Feb 12 2008
What were you thinking?
The other day I thought I would start a weekly post asking you a question.
It could be about anything… whatever sparks my interest… maybe something I think up while on a ride.
So, sure enough, I was on a great ride Sunday… mashing the pedals, sprinting, doing hill repeats (go with the embellishment here). I was all by myself and I realized how many things I think about. Our minds spin about as much as our pedals do… especially if we’re riding alone. Some things we think about are normal… others are just plain out there.
And I thought… that’s my first question of the week.
So, here’s your
chance to spill… or at least I hope you will when you answer this:
What’s the strangest thing you’ve thought about while on your bike?
Not completely strange but in the year or two before I “retired” from hard core training and racing I could not get mowing my lawn out of my mind on rides. I think part of it was burnout from training and thinking I would rather be doing anything than this [riding], even mowing the lawn.
After a 5 year layoff I am back but for more fun this time and I don’t think about mowing just about “stuff”
Last year in the Gruyere cycle tour (Swiss Alps) I followed a girl up a long climb for almost 45 minutes. The views were amazing!
But I guess what went through my mind then wasn’t so unusual.
Today, I remembered seeing Sinatra in concert 3 times and hummed his hits uphill and bellowed them downhill.
Chris- That’s awesome… we’re you drinking a cold beer while mowing?
Will- Yes… my wife and I know Gruyere… it’s a wonderful cheese.
I also understand the amazing views. By the way, Sinatra 3 times. I’m a jealous crooner fan.
I ride alone a lot, so my mind has taken me to some very strange places. Usually I have odd songs in my head that I never hear on the radio anymore. Songs by bands like Supertramp…..”Take The Long Way Home”. At times I even think, “This would be a bad place to get hit by a car.” “Who would ever find me out here?!?!”
Mike and I went mountain bike riding on Sunday (admist all of the wind). As branches were hitting my head…All I could think about was…what if I was riding a bike during a tornado?
Normally, I just trying to get up the next hill…so it’s a pretty good exercise for me to get my mind off things, since I’m so busy concentrating on not falling!
Frosty the Snowman.
I see alot of squirrels, and they are brave squirrels. They run in front of me then stop, then run to the ditch. After I have ran off the trail. The thought that runs thru my mind is I’m going to break my neck because of a SQUIRREL. Also I think about the guys I pass and admire the leg muscles.
Jeff- Ditto for me… the songs are great because your up a climb before you know it. I also have thought… “how am I going to explain to someone on my cell where the hell I am.”
Jennifer- You would land back in Kansas, Dorothy… hurry click your heels… Oh wait, they’re locked in.
Chris- Is it still that cold there?
Deborah- I like the “guys I pass” part. If I am slow, at least my legs look good.
By the way, no joke here… a friend of mine had a squirrel run into his spokes. Result: bumps, bruises, scrapes, broken helmet, broken glasses, broken spokes and a whole lot of squirrel hair in his chain.
BEWARE OF SQUIRRELS!
One evening, during a long tiresome ride, I thought about sleeping on my bicycle in the aero position.
By the way, aren’t the strangest thoughts often on the lines of “who is that strange person driving erratically on the road behind me… “
When I used to ride my bike around Hilton Head Island, I would often pass alligators sunning on the banks of lagoons. On several rides I remember pondering different alligator scenarios. Sometimes I would hypothesize what I would do if an alligator started chasing me. Other times I would wonder if I could swim across the given lagoon and managed to not get attacked by alligators. They’re such amazing creatures to watch and ponder.
While in the midst of a bonk I pictured my legs being detached from my body (some sort of outer body experience)… I think the dehydration can take you where you never want to be.