How can I make a road ride less boring?

Crapaud

pneumatic wrote:

It seems to me, having done both, that the main difference between MTB and road riding is mental focus. When you are riding through a forest that is growing on the side of a rocky hill, you need to concentrate on very short term obstacles and route choices; when you are out on a metalled road, your route choices come up every 20 minutes or so and obstacles are few and far between, too. ...

:? What are these 'metalled' roads to which you refer? :?

pneumatic wrote:

... I can go out on my road bike and, once I'm warmed up, legs turning, breathing normally, I can ride like that for 5 or 6 hours. My conscious brain pretty much shuts down and I can relax. The endorphins keep me aware enough to react to surprises, but other than that I am in a pleasant reverie and come home chilled out. ...

That's pretty much me - I just let my mind wander. It's almost a kind of meditation. On some really miserable rides I've had some very weird trains of thought when I'm nearing exhaustion. On one ride I was trying to work out how to make my bonk rations lighter - should I use swiss cheese (with the holes) instead of normal chedder? - and worked out how to drill out yoghurt (I reckon it'll work for Angle Delight as well).

I try to keep things interesting by spending a lot of time working out new routes and making variations to familiar ones. It helps to have goals or targets to aim for.

paul_or wrote:

... Seriously, I find it a brilliant way of engaging with nature and you see things that you would never see if in a car - wildlife, views, etc etc. I guess it's down to whether you are one of those people, like me, who looks for such stuff and appreciates it, or whether you're the sort of person who puts one of them dreaded ipod things on and tries to shut out the outside world when exercising!

The seasons all have their own little bit of magic - at the moment the real buzz is seeing the countryside begin to wake up for another year.

I guess I'm one of those people, as another thing I do is take my compact camera and keep a lookout for anything interesting. I love the way even familiar landscapes change with the weather and seasons.

My main reason for doing long rides is to get out of the big shitty, even if for only a few hours a week.

Harp

.[/quote] :? What are these 'metalled' roads to which you refer? :?

wrote:

...

A metalled road is one which has a man made surface ... usually stone base and tarmac top.

StrangelyBrown

Wearing a blindfold should liven things up. Although maybe not for very long.