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How do you kill mass quanties of time?

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How do you kill mass quanties of time?

Old 12-22-12, 02:41 PM
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Originally Posted by bikenh
their [sic] is a lot more to life than drinking beer
True. There's Whisky.
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Old 12-22-12, 04:47 PM
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I read a lot, study chess, draw pictures, and as a tourist in beautiful wilderness I've taken up the joys of naturalism (i.e. study of nature, cataloging and documenting flora and fauna I've seen) and photography. Taking hikes once you're in the woods is always nice. There is plenty of work for the mind, and it's a joy to be in shape in that sense too. I don't really subscribe to the old proverb that "if you're bored, you're boring" (especially considering the demonstrably false premise of its opposite; fascinated people are not necessarily fascinating) but I rarely have problems entertaining myself and don't really understand prolonged boredom too well. Another consideration is taking up a portable musical instrument, like flute or even ukulele. Bach is nice on just about any instrument, including kazoo.

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Old 12-22-12, 05:08 PM
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On my first read through this thread I thought to myself, this guy (OP) needs help, he is damaged and has retreated into a solitary endeavor (long distance biking). On a second read through, I still think he would benefit from some psychotherapy - but that he should know that no one can answer his question but him. He alone knows how his issues have restricted his options. He alone can gain the courage to look beyond what he perceives as his limiting physical attributes and look at other humans as other than something to be avoided. As for specific ways to "kill time" - how about using one hour a day to plot a set of objectives with other people and interests instead of re-routing roads and google earth views for places to hide.

I offer this viewpoint with no malice, as I too suffer, maybe from depression, who knows, and I tend to ride around on my motorcycle, and now my bike - and I see myself trying to avoid human contact.....in my case I am just so damn engaging that people want to talk to me.

"As if we could kill time without injuring eternity..." Quoted from Henry David Thoreau https://quotationsbook.com/quote/39281/
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Old 12-22-12, 06:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Alekhine
I read a lot, study chess, draw pictures, and as a tourist in beautiful wilderness I've taken up the joys of naturalism (i.e. study of nature, cataloging and documenting flora and fauna I've seen) and photography. Taking hikes once you're in the woods is always nice. There is plenty of work for the mind, and it's a joy to be in shape in that sense too. I don't really subscribe to the old proverb that "if you're bored, you're boring" (especially considering the demonstrably false premise of its opposite; fascinated people are not necessarily fascinating) but I rarely have problems entertaining myself and don't really understand prolonged boredom too well. Another consideration is taking up a portable musical instrument, like flute or even ukulele. Bach is nice on just about any instrument, including kazoo.
I am glad you went on to explain. I always get confused between naturalism and naturism

If it had been the latter, I could have recommended some beaches on the west coast of France.
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Old 12-22-12, 11:00 PM
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a little tough to come by in america during the winter, unfortunately.

the Smithsonian has a great selection of guidebooks to historic america that could lead to all sorts of side trips and interests.

the smithsonian guide to historic america - northern new england - at amazon

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Old 12-22-12, 11:13 PM
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One winter of especially bleak employment prospects, I spent every day for 45 days exploring Clear Creek.
I looked at every shape of the ice in all of its forms and varieties - its freeze patterns and melt cycles.
I had the opportunity to see a winter landscape that I might never again encounter.

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/0...f-Clear-Creek#
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Old 12-22-12, 11:55 PM
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Bikenj,

You are probably familiar with https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/ . Judging from your posts, you are a pretty good writer, and have the potential of developing an interesting journal. With a relatively inexpensive digital camera to help document your travels, you could use your "spare" time to write and post your journal complete with pictures. Quite a few folks seem to be able to post daily even while on tour. I'm not sure how they do it, but many seem to mange to find the time.

While I have not used an e-journal, my wife and I did keep our blog site updated regularly while on a long tour, and it ate up a lot of time. It was a commitment we made to our family, before we realized how much time it would actually take. My wife still documents the day's travels in a handwritten journal. Journals, regardless of the format, are a nice way to go back and refresh memories of your ventures.

Last edited by Doug64; 12-23-12 at 10:32 AM.
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Old 12-23-12, 12:10 AM
  #83  
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Originally Posted by Rowan
I am glad you went on to explain. I always get confused between naturalism and naturism

If it had been the latter, I could have recommended some beaches on the west coast of France.
If I were interested in the latter, I'd be doing both! I'd be a naturist naturalist.
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Old 12-23-12, 12:35 AM
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Originally Posted by Alekhine
If I were interested in the latter, I'd be doing both! I'd be a naturist naturalist.
Naturally!
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Old 12-23-12, 01:30 AM
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Heck even keeping the laptop charged up may be difficult,




Get a cheap ereader or 7 inch tablet and the solio classic2 solar charger and you won't have any problems. My 7" tablet has a 4000mah battery and the solio has a 3200 mah battery to recharge it. I plan on maintaining my blog while on tour and I'll be taking 100's of photos everyday with my DSLR. It won't be easy but I plan on having downtime everynight.

https://store.solio.com/Solio-Store/C...rger-S13-AF1RW
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Old 12-23-12, 01:34 PM
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What a wonderful photo essay! That was certainly time well spent.

