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What do you think about on the bike?

La cucarachaLa cucaracha Posts: 71
edited March 2008 in The bottom bracket
Just wondered what, if anything, everyone thinks about when they're out riding their bike. Is it training goals, what's for dinner, "BLOODY MOTORISTS!", imagining yourself in the yellow jersey, composing a plausible excuse for (insert name of whoever chastises you for being out on the bike for ages when there are things to be done, people to see, etc.) as to why a "quick 30 min spin" turned into several hours, admiring the scenery (or vigilantly keeping an eye out for broken glass, chavs, etc. depending on where you ride), monitoring your speed, cadence, HR and other such data, something else or blissfully freeing your mind of any thoughts whatsoever?

Posts

  • PanterPanter Posts: 299
    For me it would be a lot quicker to list the things I DON'T think about on the bike :lol:

    Cheers

    Chris :)
    Racing snakes. It's not big, and it's not clever ;)
  • wallabyhunterwallabyhunter Posts: 61
    Some of my best decisions are made on the bike... ...

    Like YES I will buy that new bike! NO I'm not going to work today!

    Other more life defining moments are also decided on the bike. Difficult work decisions regularly happen there. My decision to spend 2 months in Europe riding a bike & meeting new people was made on the bike!

    Brilliant for clearing the mind & finding the right path (in more ways than one!)
    gb
    http://www.letourgb.com
  • SalsicciaSalsiccia Posts: 405
    Mainly, I think things like 'I'm dying' or 'I'm not going to get up this hill'...
    I was only joking when I said
    by rights you should be bludgeoned in your bed
  • McBain_v1McBain_v1 Posts: 5,237
    Is my left knee going to hold out if I get out the saddle and power up this hill!
    What do I ride? Now that's an Enigma!
  • AdamskiiAdamskii Posts: 267
    Why is it raining again and why am I always riding into a headwind!
    It's all good.
  • snakehipssnakehips Posts: 2,272
    Last night I was thinking about the attractive pair of houses I was approaching by Ham common.
    I should have been thinking about the road ahead.
    Some A-hole in a van crossed the junction right in front of me requiring me to take avoiding action.
    I should have known better. In fact I do know better.
    If I had been thinking instead of daydreaming I would have approached the junction much more purposefully.

    Snake
    'Follow Me' the wise man said, but he walked behind!
  • on the roadon the road Posts: 5,631
    Bloody wind :roll:
  • johnnypipe85johnnypipe85 Posts: 145
    Bloody wind
    if it's windy, or


    "Aaah, this is great!"

    with any other weather!
  • CHRISNOIRCHRISNOIR Posts: 1,400
    1. "Look casual; there may be someone behind you"
    2. "Why is the wind in my face all the time on a circular route" (Common one, this)
    3. "Should I get a new job?"
    4. Sex
    5. "I've never seen a live badger"

    It's a right old mess in my head I tell you!
  • on the roadon the road Posts: 5,631
    This tail wind is great :lol:
  • dennisndennisn Posts: 10,523
    Something like "well, so far I've seen a dead possum almost every mile, or so it would
    seem. Let's see now, I've gone 50 miles so that's 50 possums. If there are that many dead ones along this road how many live ones are still out there? Must be millions".
    "Wow, the ones that have been ripening in the sun for a week or so sure do stink".
    Lots of deep soul searching questions and observations.

    Dennis Noward
  • z000mz000m Posts: 544
    people shouldnt daydream while riding on the road, no wonder other drivers hate you
    New Build
  • pneumaticpneumatic Posts: 1,989
    z000m wrote:
    people shouldnt daydream while riding on the road, no wonder other drivers hate you

    Ah but, you see, it is hard not to daydream on a bike. The regular cadence of pedalling, coupled with the stillness of the upper body and head, the fresh air and the quiet whirr of the well-engineered mechanism beneath you puts you very quickly into a trance almost as powerful as that achieved by buddhist monks.

    When you are in a trance, the front of your brain becomes still and the back of you brain is able to release all the unresolved perceptions of the world that you have stored there. They float about between the chambers of your mind (ok, it is now becoming obvious that I am not a neuroscientist, but stay with me) looking for other similar experiences to form satisfying patterns with. This is how your understanding develops, as we love things to be regular and predictable and spend a lot of mental effort trying to fit unusual experiences into predictable patterns.

    So, there you are, pedalling along, surrounded by the glories of nature, your mind calm and your brain resolving itself into an orderly state, soaking up benefit to your muscles, to your cardiovascular system and to your very psyche


    and then you hit a pothole.

