Do you like talking on the road or not?

[hgrill02]

Just wondering what everyone's opinion was. I find that if I ride with someone that I can talk to (men don't get this) that I can go further, faster and have a lot more fun riding. I know there are a lot of very serious riders out there that don't like to "chat" on the road...what is your preference?

[KnottedYet]

I don't like to talk while riding.

If I'm on the bike I just want to ride, but at a rest stop I will talk up a storm!

Oh, but I do sing on the bike.

[kelownagirl]

Mostly no talking unless there's something important to say or to point out. I'm usually breathing too hard to talk anyway.

Now if we're just toodling along for fun, I like to ride side by side and chat all the way...

[MINIskirt]

I'm a talker. :D It really helps the miles go faster for me, and if I'm riding with someone who is just a little faster than me, I'll give it the extra push to keep up.

[RoadRaven]

Mostly I ride on my own, and don't talk to myself... but on slow-medium pace training ride (like Knotted I often sing to myself).

On a slow-medium pace ride with others, we usually ride in a pace-line so no talking. When with my partner, we often ride side by side and chat - one of the few occasions we are uninterrupted by children!

One of the women I train with most often prefers to ride beside me on and we "talk shop" alot - often our rides will be extended lunch breaks or if we can leave work early.

On medium-fast training rides, nope, very little talking... usually in a pace-line anyways.

In a race? Nope, just too busy trying to breathe!

[indysteel]

I'm not big on talking when I'm riding, although I'm otherwise a big talker. In a paceline, definitely not. On more leisurely rides, I don't mind having short exchanges here and there--usually comments about the rides itself--but I otherwise find it an unwanted distraction. As many group rides as I do, I actually prefer riding alone I think, or at least riding with someone who doesn't feel the need to talk my ear off.

I also have trouble hearing when the wind is rushing over my ears and I get sick of yelling, "what?" Frequently, I'll be on a group ride with someone who wants to chat. I'll explain that I'm having trouble hearing them, with the hope that it will shut them up. Invariably, it doesn't. Ugh. I've started to just tell people that I'm not much of a talker on the bike.

[7rider]

Just wondering what everyone's opinion was. I find that if I ride with someone that I can talk to (men don't get this) that I can go further, faster and have a lot more fun riding. I know there are a lot of very serious riders out there that don't like to "chat" on the road...what is your preference?

Depends on the ride and the riders.
When with DH, conversation is usually limited to "Are we doing the loop clockwise or counter-clockwise?" and "Did you see that?" (NO! I'm too busy staring at your rear derailleur trying to keep up!)
Like IndySteel, I have difficultly hearing over the wind noise. DH, who is usually in front of me, has an annoying habit of not turning his head to speak - and he's so soft-spoken, I never hear anything he says anyway.
However, there are rides where wind noise is not a factor, and the social aspect of the ride is key.

[SouthernBelle]

On long rides with someone, I go 50-50. There are periods where I just like to crank, and times where we hit a section where we can do some nice side by side chatty riding.

[SheFly]

On training rides, forget it. If you can talk, you're not riding hard enough :D . I rode with our women's group this week and in a paceline one of them was chatting up a storm! All I could think was that she wasn't riding hard enough, so I went to the front and bumped up the pace - that quieted things down :D .

There are rides, though, that are social in nature. Talking is ok on those rides.

SheFly

[li10up]

I'm not much of a talker on the bike... or off if, for that matter, if the other person can't help carry the conversation. I ride with a super nice guy that talks nearly non-stop. It helps to take your mind off of the pain if it's a tough ride. He makes fun of me if I don't at least grunt at him every now and then. I don't mind conversation on the bike if they are still paying attention and pointing out hazards. I usually just listen in though.

[10ch]

If I'm riding solo, I often talk to myself.

If I'm riding with friends on a MUP or country road w/zero traffic, I'm a total talker.

If I'm riding in traffic or on single track, I'm too focused for conversation and often annoyed when people get chatty.

[mimitabby]

I like to talk and listen too. It does make the time go faster. Of course, on the harder parts, i can get out monosyllables! but there are lots of other times where I have enough steam to ask and answer questions.

[roguedog]

I really like social rides but now that you've made me think about it... I think I like talk on the flats if there's room. Once we hit a hill, I gotta focus.

[mimitabby]

you gotta focus or you gotta breathe? :D

[SheFly]

you gotta focus or you gotta breathe? :D

Can't talk - breathing! :D

[run it, ride it]

I love talking on the long, flat low-traffic parts. My excercise-induced asthma is such that the relaxation of talking to someone does wonders to control my breathing and relax me before a hill. That said, I often get worked into a wheeze-fit such that my only communications involve nodding and thumbs up when worried co-riders ask, "are you okay?!"

Mountain-biking is a different story--I'm usually concentrating too hard on the singletrack to chat. However, I do narrate my ride with little yips and curses as I go over the unexpected or tricky bits. I also like a few wild, "WOOOOO!"s down big hills, and more than once I've let out a bewildered "HOW AM I STILL ALIVE?!"s after a particularly interesting obstacle.

[10ch]

...I also like a few wild, "WOOOOO!"s down big hills...

I'm more of a WEEEEE girl, myself. :)

[mimitabby]

I'm more of a eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek

girl myself on those steep hills.

[Thorn]

On the flats? Chatterbox or loner, depending on the mood. Downhill? Part of the eeeeeeeeeeeek gang. Uphill? No. Breath. Must. Breathe. Must. Fo. Cus. Do. Not. Talk. To. Me.

