Retro Grouch 

I think that it depends on how much time has passed since the ride.

The comfortable rides in which everything went well are the most immediately satisfying but are soon forgotten.
It's the imperfections in a ride that sparks the stories we share with our grandchildren and riding friends sometimes decades afterward.

There are no bad ride experiences.

John_V 

Good:

Getting on a bike and riding.

Bad:

Having to get off the bike.

osco53

Baring death or Injury, I will take the good with the bad. mean dogs suck. It's a 'Zen' thing, life is not all roses.

Wogster

A good ride is one where the rubber side stays down and the shiny side stays up......

Conditions I like:
Not too cold, not too warm anywhere from about 12℃ to 24℃ is good.
No humidity
No rain
Little wind
No clueless cagers (ones that have a clue are fine).

northbend 

This resonates with me.
Getting lost, doing very difficult rides where the outcome is uncertain when you start out, racing the sun to get home before dark.. These make for very memorable rides

dalameda

I'm with the "every ride is good" group. I have had some hard rides due to wind, or steep hills, or flats but even within those, there have been great moments - getting to bomb downhill, or finally turning downwind, or being with a group of friendly folks to laugh at our struggles. The parts of a good ride that have been truly memorable have been climbing hills I never climbed before, going downhill faster than I have ever gone before, completing my first century, seeing new PR's on strava routes I have ridden a lot. Riding along roads that are jaw-dropping beautiful. Taking a rest break with a group and seeing the quiet smiles on everyone.

cyclinfool

At the present I am riding primarily for fitness - and not enough of that. A good day on the bike would be one where the weather is in the mid 70's, sunny, dry and the humidity is moderately low. If I ride a good 30 or more miles and feel well worked out but not beat up. A bad day is when I have to ride the trainer.

CommuteCommando

Example of recent good ride

-Encounter with belligerent cager who I caught up to at an intersection to find her texting, and busted her.
-Several Strava PR's
-Passed a couple of Mormon "elders" walking on a MUP and shouted "Hey guys, where's the bikes! Got a chuckle from them.
-Got smiled at by pretty young jogger.
-Caught up to someone I know riding through Doheny State Park, finished the last four miles of the ride with company.

Bottom line, keeping it fresh and interesting.

Tandem427

A good ride experience is when I get into the zone and all systems are functioning at optimum efficiency. My endorphins are doing whatever it is that good endorphins are supposed to be doing and I realize how fortunate I am to be out in the elements, piloting such a magnificently designed machine. The gratitude of being physically able to do something I love so much and the feeling of, "it doesn't get any better than this."

It's all about getting away from the cares and the worries of the world. A cold, crisp, winter day with fresh powder, the leaves changing in the fall, the flowers blooming in the spring, a cool morning ride in the summer, it's all better on a bike.

TromboneAl

Ditto what Tandem427 said. There's this zone where I'm just shooting along, smooth and efficient, and eating up the miles.

BikeWNC

Today was a good ride. New route, a bit of which I had been on but in the opposite direction. Very low traffic too. Very nice scenery, some of the best typical of WNC. Courteous cars, the few that did pass had to be waved around. Perfect weather, 60s for the most part. And, I felt pretty good on the bike, which was unexpected given my recent time off.

big john

Same for me. I don't mind weather or crappy roads if the right people are there with me. Biker395 is one of those people a few times per year.

CB HI

Any ride without an ER visit or serious damage to the bicycle is a good ride.

TromboneAl

A bad day on the bike is better than a good day in the ER.

Barrettscv 

I enjoy a happy feeling of fatigue and the slight euphoria that come after a substantial ride. My average ride is 30+ miles and I'll keep my heart-rate in the 140 to 155+ range.

I'll ride in almost any normal weather. Rain is OK, Cold is OK and wind is OK. I'll stay in when cold combines with wind or rain.

Phil_gretz

What makes them better:

- finding interesting vistas
- discovering new places, roads, towns
- happening on another rider who's compatible and chatting for a bit while we ride

What can make them not as good:

- being distracted by worries or problem relationships
- feeling drained by cumulative lack of recovery/rest
- guilt from not accomlishing "honey do's" or "honey be's"

Rides with my grown daughters are fun, even if only short rides...

BadBurrito

I like the heat, and I like to go long. The best ride I've ever had was 200KM brevet ride in mid-july. It was sunny, hot, and humid. And I crashed at mile 3 (tire dropped into a crack in the road - I just was unattentive for a few seconds), so I was skinned up and bloody but I kept going. It was only in my mind, but I felt badazz and at 58 that doesn't happen to me much. It was awesome.

rumrunn6

recounting ride w wifey saturday ... enough miles to be a challenge, having good bikes setup properly and working correctly, good weather, good road/trail conditions, good smells and sights along the way. good passing experiences, either us or them ..., rest stops/services where you need them, not feeling rushed, a good place to hang out afterwards, safe parking for your car if you drove the bikes somewhere. stuff like that works for me.

Biker395 

Me too! And what's up with the few times a year? Our paths should cross more often!

Chaco

Pretty much the opposite of what happened to me this Saturday.

Went on my usual group ride, but we took a new route that involved a climb with 12% grades. I'm a 65 yr. old Clyde, so I was worried about this, but figured I'd give it a try. We averaged about 17 mph on the way to the climb, with some 7 to 8% grades on the way there. Just before the big hill, I got a flat. Then, 1/3 of the way up, my chain came off. After that, I couldn't get into my lowest gear without the chain coming off again. I made it to the top, but was totally exhausted. Another guy on the ride was just as tired as I was, and at mile 55, we gave up and his wife picked us both up.

Lesson learned -- shooting for a "personal best" is one thing, but trying to exceed your limits by a longshot is likely to result in the absolute opposite of a "good ride experience".

GTryder

Definitely first on my list (for me and my bikes), followed by:
Enjoyable weather conditions, Good road conditions & no surprise construction/detours, Not encountering "idiots" on the road or MUP.

WC89

Doing problem-free scenic rides with 2-4 others, with lots of tough hills, on a beautiful morning, when I'm at my fittest condition.

Riding MTBs on a local gravel MUP with my 11 yr old son.

Seeing other friendly roadies, having a quick chat while we roll along until someone turns off.

leob1

Yesterdays ride; It was warm and cloudy and supposed to rain, so I did some other chores and put off my ride. I was about to fix a screen, and it hadn't started to rain, yet, so I said the heck with it, ride first screen later. So as I was getting ready, the clouds got darker. I went three miles before the first rain drops. I could have bailed at that point, but I had a plan, screw the rain. It poured, it was cool, I had great legs. I looked down at my computer and was cruising at 20+ mph, seemingly with out effort. I got soaked, but the water comming off the road was warm, somtimes hot.
Only 12 miles, but the average was 1mph faster, and it felt great.
It was a great ride.

Drying and cleaning and lubing the new bike wasn't so great.

VNA

When all the sensations are synchronized or in unison.

Visual: great scenery

Physical: muscles responding under stress with minimum pain/discomfort

Mental: how you feel!

But you have to be on your bike first!