Originally Posted by jamawani
One winter of especially bleak employment prospects, I spent every day for 45 days exploring Clear Creek.
I looked at every shape of the ice in all of its forms and varieties - its freeze patterns and melt cycles.
I had the opportunity to see a winter landscape that I might never again encounter.

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/0...f-Clear-Creek#
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Old 12-23-12, 02:02 PM
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Kindle!

I read three books when I rode 1500 miles across the northeast!
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Old 12-23-12, 04:32 PM
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Actually while I was on the trip this summer, during legs 2 and 3 I was doing a good job keeping a journal/email. Had a couple of fellows back this way that wanted to be kept updated so I was keeping them updated. The first leg was hard as I didn't have much of anywhere, thanks to pushing big miles each day, to get in so I could recharge the laptop battery or get internet access. By the 2nd and 3rd leg everything was much easier and I was settled back into the journalling concept I did when I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail back in 1997. I've been planning on keep a year long blog for the entire year this upcoming year.

I have been working on a camera mount for the bike that will let me take video, that can be stilled, from many different camera angles while riding. I won't need someone riding beside/behind/in front of me to take the shots I'm going to be taking. I will do it myself right from the bike. I've made a rather creative rack, mostly for keeping the pack off the back during the winter months, but since I've included the camera mount idea into the homemade rack I know the rack will stay on the bike all year long. Once I get the weatherproof camera case built it's going to be fun testing out the idea and see just how many different camera angles I can come up with for taking shots. Heck already thinking of full fledge panning shots while riding, right from the bike. I would only need one hand free to operate the mount.

Thanks to this message I have come to realize what I'm looking at doing and realize I will need to make a couple changes in equipment for safety sake. I definitely want more water carrying capacity then what I normally ride with. I have been thinking for a few months now about switching over to dyno hub and looking more at the route makes me think even more so about doing it. I can charge everything up through the dynohub just like I could with a solar panel. The only difference is I can do it for sure even when it's raining/very cloudy. Even if I find myself riding at night I could still be charging batteries.

I think the only reason I sound/am a bit paranoid is the fact of not knowing the area to know what is available and equally knowing I don't want to go out and be crazy enough to go out and ride 150 miles a day on the trip next summer. When you put the two together I realize I run into the problem of having a lot of free time that I know I'll have to fill. It may not be a problem at all, then again you never know. I was never in the Boy Scouts but there is one thing I learnt a long time ago, and I still believe it holds true to this very day...Be Prepared. The better prepared you are for anything that can happen the better your chances of getting through it unscathed(sp?) The more ideas you have the more possible solutions to the problem you also have. Some the of the stupidest, easiest things are bound to be the things you will overlook.

I know the area is a small area of 7-800 miles and other than in that particular area I highly doubt I should have any trouble at all. There won't be enough daylight hours available. In that area though I just want to go prepared, even if I'm wrong and I don't need it.
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Old 12-24-12, 04:14 AM
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averaging 100+ miles in 4-5 hours is the kind of problem i'd love to have. that said, if you really need something to do to kill time, go to a gas station or restraunt, "refuel", and then go take a nap on a picnic table.
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Old 12-24-12, 09:28 AM
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Originally Posted by mdilthey
Kindle!

I read three books when I rode 1500 miles across the northeast!
+1.

I do most of my touring in Portugal in the summertime. Midday tends to find me lying under a tree on top of my Neoair reading my Kindle. Polishing up my language skills by speaking to oldtimers in the local tavern or the village square is another favourite pastime.
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Old 12-24-12, 10:38 PM
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Man, your hardcore... I'm too lazy to do more than 40 miles/day, and usually less

Trying taking up talking to random people. Many a great adventures have started with random conversations on the side of a road.
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Old 12-24-12, 11:33 PM
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Originally Posted by mr geeker
averaging 100+ miles in 4-5 hours is the kind of problem i'd love to have. that said, if you really need something to do to kill time, go to a gas station or restraunt, "refuel", and then go take a nap on a picnic table.
For realz. Most I ever rode in one day was 90 miles & that wasn't even planned exactly, went on a ride with friends--if I knew the actual distance I might not have gone! Bikenh would be a natural at things like RAAM.
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Old 12-25-12, 10:48 AM
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This post seems a little disingenuous, but it's fun so I'll byte.

