more inclined to go on joy rides just for fun (when i'm not out on some of my long distance endurance paddles in my kayak). Sometimes i like to ride up to the botanic gardens and back or take the train out to the fox river or des plaines river bike trails and do some longer 50-100 mile rides. Joyrides along the the lakefront trail are nice too, though at this time of year i have to get out there early in the morning before it turns into the summertime festival of idiocy.

riding for me is all about riding, having a goal or destination is not terribly important, the important thing is to simply enjoy the journey. that's one of the most important lessons i've learned from cycling.

I use a mountain bike for joy rides. It feels more casual and gives me the option of going places I wouldn't on the commuter.

Every bike ride is a "joy ride" for me. Well, almost every one.

Riding to work is the best part of my job.

i feel you. i am not an engineer but i always feel like i need stuff with me. i have started to downsize on any ride that is in suburbia or the city. if i have an issue i have enough options to take care of them without needing to carry anything.

no backpack. just a water bottle, a spare t-shirt on the rear rack, mp3 player on my armband, my back blinkie on and my front light in my pocket in case we stay out until dusk. and usually no locks either.

for any trail rides in the future of course then i will mount up the trunkk bag and bring spare tube, tire irons, allen wrench tool, leatherman, more water, rain jacket, etc, etc, etc....

My weekend are for sure a joy ride. During my weekday commute ride, I'm pedaling 38+ lbs of bike and gear. That my fellow bikers make me feel like a hamster on rusted wheel. On the weekend, I take the 19 lbs carbon bike out along a 12 mi paved no car traffic path. What a joy that is. Now on the other hand, I will feel silly if I take my commuter bike on the same trail on the weekend.

The joy of N +1 rule.

Yeah, I go on joyrides, but I usually pick a destination, usually a restaurant for breakfast or lunch. Sometimes I just decide on a destination but don't stop there (i.e., go to the mall, go downtown). For some reason, doing joyrides on my single speed seems more appropriate than riding a geared bike. Not sure I can explain why, except that when riding the single speed, I get that WHEEEEEEE feeling more often. I think that has something to do with it.

every ride is a joy ride

I think this is it. I'm going to try more exploring and accept that I may have to put the bike on the rack and drive somewhere fun to ride.


Clifton: You should bike commute. You will feel better AT work, even if you don't feel better ABOUT work.

... and I think I'll try this when I don't feel like making a road trip out of it. But I will stop there. (Borders, etc.) I need to get more miles on the TriCross.

Commute is the hamster wheel. Same scenery, same drivers, maybe an accident or roadwork to liven things up.

You know what's really silly? Them Harley riders getting together and ride to nowhere. Takes up the road and pollute the environment with archaic exhaust systems that belches out "Harley sound" thinking they are God's gift to the world.

Atleast cycling has some fitness merit to it. I don't know what biking around in a Harley has apart from some ancient Cro-Magnon manhood ritual. FLAME ON!

Most weekends I go on a couple of shopping missions, but sometimes I just start riding around this fairly big city (11 million). I have a phone with a gps so I am never lost, but I prefer not to use it if I can help it.

However having it means I dont really have to pay attention to where I am. When I start thinking about heading home, I just start riding in what I think is the right direction, and after I while, if I still dont know where I am, I pull it out to see if I am right.

Getting lost is great

z

I had a short convo with a guy on a Harley this morning. We were at a red light. I nodded, he nodded back. Then he asked, "How far do you ride that in a day?"
"17 miles each way to work, so 34 miles."
"Every day?" "
"Most days, if it's a good week."
"Wow. I should get one of those."
"You should."

At this point the light had turned green and he was pacing me so we were a rolling road block. I mentioned there was traffic back and he finally sped up.

I dunno, I haven't gone out riding just to ride in probably 20 years. I didn't feel silly at the time. These days if I do anything that's not productive, I get the stinkeye and hear about it for days. Yeah, I know.