Fear of riding...

[vav]

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/07/fear-and-cycling/

[fiamme red]

When I’m balanced on two thin wheels at 30 miles an hour, gauging distance, adjusting course, making hundreds of unconscious calculations every second, that idiot chatterbox in my head is kept too busy to get a word in.How often can one ride at 30 mph in the city? :confused:

[Earl Gray]

Articles like that are why I cannot force myself to read magazine or news stories.

He has anxieties and he enjoys riding his bike. Whoopee Fn Doo! Join the club!

[Grant McLean]

I don't really like these cycling=potential death takes on the activity of riding.
There are really much better ways to explain his point, without the war metaphor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness_(psychology)

-g

[maxdog]

Articles like that are why I cannot force myself to read magazine or news stories.

He has anxieties and he enjoys riding his bike. Whoopee Fn Doo! Join the club!

Interesting, I thought it was a well written, poignant and introspective piece. Thanks for the link vav.

[tannhauser]

I'm just pissed that I used up one of my free nytimes articles to read that. Ugh.

The blog is about anxiety...so that's what you're going to get. But the quality of writing should at least be a few rungs higher.

That said, just another middle-aged fart worrying about worry. Also, let's always round up to the nearest 5mph when describing speed, ok?

"I'm a hero, I'm a wimp." Welcome to the club indeed.

[echelon_john]

if one were of a mind to continue to read NYT articles without a subscription one COULD simply delete everything after .html in the address bar once the page (with limit message) has fully loaded.

of course, i do not condone such activities.

but sometimes the simplest solutions are the best ones.



I'm just pissed that I used up one of my free nytimes articles to read that. Ugh.

The blog is about anxiety...so that's what you're going to get. But the quality of writing should at least be a few rungs higher.

That said, just another middle-aged fart worrying about worry. Also, let's always round up to the nearest 5mph when describing speed, ok?

"I'm a hero, I'm a wimp." Welcome to the club.

[tannhauser]

if one were of a mind to continue to read NYT articles without a subscription one COULD simply delete everything after .html in the address bar once the page (with limit message) has fully loaded.

of course, i do not condone such activities.

but sometimes the simplest solutions are the best ones.

I know someone who has no scruples and likes to read - I will pass this along. I'm sure he'll thank you in turn. Sure of it.

[Jaq]

A true neurotic, as are most people who are "too scared to go on carnival rides." When coupled with a career as a wordsmith, the result is often prolix in extremis.

To wit: "narrows the beam of my consciousness to the laser’s width of the instant I actually inhabit." Is so much cleaner as: impels me to focus on the moment.

That said, +1 for FR's thought: who rides at 30mph in the city?

[67-59]

Also, let's always round up to the nearest 5mph when describing speed, ok?


If he really spends his time dodging cabs and buses in NYC, I'm guessing this guy rounds up to the nearest 15 mph...

[MattTuck]

That said, +1 for FR's thought: who rides at 30mph in the city?

Give the guy a break. he ONCE rode 30mph, going downhill, drafting behind a big truck.



30 mph on a bike is FAST. When I do sprint intervals and hit 30mph, I am happy, and think, "jeeze, this is pretty fast for a bike."

[tannhauser]

If he really spends his time dodging cabs and buses in NYC, I'm guessing this guy rounds up to the nearest 15 mph...

Laser-like focus requires mere guesstimates at actual speed.

I'm thinking of this guy writing from the Times Square public space, watching guys ride by and letting his creative genius take over.

[giverdada]

either way, i thought it was well-written and humorous.

i make fun of rapha hyperbole all the time: it's my favorite flog. but i could relate to some of what this post was about, particularly the concentration required by certain physical activities, and the wonderful byproduct of putting forth that kind of concentration. when my commute was 35 minutes of traffic light intervals, i was a much better teacher and father.

[Bob Loblaw]

I liked it. It resonated with me.

BL

[zap]

Thirty miles per hour is not a big deal.

[Fixed]

It is not funny i am painfully aware of theses feeling and they are real for a lot of folks IMHO
Cheers

[DHallerman]

One of my fondest cycling memories goes like this:

After we finished leading one of the NYCC training series rides on a spring Saturday, my co-leader Sandy and I cycled down 2nd Avenue in Manhattan, going about 60 blocks on that street. (For those who don't know the NYC scale, that's about 3 miles.)

We took a lane -- basically -- and just rode with the traffic. 2nd Avenue is slightly downhill in that direction, and I was stronger back then, so we were able to cruise together at 20+, weaving with the traffic as needed.

A rush, and as the article points out, just using the skills needed to survive ejects all the bad-stuff out of your head.

So, I think the article touched on a basic truth about cycling -- paying close attention to save yourself from pain or death, and how paying close attention helps one not worry so much.

Dave, who especially enjoys reaching 40+mph on certain downhills where the road surface is reasonably good and where the sightlines are clear and where there is not too much car traffic

[chwupper]

if one were of a mind to continue to read NYT articles without a subscription one COULD simply delete everything after .html in the address bar once the page (with limit message) has fully loaded.

of course, i do not condone such activities.

but sometimes the simplest solutions are the best ones.

Ha! And here I thought I would have to go through the trouble of deleting my nytimes cookies every day or so. If I were so inclined...

[rugbysecondrow]

I feel for the guy. I know people who just can't shut off thier mind. Fortunatly, I don't have that problem, I worry about almost nothing.

I read the article different than others though, riding was his release, his safe haven, his island away from the travels of his mind. It was when he seemed at ease.

[tannhauser]

Thirty miles per hour is not a big deal.

In NYC in traffic, of course it is. Central Park crit, of course not.