Daguilar72 said that he has often thought about writing a book of all the crap he thinks about while riding.  He decided against it, however, for the sake of his reputation. If he's not going to make a book out it, then I'm going to make a thread about it.

Personally, I like to do math in my head.  I know this is wierd.  I am a poor public school teacher (as if there are any other kinds of public school teachers) and couldn't get all the gadgets when I first got my bike.  So, when I first started riding I would use this site to figure out the total distance of the ride then try to memorize the distance between landmarks.  Then I would use my watch to figure my pace, average speed, and any other math problems that popped into my brain.  I now have a basic bike computer.  I still have to figure my own pace.

I also enjoy mooing at herds of cattle as I fly by.  This is not thinking, but it does entertain.

What do you think about while on the bike?

 My gf just moved to LA (has been using your site to map her commute!) and had her bike stolen from UCLA today after her first day of work. *Please* keep an eye out for it, it was well-loved and had just been outfitted for daily commuting. It's a red Javelin 39.5 cm frame, 650 c wheels. (picture at: http://www.javbike.com/Taurasi.html) My bets are that it doesn't fit the thief, and it will be in a used bike shop soon! Contact me through the site or heather.wollin at gmail dot com with any information.

 THANKS!

I live in Toledo, OH, and go to college there, and I have a job 15 miles or so away. I haven't ridden to work yet, because I start at 5pm, and get off around 10 or 11pm. I don't have any lights, as of now, so, I don't want to try, but have any of you had success with night commutes? 

Drivers hardly ever use turn signals

The road maintanance is directly proportional to the income bracket of that part of the city. 

That paint they use on the roads has quite a bit of depth to it.

There are way too many gas stations

 (Where I live) the wind always gets stronger through the day

Wind is powerfull

Tour of Missouri Dashboard: http://www.universalsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=13044&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=23000&ATCLID=204786323

I was wonder if anyone out there uses any form of GPS for rides?

 I have been looking into the Garmin Edge 605....anyone use it before? is it worth it??

10. If you start riding and don't over do it in the beginning, you will not ever want to quit.

9. When you are at the starting line of your first race or event you will be glad that you shaved your legs.

8. If there is not a shoulder to ride, claim a lane or they will try to share it with you.

7. It is fun to moo at the cows as you ride by.

6. Yes, it is normal to feel every bump and peble.  You'll get use to it.

5. When they say it feels terrible to get "dropped", they are not lieing.

4. Flying down hills on a bike is just as much now as it was when you were a kid, but now it is faster.

3. When I go into a convenient store in my bicycle shorts people avoid eye contact.

2. Padded bicycle shorts are awesome.

1. No it doesn't hurt them because I don't sit on them.  Do you sit on yours?

Add your thoughts.

Second thing that went through my mind was...Damn sure wish I did not drop my water bottle, and watch a car hit it, at mile 40.

Third thing that went through my mind was...Putting a 3 mile 6% climb at the mile 77.5 is cruel.

Fourth thing that went through my mind was...I can't wait to do it again.

I completed it in 5:27:34

How was your first century, and ones there after?

I would like to see true ascent and descent.

Any suggestions on what I should look for, or what geometry works best?

1.  Do you shave?

2.  What finally pushed you to shave?  My decision was made when making a 12 mile decent and nearly wrecked at 40 mph.  The thought of having to clean the road rash with a scrub brush with all the hair on my legs was not a pleasing thought.

3.  How far up do you go?

4.  Do you also shave your arms?

 I have a Camelback that I use for mountain biking, but I think it would be a little bulky for road biking. 

 Any one have any suggestions?

Thanks.

I can almost predict that every other ride, I will have a flat.  This has been going since I bought my current bike about a year and half ago.

I've asked two bike mechanics about it, and they swear there's not a problem with the rim, tire, or the tubes I buy from them.  I've checked constantly to ensure that there's no glass or other objects stuck inside the tire.

I put about 110 lbs into the tubes, which are recommended to be filled between 110 and 125.  They're 700x23.

The only thing I can think of is that maybe I'm just riding too hard on curves, etc.  I'm a tall guy, and weigh between 75-80 kilos, which is actually medium weight for my height.  I can't imagine that being a problem, but I'm certainly putting more wear on my tubes than if I weighed 60kg.

The roads where I'm riding are in near perfect condition.

Anyone have a clue what's going on?  I'm frustrated with being interrupted mid-ride with a flat or decreasing air pressure almost every ride. 

Although it can make riding on flats the equivalant of a decent hill work out....

 I ride long distances, both for commutes and for training/pleasure.  Because of a rotating shift schedule, I sometimes find myself riding those miles in the middle of the night (1am - 5am).  I also ride in areas where crime is sometimes a problem - in the last ten years there have been three murders, a concrete block dropped from an over-pass that killed a driver below, a body found under suspicious circumstances, and a recent stabbing.

 What is the opinion on self-defense for cyclist?   What would be considered prudent, and what would be considered over-the-top or taboo?

For all of you who would be tempted to say "don't ride at night" or "change routes", know from the get-go that niether one of those is an option. 

I am looking for someone, or people,  to ride with out here in the Bonney Lake/Buckley area of Wa.  I usually ride alone, as none of my friends ride.  I will ride anywhere from 20 to 80 miles, and average speeds of 18 - 22 mph.  Let me know if you are interested.

When I'm on my indoor trainer (it's 10 degrees outside right now) and doing intervals, I find that I can't keep myself from working to failure which means that I'm not getting as much time in the saddle as I would like. If my day's routine is to do 5x, I end up barely getting 4x in because I'm just plain shot.

Any suggestions on how I can force myself to back off? Some guideline I can follow?I've thought about using my heart rate monitor to set goals for myself for each interval period but I end up still ramping it up to 100%+ of MHR.