    Fast and Bulbous
    Peregrinations
    Eddingtons: 80 (Metric); 60 (Imperial)
  • oldwelshmanoldwelshman Posts: 4,733
    not falling off or crashing !! :D
    http://s290.photobucket.com/albums/ll245/oldwelshman/
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK5Bfqj5fxY
  • Mark AlexanderMark Alexander Posts: 2,277
    These are the printable ones

    Shopping lists. (food and cycling)
    Why the hell am I riding into this bloody wind :?
    If commuting... Do I really have to go to work. :twisted:
    on a training ride, technique.
    sometimes the weekend's TT course in my head.

    Whilst climbing... Lance Armstrong....Who's he? 8)
    I decided to move out of home whilst on the bike.

    On the other hand, whilst on the bike, I decided to do La Marmotte this summer :shock:
    Well, you can't be sensible all the time!! :?
    http://twitter.com/mgalex
    www.ogmorevalleywheelers.co.uk

    10TT 24:36 25TT: 57:59 50TT: 2:08:11, 100TT: 4:30:05 12hr 204.... unfinished business
  • Red RockRed Rock Posts: 517
    The last thing I thought of on my last ride was...

    'I'm going to crash'

    :cry:
  • feelfeel Posts: 800
    On really steep hills i think "what will i do if i can't unclip" , never had to stop yet but seriously i don't think i could unclip when the pressure is on :oops: the rest of the time my mind is usually blissfully empty apart from important things like average speed :wink:
    We are born with the dead:
    See, they return, and bring us with them.
  • whyamiherewhyamihere Posts: 7,465
    I tend to do maths in my head. For example, mentally working out my average speed (while avoiding looking at the actual average speed display until I've worked it out, as that would be silly). Other times, I've set about working out how many combinations of numbers were possible on my bike lock (4 barrels with 9 numbers each - 262144 combinations), I got it right as well. Took me about 10 minutes though... Multiplying any number that floats into my head by any other number, for example 27x13x48x39 = 151632.

    Yeah, I'm pretty sad at times...
  • pneumaticpneumatic Posts: 1,989
    whyamihere wrote:
    I've set about working out how many combinations of numbers were possible on my bike lock (4 barrels with 9 numbers each - 262144 combinations), I got it right as well...

    doesn't your lock have zeros on it? that would make 10 numbers on each barrel and gives you an excuse to go out for another ride.

    Fast and Bulbous
    Peregrinations
    Eddingtons: 80 (Metric); 60 (Imperial)
  • whyamiherewhyamihere Posts: 7,465
    pneumatic wrote:
    whyamihere wrote:
    I've set about working out how many combinations of numbers were possible on my bike lock (4 barrels with 9 numbers each - 262144 combinations), I got it right as well...

    doesn't your lock have zeros on it? that would make 10 numbers on each barrel and gives you an excuse to go out for another ride.
    No, it doesn't for some reason. No idea why... I'll work it out next time anyway. ;)
  • jpembrokejpembroke Posts: 2,569
    The worst thing is your daughter listening to a CD of children's songs as you are getting ready for a ride. Guaranteed there will only be one thing going round and round your head for the entirety of the ride (probably the wheels on the bus).
    I'm only concerned with looking concerned
  • pjhpjh Posts: 204
    The worrying thing is that occasionally I can't even remember riding whole sections (miles) of road .... just get lost in the ZEN like trance :D

    I must be paying attention at an subconscious level ..... musn't I? :wink:

    It's great to be .....
  • nasahapleynasahapley Posts: 717
    whyamihere wrote:
    I tend to do maths in my head. For example, mentally working out my average speed (while avoiding looking at the actual average speed display until I've worked it out, as that would be silly). Other times, I've set about working out how many combinations of numbers were possible on my bike lock (4 barrels with 9 numbers each - 262144 combinations), I got it right as well. Took me about 10 minutes though... Multiplying any number that floats into my head by any other number, for example 27x13x48x39 = 151632.

    Yeah, I'm pretty sad at times...

    Well I'm a fellow saddo then! On my ride today f'rinstance, I was trying to work out what the lowest score in darts was that isn't a 3-dart out-shot! 153 I reckon, how sad is that! And by the way I am an awful pedant; if you had a lock with 4 barrels each with 9 numbers, you'd have 6561 combinations; if you had 9 barrels with 4 numbers each, then you'd have 262144. The latter is much harder to work out though, so well done :wink:
  • whyamiherewhyamihere Posts: 7,465
    Ah, you're right. Well, the maths was right, but getting my head around the English of the problem was wrong. :D
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