Modern Buddy

So today was PURE MICHIGAN and I got out of work early to take a ride through the countryside on my Silverwing. after going at full speed for about an hour, my brain was getting tired. By the time I got home in another half hour, my mind was quite fatigued.

So, is this a normal level of fatigue, or is it due to my relative inexperience riding harder and longer (tee hee)?

Some of each I suspect. I notice that my concentration and coordination both start to go downhill as I get fatigued. The more I ride, the longer it takes for me to get to that point though. My fanny also builds up a higher level of tolerance with more riding but a sheepskin pad helps too .

chloefpuff wrote: ... or is it due to my relative inexperience riding harder and longer (tee hee)?

You just knew it had to happen.


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chloefpuff wrote:after going at full speed for about an hour, my brain was getting tired. By the time I got home in another half hour, my mind was quite fatigued.

So, is this a normal level of fatigue, or is it due to my relative inexperience riding harder and longer (tee hee)?

It could be about a million other things, but most likely just due to something simple like lack of sleep or a badly-timed drop in blood sugar levels or maybe you were already fatigued but didn't realize it until the adrenaline rush wore off during the ride. I wouldn't worry about it unless it happens repeatedly.

Chewing gum helps me

If you are new to this you do spend much more energy and attention on riding. That gets easier with practice...Thats the fun part.

Maybe its boredom?

I wonder about this sometimes? Where I ride there is always something to think about concerning the ride. This is why I always describe riding as exciting or another state of consciousness or w/e?

But what if I were just riding in a straight line through a rural area with nothing much around me for 100 miles?

I would think that's not very involving? But I hope it is special in its own way. Or, will I wish I had a car? Please say not

Even getting out early, my brain would be fried at the end of a day at work. It's a wonder sometimes that I make it the 4 miles to my house. :/

I rarely ride for over an hour non-stop. When I have, it's been on a long haul where I have to get somewhere by sundown, and those rides are always exhausting.

While it is generally for rides a bit more extreme, check out the Iron Butt Association's "Archive of Wisdom." All thier stuff is good, but check out item #9 in this list:
http://www.ironbutt.com/tech/aow.cfm

Howard

In my case, having tunes, a comfortable seat, and the right clothing helps. Like anything else, experience and mindset are helpful in extending your riding.

Yeah, I hate it when that happens. When it does, I have a couple songs I sing loudly to myself ("Marie Laveau", "The Winner", "The Mermaid", all by Bobby Bare, or "Wildwood Weed"...can't remember who did that one), or I start finding the alphabet along my ride...you know, an "A" on a road sign, a "B" on a car, etc. I only allow myself one letter to a sign or car so I don't distract myself looking at any one thing too long.

The best thing though, and probably by far the safest, is to just pull over, stretch a bit and wait until you wake up a bit before continuing.

michelle_7728 wrote:Yeah, I hate it when that happens. When it does, I have a couple songs I sing loudly to myself ("Marie Laveau", "The Winner", "The Mermaid", all by Bobby Bare, or "Wildwood Weed"...can't remember who did that one), or I start finding the alphabet along my ride...you know, an "A" on a road sign, a "B" on a car, etc. I only allow myself one letter to a sign or car so I don't distract myself looking at any one thing too long.

The best thing though, and probably by far the safest, is to just pull over, stretch a bit and wait until you wake up a bit before continuing.

For me . . . It's PROUD MARY - Tina and Ike version! I've actually had looks from cagers!

That used to happen to me on my bicycle. I'd get it in my head that i was gonna ride 50 miles and chearfully set out. I didn't realize I wasn't quite ready to ride that 50 miles, it would discourage me, and then become a chore, something I had to do.
So I started out breaking that 50 miles down. I know I can ride twenty and have no problem, so today is a 20 mile ride. Next ride is a 30 and so on.
I think that has helped me with riding the scoot. If I start to get bored, I stop stretch, let the scoot/myself cool down and go home.
So I have a boredom threshold of about 150 miles on the scoot, and about 30 on the bike. I can and have ridden farther but if ya don't have too then don't.
Your in Holland right? Blue Star Hwy south to St. Joe is a great ride on a bike never done it on a scooter, nice hills not really twisty at all though.

smarkum wrote:For me . . . It's PROUD MARY - Tina and Ike version! I've actually had looks from cagers!

You know, I do this too - only it's usually "Lazy, Crazy, Hazy Days of Summer". I sing loud and off-key . Nobody hears me when I'm riding along, but I've gotten some funny looks when I stop at a light and forget some cars may have an open window.

Yeah for singing! Hearing my voice on a helmet, though, turns me into a harsher critic than Simon Cowell ("wow am I THAT out of tune all the time?!")

Boredom, or at least my mind wandering and losing focus, is a major challenge for me on long rides out on the open road. Music helps. Staying aware of when I'm losing focus helps, too.

Some people will stay mentally engaged by something like an audio book or This American Life. That's too involved for me. I need my brain to be just active enough to keep me from daydreaming but not so active that I'm thinking about things and having to process information other than the ride.

Not a problem in the city, but on rides like the one we did this weekend, intermittently a problem.

On Saturday, I'd gotten 2 hours sleep, got up at 5am, then rode 80 miles of twisties just to get to the main ride. In the late afternoon, after a day of mostly technical riding in the San Bernadino National Forest, our final stretch was a fairly straight shot. But we were in the desert areas by then, it was hot and the sun was right in our faces.

Our last rest stop was only 10 miles from our final destination, but it was really needed and I was grateful for a chance to get in the shade, get off the scoot and recharge for a few moments.

Coming back Sunday was hard and I was really fighting fatigue part of the way, especially when temps climbed into the 90s near the bottom. It might seem like doing lots of tight turns and hairpins and so on would command focus but that's not always the case. After 50 miles of the kind of riding (on the second day in a row), your brain can get very tired.

In general, if I'm feeling it physically, I know it's going to hit me mentally, too.

Amen!

Sometimes just riding 10 miles in town is like taking a Mensa test. I feel wiped afterward!

the long rides, esp. if it's really cold or really hot, bleh. I usually make random comments to myself to keep me going.

The worst thus far has been a park I pass by on my route. Gotta keep my focus forward .