Thoughts During Long Rides
I did another fun long ride today, again without my iPod. Well, I had it with me, but I've discovered that the longer rides are better without the music. Only the "thought stream" within the conscious mind. The basic course of the ride was from north San Jose to Palo Alto, back down and through Stevens Canyon (I tried Redwood Gulch but it felt too painful today, so I went over Mount Eden Road instead), back through Saratoga and Los Gatos, and down Santa Teresa Road to Morgan Hill. Then back up Monterry Road into downtown San Jose. To finish off the full century, I rode through Milpitas rather than going straight home. 103 miles total.
It's really weird, the sorts of things you actuallly think about while riding. Of course, 60% of it is paying attention to what is coming at you on the road. Avoiding rocks, glass, railroad tracks, parked cars, idiot drivers, road separations, road kill, etc... That's most of it. I'd say that the biggest part of this category involves complaining about signal lights.
Paying attention to how your body feels takes another 20% of the thoughts: drinking when you're thirsty, eating when you need it, minor aches and pains, etc... The hardest thing to do during a long ride is to keep adequately hydrated, and keeping the blood sugar levels up to avoid bonking.
The rest of it is the fun stuff, the random little snippets of everyday humor that we all see around us. The best example I can think of is when I was riding past a sheep farm down in Morgan Hill, the sheep noises made me think of Kenny. I'm not sure why...
Other little things might include thinking things like: what was that that just slithered into the bushes right next to me?; did the girls really need to pass me at the top of Mount Eden Road (these were the same riders that inspired me to my best time up Highway 9 a few years ago); wow, that muffin at the Blue Rock Shoot is going to taste good; I sure hope the next food place I see is not a Taco Bell (fortunately it was a Subway!); and I always tend to think a little about work, and other thoughts that force themselves out of the subconcious mind.
Now I'm just sitting on the couch watching this mornings stage of the Tour de France.
It's really weird, the sorts of things you actuallly think about while riding. Of course, 60% of it is paying attention to what is coming at you on the road. Avoiding rocks, glass, railroad tracks, parked cars, idiot drivers, road separations, road kill, etc... That's most of it. I'd say that the biggest part of this category involves complaining about signal lights.
Paying attention to how your body feels takes another 20% of the thoughts: drinking when you're thirsty, eating when you need it, minor aches and pains, etc... The hardest thing to do during a long ride is to keep adequately hydrated, and keeping the blood sugar levels up to avoid bonking.
The rest of it is the fun stuff, the random little snippets of everyday humor that we all see around us. The best example I can think of is when I was riding past a sheep farm down in Morgan Hill, the sheep noises made me think of Kenny. I'm not sure why...
Other little things might include thinking things like: what was that that just slithered into the bushes right next to me?; did the girls really need to pass me at the top of Mount Eden Road (these were the same riders that inspired me to my best time up Highway 9 a few years ago); wow, that muffin at the Blue Rock Shoot is going to taste good; I sure hope the next food place I see is not a Taco Bell (fortunately it was a Subway!); and I always tend to think a little about work, and other thoughts that force themselves out of the subconcious mind.
Now I'm just sitting on the couch watching this mornings stage of the Tour de France.
posted by Mike Deitchman at
12:26 PM
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