Quirky things you do on your rides
 

I realize this doesn't belong in the rituals thread.

Do you do quirky things on your rides? I weave left and right to crunch over fallen leaves, just for fun.

I see some people singing loudly. I have a friend who does this which serves as a good approaching warning. I wish I had the nerve to do that.

Yesterday as I was riding in the rain on the street, a guy at the curb said to me, "Oh, you're riding a bicycle!" as if that were a rare thing. I will never figure out what the hell he meant. But this has nothing to do with my question.

I sing (badly) and talk to all of the animals on my route.

I whistle, hum, and air drum on the brake hoods. Sometimes I purposely go for the casually deliberate look by leaning on the handlebars while waiting at a long light, especially if it involves being stuck out in the left turn lane.

I also slow down and say "Hey kitty!" in a loud, hi-pitched voice whenever I see cats. Nobody has caught me doing this recently...it's only a matter of time.

Sometimes, while I'm riding along, if I think of something really funny I will laugh out loud at it. I'm always worried that some insecure person standing in their front yard is gonna hear me and think I'm laughing at THEM. But so far I have had no complaints.

I tap on my shift levers, pressing them slightly but not shifting. Gives my fingers something to do. I also like to ride across the weeds growing in the cracks in the road or path. I tell myself that the weeds are cushioning the bump I’d otherwise feel riding over the crack.

I let everybody pass me. ;)

When I wear the rain cape I use my legs to signal my turns.

When we were kids, we'd ride through every pile of leaves we could. I can imagine that those who did rake the leaves into said piles wouldn't have been very pleased.

I can't think of any quirky habits I do regularly. Do muttered curses count?

I say hi to each and every bunny rabbit that scampers across the trail as I ride through. And that is a lot of bunnies.

I guess this might qualify as a little quirky... While staying safe, I move side-to-side on the trails in order to position myself in as much shade as possible. Especially during the summer months, there is a pretty big temperature differential between shade and direct sun.

I also talk to the animals as I approach them. Sometimes the cats and squirrels do not realize I am coming and it helps them to get out of the way.

I try to say something nice to the humans that I pass too. I hope it cheers them up a little bit and it helps to let them know I am approaching. And, sometimes they something nice back.

I totally do the leaf crunching thing

Doesn't everyone deliberately ride over crunchy leaves?

Some days, I try to complete whatever length of ride without stopping. So lots of random turns. Yesterday, I only turned right. That makes getting home interesting.

I like to do a bird like back-of-the-mouth whistle at squirrels, ducks, and cats near my path. Basically, to any critter that doesn't bark back at me. It's really more of a "heads up" signal to animals.

Plus, riding while sitting upright with no hands on the bars. :D

I avoid leaves as I would prefer only chain meshing noise. Around blind corners, I'll say "choy" to alert humanoids and kreatchures of my presence.

When I get off the road and onto a bike path, I completely space out and think what I am going to make for dinner when I get home. Maybe because I love cooking or to kill the time, happens every day :)

I do the leaf crunching thing too, also I sing or whistle whatever horrible song happens to be stuck in my head. I also weave left to right pretty aggressively (when safe to do so) just to hear the tread on my tires.

These are great. Keep 'em coming.

My wife is a pianist and piano teacher (as well as a singer and voice teacher). Lately, she's been doing a lot of piano exercises which are these sequenced melodies, very boring. And now they're stuck in my head. Gotta get something else stuck in my head.

On the trail in the morning I sing my bird alert so they'll fly out of the way: "Good morning little birdlies, good morning to you, good morning little birdlies, good morning to yooooooou!" in my best loud operatic falsetto. Fortunately there aren't a lot of people on the trail at 6:30. :D

On the way home on the trail I like to slalom between the stripes; I tell myself I'm practicing my bike handling skills.

Speaking of animal warnings, I have a bike workshop in my barn at the country house. The barn is poorly sealed, and it seems all kinds of wild animals live in there. So when I enter, I knock and yell hello.

Wile riding up the local mtn road alone, I yell and shout at animals that may or may not be there! :D

Yeah, there are sections that one rides along the sides of the mtn when you hear rocks and dirt tumble from the top of the ledge. All I need is for a lion to mistake me for a deer.

I yell and shout at them so they know I am human. While climbing and suffering, it is actually entertaining to come up with different obscene words that I can shout that might make them think twice about hopping on my back! :D

One of the ledges about 15 miles up that I dread riding next to on solo rides. This is a ride buddy, I let him go first just in case. :roflmao2:


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c7d8bfec89.jpg

Lower sections where they can jump me from the grassy areas.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f3291468a5.jpg

I hear a mask on the back of your head (with eyes) is a defense against mountain lions.

I shove my frame pump into the wheels of idealistic teens. And then I laugh and laugh.




The best defense against nittany lions in PA is sobriety, and avoiding happy valley.

I literally laugh out loud when I'm listening to a podcast. That's all I have.

Dude (see what I did there?), that's not quirky, that's common sense/survival skills. Especially being second in (the buffet) line. :D

congrats on the new? job btw, new places have showers? how long a commute is it. forgive me if I didn't see a post about it previously