rsbob 

Another way to ask is; when cycling, what gives you the most joy?

Is it a leisurely ride through beautiful scenery?
Crushing a hard workout?
Conquering a hill climb?
A fast downhill descent?
Riding with your buddies?
The coffee stop?
Doing a metric or mile-based century?
Racing - with all that is involved?
Enjoying the fresh air and getting a bit of exercise?
Or getting home exhausted, knowing you gave it your all?
Being able to binge on food post ride?
Finding some tasty gravel you haven’t explored before?
Bike packing?
Ripping fast singletrack?
Doing the perfect flowy ride
Pulling off a MTB stunt you never dreamed you could do?
Catching massive air?
Snow riding?
Or__________ fill in the blank.

rsbob 

As sick as it sounds I enjoy a long steep climb that really tax me. Reward #1 is summiting and getting a nice view. Reward #2 is a fast downhill where I can use good cornering technique.

On a MTB I enjoy fast flowy downhills that feel effortless but still require good technique.

stardognine

I mostly like the downhills, lol, especially on a road I'm not familiar with. Of course, that means climbing lots of hills, even if on foot, but either way, you get to see what's on top, and on the other side. 😎

Wildlife is an extra bonus, especially when you can only see it, once you summit.👍

seypat

It varies from ride to ride. I'll say I've never gotten the joy out of climbing that others get. Climbing is the slowest part of any ride while you're moving, period. For me there's absolutely nothing exciting about it. Different strokes for different folks.

indyfabz

Traveling from place to place self contained, setting up camp, cooking dinner then sitting in front of a fire looking back on the day.

BTinNYC 

It's the mental place, that state of mind, that I like the most. Meditation at 155 beats per minute.

Troul 

when the weather is just crappy enough for others to sit it out, but still gets me out racking up the miles...

big chainring 

I call it the No Zone. When I'm riding along almost effortlessly and my mind wanders. Sometimes a mile will pass by where I'm seamingly not aware of my surroundings. Its like a black hole. A place of complete relaxation.... nirvana.

Its what I strive for on every ride. Sometimes I get there, other times I dont. But when it happens I feel a certain success. Like I've become mentally better, focused, assured.

RB1-luvr

riding with my buddies on weekend camping trips. Nothing better.

05 fuji

When I am riding I am 12 years old not 68 years old with cancer. Truly spiritual!

Inusuit

I find joy almost every time I'm able to get out on the bike. My slightly modified Rockhopper with Schwalbe Land Cruiser 1.75 tires gives me the option of choosing to ride pavement or explore dirt roads and gravel paths. I especially like exploring new places that I wouldn't ride on my road bike.

DangerousDanR

This is it! This farm over on the Minnesota side of the Red River always plants a border of Zinnias. If you continue north you will pass through sunflowers, sugar beets, corn, and soy bean fields. Most of the farms on this road are immaculately maintained. The pavement itself is concrete and relatively smooth for the great white north. If the wind is out of the north it is a great workout: as many miles of fighting the wind as you can stand, then with the wind at your back a return trip on a smooth road surface at an easy 25-30 MPH average.

If the wind is out of the south you take the speed run first, then head back to the east and ride home on a more sheltered route. I find most of the drivers on these farm country roads to be polite. I suspect it has to do with the nature of farming. The "we are all in this together" attitude.


Clay County 11. Zinnias alongside the corn.

Rolla

Bombing around the city, exploring bandit trails, unfound roads, and back alleys with my friends. Lunch and a beer afterwards. Y'know -- "serious" cycling lol.

prj71

My special place is the brewery when I'm done riding.

Eric F 

Generally speaking, I prefer to ride with other people on the road, and solo in the dirt. Here's a few of my favorite things...
- Riding with a group of strong, experienced, and skilled riders at a high pace, all working together to get down the road much faster than any of us could on our own.
- Twisty up-and-down singletrack that is demanding, but not life-threatening.
- Long, easy-tempo rides with a good friend and lots of good conversation.
- Currently, I'm really enjoying the variety of terrain I can ride efficiently with my gravel bike.

Iride01 

When solo, which is most of the time, my special place is the feeling I get when I catch up with and pass those in front of me. However only one very much younger cyclist ever made it a impromptu race by attacking when passed near the bottom of a fairly long steep climb (Steep and long for this area). I easily won getting to the top! However somewhat lacking in prestige for me since the other person was on a heavy mountain bike!

rumrunn6

there's something wrong with me, something very, very wrong w/me. I seem attracted to bad weather & the wrong women. can't help but remember Bill Murray in Stripes.
fwd to 1:11 (not necessarily everything before & after)

Mtracer

I don't think I have one thing. I mostly do solo road rides. But I vary the route and types of rides to keep things changing. But as a general thing, I would say I like the challenge of a ride the most. Whether that is the challenge of a long endurance ride or the challenge of knocking out a set of steep hill climbs.

But I enjoy leisurely rides and cafe stops with others.

Pratt

There, wherever there is.

wolfchild

I highlighted all the answers to your questions.

Chuck M 

For me I enjoy riding metaphorically down memory lane. I seem to think back on rides when I was a teenager. Getting up every summer morning and riding my bike until late at night when I would come home and watch Star Trek reruns after the 10:00 news was over. I'm fortunate enough to have the MUP I would frequently ride literally at my back door now. When I was a teenager, I would haul my bike in the back of my car to that MUP and ride from one end to another and then drive home to go ride it all over the town I lived in. I seemed to be able to do this without eating well or any regards to hydration. I don't know how I didn't kill myself. I have nowhere any more specific to ride to than where I did back in the day, so I enjoy the look back on those good old days.

rydabent

A leisurely ride, mainly solo, to see the scenery, and maybe a coffee stop. Rides with my sons and grand sons in great too. Then in that case it would be for an ice cream stop.

Also some of my favorite rides are thru the older rich part of town to see old mansions built from 1900 to 1930. The architecture on the big houses of that era is fantastic!!!!!

retswerb

Pretty rare I leave the house and don't think how heavy my legs feel... was this a good idea today? Favorite feeling is realizing a few miles later that my blood is flowing and I feel great and ready to go.

Schweinhund

Grabbing my smallest fishing pole and heading for one of the three rivers/creeks in my area.

mstateglfr 

- Pushing myself on a mixed surface ride- pavement to reach gravel and back to pavement close to home. Never an out and back, always a loop of some shape. Put and backs are for the devil.

- Riding with a kid that is now part of our family. She is a strong rider and when we ride it's for her to work on pace and nutrition during training for a .5 Ironman and full Ironman this coming year.

- Riding with my kids in whatever way they want on a given day. Sometimes hard on pavement, sometimes relaxed with lunch as the destination, or sometimes just exploring twisty river bottom singletrack.



Those are my 3 favorite ways to ride. They bring me the most joy, for different reasons. But regardless of which it is, I am smiling and enjoying it all.