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Bling
New technology
Hitting a line perfectly
Standing alone on a crag/pass on a stunning day
Jumping
Conquering that defying drop you have been avoiding
Crack on......
good mates, good fun, good memories.
ton has it
+1 for Ton
erm..being out and about. Freedom, escape, exercise, seeing stuff, cakestops, talking crap, that sorta thing. Oh and it's practical too! for going to work, shops, pub, visiting people, etc. You can do lots on a bike. they are very handy.
Riding lots = eating lots.
The massive guilt free scoff you can have after an epic day out. Mnom mnom mnom
Loads and loads and loads of stuff, but UC is on now...
Just being on a bike, that I built, I own, I have my own adventures on....just me n my bike,,,
Being away from people
Challenging yourself to get faster and bigger - whatever your benchmark (and mine is low) there is no better feeling imo
Watching my bottom bracket seemingly float over the ground as I ride along a path on the way to work. It's like having a part of your bike narrate an adventure to you.
Weird. I know.
Just riding. And more riding. The simple act of it. I forget I'm on a bike.
LONG rides..love em..
Meeting new people and being invited out on rides in places I wouldn't have usually gone.
The same people making every effort to guide me around unfamiliar trails safely!
Just being in the woods is enough. The fact that I get a good workout and scare myself shitless is a massive bonus.
riding
bikes
other cyclists
going outside
stw
Suffering and drugs.
Hold on I'm not a roadie.
Kicks and good folk.
Being out in the sun / wind / rain / mud / dust / dark / for ages / for a short local blast / for a two week epic abroad / on my own / with good mates. But being out.
Speeeeeeeeeed 😀 The challenge of a good uphill or a technical trail, swooshing back downhill, me-time, climbing into a hot bath post-ride, being out when all sensible people are in the pub, being "at one" with my bike and the endorphins!
getting to the top of a long climb having given it a good hammering
nailing a corner
the happy anticipation of getting your bike out to go to the pub because you know that you and the others are all going to ride bikes and end up at the pub
fresh air, pine smell from forests, exercise, being outside, riding things normal folk this would kill you, mates, views, night riding madness, speed, adrenalin, escape from reality for a bit, wildlife, earning of cake, memories, achievement, photography, behave like a kid again for a bit, laugh, skit. I could go on.
Emily Batty!
Solitude; comradery; being at the edge of chaos; sun; lactic acid; being airborne; snow; inhalation and exhalation; perfect turns; falling leaves; being remote; flow; landing; exhilaration.
What's not to like?
Being out doing something that most other people wouldn't because it's hard work. Appreciating our beautiful countryside - even just a stones throw from urbanisation.
Meeting other considerate trail users and exchanging a friendly 'hello'.
Doing something that tickles the non-conformist chord in my psyche - like most night riding.
Nailing some bit of technical trail feature and seeing my mates try to follow me and sometimes pull it off, sometimes not. Seeing one of my mates nail something that I can't and having a crack - developing as a group.
Lauging at ourselves at the stupidity of staying in the pub so long after a winter ride that we're now so cold and having to fumble about with locks and lights and we're not going to be in until midnight even though it's a school night.
Feeling some ownership of the countryside and making an effort to keep it nice.
Getting a set of jumps landed perfectly is the best feeling 🙂 I like most things about biking, even kind of enjoy maintenance.
Keeping a pack of baby wipes on my desk at work to clean the mud off my face and legs after the morning commute.
+1 ton 🙂
That deep breath just before letting go of the brakes and hitting something for the first time, marvellous.
The 'Hnnnnnmmmmmmmph' noise as all the air is expelled out of my body when I hit the floor again, 3 metres away from my bike
Ton has it.
The sense of freedom rocks but ultimately it's got to be the time it gives me for myself (and to actually spend time with the wife away) from the rigours of normal life
racing your mates but knowing it doesn't really matter
riding through leaves
bluebells
shaking when you get off the bike
kit
riding out your front door
racing people off traffic lights
skids
sore legs
that 'got away with it feeling when your front wheel washes out and then catches again, when it really shouldn't have
mud
Lots of other stuff that I'll realise next time I'm out in the hills
🙂
Cocking about in the woods.
Getting fit having fun. Scaring myself and then the feeling of euphoria when you conquer something scary. Scenery. After ride pints. Plus what ton sed.
Fun.
Memories.
I've been places I'd never have seen.
The feeling that it's all done under your own power.
The simplicity that means I can maintain (most of) my bike myself.
(And, even on my MTB, I can get to work in (almost) less time than it takes to drive).
the fact it isn't raining as hard when I am on my bike as it is if I am in doors.
riding more and riding lots.
being fitter than I have ever been and that situation improving with even more riding.
29ers.
the head in sand "no never" complex of 26er riders.
the good friends I have got through nothing more complicated than the internet, phone and riding bikes!
banter, beer, bikes.
seeing new places I wouldn't bother with if I didn't have a bike.
watching the changes of the seasons.
most of my friends ride bikes - and I bet I am not unique in this one.
showing people how to do stuff they didn't know how to do yesterday.
leading rides and sweeping them too.
riding in the snow, rain, dust, heat or just those nice lightly moist trail like I had last night - perfect.
riding in the dark in the spooky woods (with other people).
Most stuff really. 😀
+1 shortcut
the fact that when it really is raining as hard when I am on my bike as it is if I am in doors, that I still love it!