What's your "Zen" moment on the bike?
06-02-11, 08:29 AM
#52
Senior Member
For me it's when I lose myself in the moment. As mollusk pointed out, it happens in different scenarios, but for me it's usually in a race, just before the sprint, when I'm feeling "good" (not cramping, not blown, etc). It's when I lose awareness of everything except the situation. I don't know my HR, I often forget my cadence, I have no idea what gear I'm in, but I'm incredibly aware of possible and actual routes in the group, am on a hair trigger for responding to such things.
I have the same loss of awareness in big group ride sprints (think Gimbles or SUNY Purchase sprints), when launching a bridge attempt (races or rides). Usually it has to do with very focused efforts.
I wrote a letter to CyclingNews a while back about it:
https://autobus.cyclingnews.com/lette...4/mar12letters
Scroll down to "There's more to life than sprinting"
There's also the riding into the sunset thing but I can't think of a particular moment off hand. Rolling slowly in SoCal I think, but no actual specific moment comes to mind.
I have the same loss of awareness in big group ride sprints (think Gimbles or SUNY Purchase sprints), when launching a bridge attempt (races or rides). Usually it has to do with very focused efforts.
I wrote a letter to CyclingNews a while back about it:
https://autobus.cyclingnews.com/lette...4/mar12letters
Scroll down to "There's more to life than sprinting"
There's also the riding into the sunset thing but I can't think of a particular moment off hand. Rolling slowly in SoCal I think, but no actual specific moment comes to mind.
06-02-11, 09:05 AM
#53
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Mine is cruising along on a sunny spring day, fresh legs and 80 degree weather. Thinking that there is nothing I would rather be doing than riding my bike.
06-02-11, 09:35 AM
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when I hop off a route I know, just to explore, its like a whole new world
also the final pushes to the top of a huge hill, what an accomplished feeling
also the final pushes to the top of a huge hill, what an accomplished feeling
06-02-11, 09:36 AM
#56
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06-02-11, 10:28 AM
#57
Peloton Shelter Dog
You all miss the point. How predictable.
True Road Zen may dawn on a few of you some day, but not until you're out in a hammering rain storm 20+ miles from home, when nobody in their right mind would ever voluntarily ride a bicycle, and it occurs to you (usually while climbing a 10% grade hill) that you actually LIKE it.
The Zen Flipside is that you simultaneously realize that you have finally gone off the hinges, and nobody is going to ever re-install your sanity. But you will also like that.
Everyone you know will think you are insane. This will start with your family. Which makes that whole stupid thread about 'how do I make my family understand?' thread so ridiculous. You may as well try and catch the wind, or root for the Mets.
True Road Zen may dawn on a few of you some day, but not until you're out in a hammering rain storm 20+ miles from home, when nobody in their right mind would ever voluntarily ride a bicycle, and it occurs to you (usually while climbing a 10% grade hill) that you actually LIKE it.
The Zen Flipside is that you simultaneously realize that you have finally gone off the hinges, and nobody is going to ever re-install your sanity. But you will also like that.
Everyone you know will think you are insane. This will start with your family. Which makes that whole stupid thread about 'how do I make my family understand?' thread so ridiculous. You may as well try and catch the wind, or root for the Mets.
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06-02-11, 10:46 AM
#58
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When my legs are bracing against each other uniformly, so that when my left leg is pushing forward at the top, my right leg is pulling backward at the bottom; both are doing this in perfect, uniform circles with absolutely no muscular effort being directed beyond the circumference of the crankarms; my sitbones squarely on the saddle, with zero pressure on my junk; my spine elongated, but not erect; my breathing deep, relaxed and fluid; and I'm enjoying these sensations too much to look at my watts, hr or speed. I strive to regain this state on every ride, but I'm not always successful.
That and the four times when I've passed motorcycles on twisty descents.
That and the four times when I've passed motorcycles on twisty descents.
06-02-11, 10:54 AM
#59
You gonna eat that?
Riding home at night with the wind at my back, listening to the tires hum. (The prevailing wind is usually in my face when riding home.)
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I stop for people / whose right of way I honor / but not for no one.
Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
06-02-11, 10:59 AM
#60
You gonna eat that?
True Road Zen may dawn on a few of you some day, but not until you're out in a hammering rain storm 20+ miles from home, when nobody in their right mind would ever voluntarily ride a bicycle, and it occurs to you (usually while climbing a 10% grade hill) that you actually LIKE it.
Ah, good times.... good times.
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I stop for people / whose right of way I honor / but not for no one.
Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
I stop for people / whose right of way I honor / but not for no one.
Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
06-02-11, 11:16 AM
#62
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Mine would have to be going up steep grades in NW CT (and the other 2 states in that corner), sucking massive wind and going into the red while the world stinks of cow manure.
