Since starting commuting, has your weekend joy riding decreased?
09-23-13, 09:56 AM
#26
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When it was sweltering hot, I didn't do much weekend riding, but was still commuting during the week. Now it's really started to cool off and I'm back to 2 or 3 weekend rides in addition to 4 commute rides during the week (2 round trips).
09-23-13, 09:58 AM
#27
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I simply can't comprehend having the kind of free time it would take to just go for a ride. I have about 5 times more stuff that I really want to do than I have time for, and another 5 times more than I really don't want to do but needs to be done. Given that I already spend about 8 hours a week riding to work and back, I figure that's plenty of riding. If weekends were 10 days long and I still didn't spend any of it riding, I still couldn't finish everything. In fact I'd probably dream up even more cool projects to start.
09-23-13, 10:42 AM
#28
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It does reduce some of my pleasure riding because my knees start to get stressed after a lot of commuting. I try to get some shorter weekend rides in when I've missed some days during the week. I like to do about 100 miles a week total and that seems to be good for me without getting too tired.
09-23-13, 10:53 AM
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Since I did no riding before starting commuting, my weekend riding time has stayed about the same. 
I find that I need the weekend off or my legs won't be recovered by Monday morning.
I find that I need the weekend off or my legs won't be recovered by Monday morning.
09-23-13, 11:18 AM
#30
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I didn't ride at all before I started commuting, but since then I've gotten so into cycling that once in a while I take a couple of days off from commuting to recover from my weekend riding.
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09-23-13, 11:22 AM
#31
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Opposite for me. Weekend riding diminishes my desire to commute regularly rest of the week.
09-23-13, 11:34 AM
#32
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Mine has increased. Since my neighbors started noticing me commuting on my bike, one of them came up to me and asked if I wanted to ride on the weekends. We asked a few others to join and we haven't missed a weekend in about two months. Sometimes have to take Monday off (occasionally Tuesday too
) to recover from a tough weekend ride.
) to recover from a tough weekend ride.
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09-23-13, 11:55 AM
#33
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Since my commute increased from a 10 mile rt to a 30 miler my weekend rides are shorter and less freequent. I used to ride a hybrid through town and enjoyed the road bike on weekend. Now I commute with a tourining/road bike on county rural roads to work and have less desire to hit the road on weekends
09-23-13, 12:14 PM
#34
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I've been biking recreationally and commuting for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure which came first. I love both activities, though. On my recreational rides, I get to explore roads away from my bike commute.
09-23-13, 12:37 PM
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I no longer feel compulsive about getting in a good long ride on weekends, but I do enjoy the social aspect of riding with a buddy or two -- or my wife. And riding an organized charity ride or a century is a completely different experience and usually involves a different bike for me, so it's not like a busman's holiday.
09-23-13, 12:47 PM
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These are unrelated variables. I don't have a strong "before commuting" time frame to look at, as I have been commuting occasionally-or-more since I started biking to school at age 12, and almost every ice-free day - and more than a few iced ones - for 5 years. But every year has been different regardless of how much commuting time is spent on the bike. How much I ride on the weekend goes up and down, mostly depending on:
- how many weekend commitments I have
- schedules of potential riding partners (these days, mostly my wife)
- how tired I am after a week of work
This year, aside from a 2.5 week tour in France, I've done almost no rec riding. I still ride frequently on weekends and evenings, but this is still transportation riding.
- how many weekend commitments I have
- schedules of potential riding partners (these days, mostly my wife)
- how tired I am after a week of work
This year, aside from a 2.5 week tour in France, I've done almost no rec riding. I still ride frequently on weekends and evenings, but this is still transportation riding.
09-24-13, 06:37 AM
#37
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I've been invited on some group rides, but honestly the last time I was on a group ride was in college 20 years ago. I just don't want to be with other people when I'm riding. I don't want to ride a set route; sometimes I will take a different turn than I planned to just on a whim or because I see a line of traffic ahead or something.
Also I ride partially to be alone. Riding with other people would be counterproductive. I kind of want to start doing some solo touring in the summer.
Also I ride partially to be alone. Riding with other people would be counterproductive. I kind of want to start doing some solo touring in the summer.
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09-24-13, 02:55 PM
#38
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Mine has increased. Since my neighbors started noticing me commuting on my bike, one of them came up to me and asked if I wanted to ride on the weekends. We asked a few others to join and we haven't missed a weekend in about two months. Sometimes have to take Monday off (occasionally Tuesday too) to recover from a tough weekend ride.
) to recover from a tough weekend ride.
09-24-13, 03:07 PM
#39
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It's been a lot of fun. Turns out that in about a block and a half radius there are three or four guys who ride a lot and a couple more just starting out and we've been having a great time on our rides.
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09-24-13, 06:50 PM
#40
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>>>>Also I ride partially to be alone. Riding with other people would be counterproductive. I kind of want to start doing some solo touring in the summer.<<<<
I can totally relate to that. I am a social "machine" all day at work and during most of my after-work activities. I need some "quiet time," which is often limited to the short time I spend riding to and from work.
On the weekends, everybody always wants to ride with me -- and unless "everybody" means just my wife, I don't really have the energy to keep a whole bunch of novice cyclists entertained for hours at a time.
I can totally relate to that. I am a social "machine" all day at work and during most of my after-work activities. I need some "quiet time," which is often limited to the short time I spend riding to and from work.
On the weekends, everybody always wants to ride with me -- and unless "everybody" means just my wife, I don't really have the energy to keep a whole bunch of novice cyclists entertained for hours at a time.
Last edited by Papa Tom; 09-25-13 at 08:23 PM.
09-24-13, 09:20 PM
#41
Share the road.
I commute 26 miles a day, and since getting carbon fiber road bike most weekends I get a 50 miler in. I look forward to my long weekend rides even more. During the summer one of my weekend days I ride my pannier-clad-beer drinking-bike(old commuter) to the river for a swim and some 25 oz beers.