First, i can't help but think the original poster has time to kill at specific times of the day. For example when i winter tour i have a lot of time after sundown. I solve this by riding after dark, getting up earlier, riding to exhaust myself, and a good campfire to wind down the evening. I usually cook a big meal after i stop for the day. Only meal i do cook. Having a campfire is its own thing but i will often review photos from the day, write and post, read email, catch up on forums and news and review route options. Sometimes i just ride all night just for kicks. Especially if it's a full moon.

That said people tour like they live. No two tour alike. Some do only a few miles in a day, some many. Some plan every nights stop in advance. Some stealth camp wherever they end up at the end of the day. Some follow set routes. Some improvise.

Personally i identify with the original poster. I like to go fast and light. In the summer my gear and bike will often weigh less then 30 pounds. It's not necessarily about speed. It's more about freedom. I'll plot out a destination 100 miles or so away. Research and review routes and then try and forget about the map and simply enjoy the ride giving myself permission to take a right turn because a road looks interesting or stop and strike up a conversation. Often ending up with 120 or 130 miles in a day.

I love to stop at small town local eateries for breakfast and lunch. Try to avoid fast food places. I love to stop at grocery stores in the afternoon/evening. Beyond my minimalist kit and minimalist goals i love to improvise. I always seem to run into fascinating people. It seems touring bikes just seem to attract them. Touring bikes just seem to be the ultimate ice breaker. Everyone has had some adventure or dreams of one.

I have rolled into a town knowing noone and met whole communities of artists, photogs, small business people, adventure sport enthusiasts and people from all walks of life. I share my experiences and what i've learned with them and i love it when they share what they love with me, especially when that something is a skill or craft or comes from a life style i've never been exposed to before. Because i love the freedom and adventure i am very receptive to the unexpected. I have rolled into a new town and stayed for 48 hours meeting dozens of new fast friends who've given me instant access to their lives, trades, hobbies, passions.

It's all full of irony. I love the isolation so much, like biking in winter snowstorms, but i love rolling into new towns and cities where i know noone and ending up doing some unexpected activity. I love to ride, yet the most memorable experiences happen off the bike. Just about the only thing i don't like is sitting on my butt and doing nothing while on tour.

I started off touring hard charging. The miles were the thing, and i still love crossing whole states in a day. moving swiftly when i want is part ofthe fun. However, touring for me has pealed away layers of my personality, reservations and misconceptions like an onion. I feel less anxious about societal pressures, pride, vanities. I can ride into an evening or into a town not with worries about where i'll sleep or eat or what sort of people or situations I'll run into, but just enjoying the moment, the doing, the going, the conversations or the quiet. It's blissful freedom and then when the weather turns bad or everything goes to hell then its truly brilliant. The unexpected challenges to rise to. Mountains to climb.

I have recently even found that i can enjoy the challenges and wide open expanses of the plains states i once thought would be so boring.

My journey is both inward and outward. To each their own. Based on the original post i might suggest first exhausting your original desires both literally and figuratively. Ride more miles. Ride until you can barely be bothered to setup your shelter. Ride until you're a zombie then ride some more. Eventually though that will build up endorphins and break down inhibitions to the point you'll try other things. Who knows what they might be. Maybe you'll go further into isolated places, maybe you'll learn the joys of living in your own head, maybe you'll take up geology or botany, maybe life will just happen unexpectedly when you stop worrying about ways to kill time and start realizing there is so much to see and do that you can't possibly fit it all in.
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Old 12-25-12, 11:10 AM
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Originally Posted by LeeG
Being in shape is not your problem, finding interests other than sitting on your bike is, or it's possible the heavy miles are an avoidance behavior that isn't working anymore.
See, while i agree with the quoted poster that it is a form of avoidance i don't think there is anything wrong with it. Some of us just have issues to work out. Maybe it's societal pressures to keep up with the jones', the rat race, maybe its pride, maybe its anger. Whatever it is its ok, just keep riding. Exhaust the energy or idea.

Just keep riding until you know what it is or find something better. Don't kill time, ride until you have no more time to kill. Then either the endorphines or the exhaustion will lead you to new possibilities.

Riding has never steered me wrong. I'll give it my anger, i give it my hopes and fears and it molds and sculpts and teaches me new things about myself and the world .

Keep going until you find your limit of what you're doing then i'm sure you'll find something else. How can you not with literally a whole world of possibilities in front of your wheel. If it strikes you you might try ultraendurance racing, unsupported ultra endurance. Perhaps off road touring like the great divide which will really challenge you more.
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Old 12-25-12, 02:24 PM
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Those are two really neat posts, mmeiser! Thoughtful, illuminating and well expressed.
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Old 12-26-12, 10:30 AM
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Originally Posted by Rowan
Those are two really neat posts, mmeiser! Thoughtful, illuminating and well expressed.
+1
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Old 02-01-13, 03:21 AM
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"... maybe life will just happen unexpectedly when you stop worrying about ways to kill time and start realizing there is so much to see and do that you can't possibly fit it all in."


Can I get an Amen?!?!

-mrlassiter
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