A simpler ride.
 

On a club ride this past Sunday, my computer started showing my speed as 0mph, until I moved the unit and it would show the speed. For a while. I ended up with it registering 32 out of the 36 miles that I rode. It's a digital wireless VDO and showed 0 a lot but did intermittently transmit/receive enough data to record most of the ride. The ride was no less fun because of this.
Then, yesterday evening, on a ten mile (more or less) ride, it showed 0 right from the start and shut off. And stayed off. Needed a battery, obviously. Anyway, I enjoyed myself in spite of not knowing current speed, miles traveled, max speed, etc. All those distractions were not clouding my mind. Maybe I rode a little faster? Dunno, could be.

Anyway, I got home and reflected on my simpler ride. It was fun!




Then, I installed a new battery.
Enough of that foolishness! :eek:

My road bike has a computer; my hybrid bike does not. I think I have more fun riding the hybrid. When I have a computer in front of me I somehow feel like I have to push harder.

Fun doesn't have a unit of measure and let's hope it never does. Disconnect your computer battery once in while so you can re-charge your soul.

I haven't paid attention to average speed during any recent rides.
On the other hand, being aware of how far and how fast doesn't have to take away from the experience.
I do get a kick out of seeing 20+mph on the computer for long stretches, on the rare occasions when that happens.

Cycling takes me away from the normal demands of every day life. The 'average speed' function on a bicycle computer, in my way of thinking, only suggests how cycling has become a microcosm of society.

I do like the 'trip mileage' feature, however. I like to know where I am (mileage) during a ride.

I don't pay much attention to the speed,but I do keep a close eye on the cadence,,Gotta protect those knees...
Bud

If you want to keep track of all info but don't want to keep looking put a piece of tape over the screen so you can not look while riding.
Or mount it under the seat.

I agree though that not looking can change the experience of the ride and make you stop looking at miles and start counting what DnvrFox does and count Smiles!

For me, somethimes ignoring it during the ride is great but I do like to check it at the end for average speed, max speed, etc.

Sometimes, just riding brings back the fun. All the facts and figures just seem to cloud the reason we do what we do in the first place, just ride, enjoy the scenery, and have fun.
On my last ride, I didn't bother to reset the computer. So I had no idea how far I'd gone, I just rode. My wife on the other hand, not only has her bike computer, but has an app for her phone, which talks at some preset interval, that tells you how far you've gone, when you start and stop. After word it give you the distance, speed, calories burned, and some other stuff. Way to much information for me.

Type A. Without a computer I ride harder because I have no way to quantify how hard I'm working. With a computer, I can look at the speed and heart rate and say, OK, that's hard enough.