06-02-11, 11:18 AM
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I don't like riding in the rain.
06-02-11, 12:12 PM
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No matter the conditions . . pedaling hard and fast, unconscious feeling to the legs and feet, and having the bike be just a mere extension of me rolling through hills. You might have to pee, you might have your zipper undone, but nothing in the world matters at that point because you're in the zone!
In the runner's world, they call it the runner's zone ..let's call it the cyclist's zone. =)
One other funny thing is that once I'm on the saddle, there is little to no concern about purchasing anything cycling related, it's only when I'm off the saddle that I start window shopping.
In the runner's world, they call it the runner's zone ..let's call it the cyclist's zone. =)
One other funny thing is that once I'm on the saddle, there is little to no concern about purchasing anything cycling related, it's only when I'm off the saddle that I start window shopping.
06-02-11, 12:21 PM
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06-02-11, 12:28 PM
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I happen to live on a hill exactly like that and so I end most of my training rides this way.
I come down the first slope at about 32mph ... then it's a short flat bit where I just mash the pedals to keep about 28mph ... then it's a short but pretty steep hill of about 12% where I go full on and I arrive at the top at about 23mph depending on what I have left in me ... sometimes it's much slower
Arriving home 30 seconds after that ... that's my zen moment
06-02-11, 12:34 PM
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Pacelining with a tail wind.
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06-02-11, 01:06 PM
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You all miss the point. How predictable.
True Road Zen may dawn on a few of you some day, but not until you're out in a hammering rain storm 20+ miles from home, when nobody in their right mind would ever voluntarily ride a bicycle, and it occurs to you (usually while climbing a 10% grade hill) that you actually LIKE it.
The Zen Flipside is that you simultaneously realize that you have finally gone off the hinges, and nobody is going to ever re-install your sanity. But you will also like that.
True Road Zen may dawn on a few of you some day, but not until you're out in a hammering rain storm 20+ miles from home, when nobody in their right mind would ever voluntarily ride a bicycle, and it occurs to you (usually while climbing a 10% grade hill) that you actually LIKE it.
The Zen Flipside is that you simultaneously realize that you have finally gone off the hinges, and nobody is going to ever re-install your sanity. But you will also like that.
06-02-11, 01:13 PM
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My Zen moment on my bike is when I'm cruising along and my heart rate and cadence are the same...
A close second is when the sun is behind you and you are spinning along at around 95rpm, watching your feet dancing on the pedals in the shadows...
What's your Zen moment on your bike?
A close second is when the sun is behind you and you are spinning along at around 95rpm, watching your feet dancing on the pedals in the shadows...
What's your Zen moment on your bike?
My Zen moment(s):
-riding farther than before without stopping
-that 2nd wind I get after my first 20 miles
-hauling donkey with perfect gear changes
-flying through NYC streets with traffic
-the first 15 seconds that I get underway on a bike
-the last 15 seconds after a great ride
-when every muscle is aching and I say to myself "F-it." and keep going until it all goes away
-accelerating from a roll and getting up to 30mph
-coming off this one particular hill on my normal loop and catching the light at the last moment
-using a new product and finding out it was well worth the investment (shoes, wheels, etc...)
06-02-11, 01:42 PM
#72
Raising the Abyss
Better put into pics than words:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...d-ahead-photos
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...in-backgrounds
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...28Post-Here%29
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...d-ahead-photos
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...in-backgrounds
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...28Post-Here%29
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06-02-11, 02:14 PM
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06-02-11, 03:47 PM
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I feel a bike zen like awareness only occasionally, but cherish the moments.
30-40 miles into the ride, pushing hard, my back relaxes, my hips rotate a few more degrees forward than usual, my lungs feel like they actually open up, and as my legs begin to scream, I shift to the next easier gear. Within a minute or so, my lungs/heart are starting to complain and I go back to the next harder gear. When I can predictably go back and forth between legs and lungs by the minute, I feel like I am at peak performance for myself that day. This experience while working in a fast smooth pace line is Nirvana.
This may not seem like much to guys who have trained all their lives, but chasing that state is a big part of what gets me on the bike for every ride.
30-40 miles into the ride, pushing hard, my back relaxes, my hips rotate a few more degrees forward than usual, my lungs feel like they actually open up, and as my legs begin to scream, I shift to the next easier gear. Within a minute or so, my lungs/heart are starting to complain and I go back to the next harder gear. When I can predictably go back and forth between legs and lungs by the minute, I feel like I am at peak performance for myself that day. This experience while working in a fast smooth pace line is Nirvana.
This may not seem like much to guys who have trained all their lives, but chasing that state is a big part of what gets me on the bike for every ride.