DH has long since learned to never, ever start a conversation when the hills are steep. Oops...I get a bit cranky when I'm trying to focus and breathe and someone wants me to acknowledge them....oops

[smilingcat]

slow social rides with beginners, we talk.

serious training rides. Who has time to talk? On a big or long hill climbs, pace line usually breaks down completely and every person for themselves. We "race" up the hill and regroup at the top. It pays to be one of the first at the top where we chat. If you are the last one then no rest for you as the group has gotten back together and we all take off. bummer, no chance to get your breath back. It's an incentive to stay ahead of your fellow riders. :D :rolleyes: On a short steep climb, most of us make an effort to stay in big chain ring and power our way up. CAN'T TALK either.

I'm not crazy so I don't talk to myself on solo training rides. Have no musical ability so I don't sing either. Besides, I'm training. :D

maybe I'm tad anti-social in training :p

[RoadRaven]

I ride with a super nice guy that talks nearly non-stop. It helps to take your mind off of the pain if it's a tough ride.

This made me think of my partner... he does this, intentionally I think... just chats beside me as I mash my painful way up a nasty hill... it takes my mind off the discomfort and I can maintain my rythym!
:D

[HappyAnika]

Thorn's comment reminds me of a couple of weeks ago: I was focused on finishing this long moderate hill, DH had already topped the hill and doubled back for me. He pulls up next to me and starts chatting and asking me questions. I just grunted at him and he finally left me alone. After a bit when we were stopped I apologized for the grunts and had to explain that some of us require extra oxygen when riding up hills. Did I mention we were stopped to change my tire because I had about 40 psi in it? I was wondering why the hill felt harder than usual. ;)

I like chatting when I'm on a casual ride, but if I'm trying to get a work out in, no talking please. Exceptions, of course for route discussion, such as "Left here?"

[colby]

I pretty much agree with the consensus (or what kind of seems like maybe a consensus? ;)). If I'm by myself (which usually means training rides), sometimes I'll talk or encourage myself (I'm sure it sounds nuts), things like "we can do it" or "just one more" or "almost there" or "come on bike, let's take it!"

If I am riding with my husband, dad, or friends, I will talk some or most of the time. For me, it's a way to measure and make sure I'm not pushing anyone too hard. If they start talking in clipped, short syllables and I know I'm pushing, I'll try to keep it at a minimum. I usually stop talking up hills because I know that's going to be a push anyway. When my husband wears the heart monitor, I will listen for that, too. On roads, we ride single file, which makes talking a little harder. I'd rather be safe than chatty.

I don't really train or do hard rides with other people. I don't really have anyone to train with until I get my aforementioned bike friends moving a little faster or interested in rides longer than 10-15 miles. I'm working on them. :)

[teigyr]

When I used to ride a lot, I'd talk going up hills. I wouldn't necessarily require an answer, I tried to be sensitive that way. Ex-DH hated it and said it was rude because I wasn't out of breath and he was. To me it was good because I tried to ride a consistent pace uphill; not too fast and not too slow and it took my mind off of the fact I was tired.

When I did a 129 mile club ride way back when, I was basically on my own because there weren't many riders. A rider who did a lot of doubles (WAY out of my league!) started talking to me. We were out in the middle of nowhere and it was nice. He was complimentary about my riding too which is always great :D The ride was killing me and as we were going up a hill at mile 100, he pulled away. That whole hill (5-7 miles) I felt horrible and I knew I still had miles to go before the finish. I cried for a bit (as I was riding which required talent!), thought about stopping but I didn't know when I'd see a SAG wagon and stopping isn't really me, and questioned my sanity for riding. I felt sick, tired, and like I sucked because this guy was so much better. At the top of the hill, the guy was there waiting. I still remember this, he said "I'm sorry, I thought you were right behind me. You are a strong rider and I was fighting to make sure I was going fast enough." Lie or not, it made me feel SO much better. As he talked to me through the rest of the ride, I still felt sick and I couldn't answer quite as I wanted (one word answers) but it got me through that ride.

I guess there are all sorts of different answer here. I would love to talk more on the bike trail but it's difficult because of the wind and a lot of time it's single file. There are times I don't feel like talking, granted. But then again, there are times that talking has made all the difference in the world.

[makbike]

I'm not a talker simply because I'm extremely shy. My lack of talking has somehow resulted in me being labeled "intense" and "standoffish". The intense label is true, I can't deny it but the "standoffish" label is so far from the truth. I do listen for I enjoy hearing the tales of others.

[spokewench]

Just wondering what everyone's opinion was. I find that if I ride with someone that I can talk to (men don't get this) that I can go further, faster and have a lot more fun riding. I know there are a lot of very serious riders out there that don't like to "chat" on the road...what is your preference?


You betcha I like to talk most of the time. Cause I'm a mountain biker and I really think the road can be boring sometimes. It keeps me interested in the ride. However, if it is a real hammerfest, I'll be sucking wheel in the back and not talking very much!:D

[bikerHen]

Does it count as talking if I'm talking to myself? I ride solo most of the time and I'm the only one I have to talk with, not counting the occasional shout out to stupid cars. :rolleyes: But then I work alone and talk to myself all day. And I always talk myself through working on the computer, sewing and just about everything. Maybe I spend too much time by myself? :eek: bikerHen

[teigyr]

I talk to livestalk! Or ducks, or geese, or whatever other animal is in my vicinity. Not running conversations because it's in passing but I say hello at least :)

[makbike]

Teigyr I talk to the animals too but then again I talk to my "thundering herd" each and every day.

[7rider]

Yeah...chat with the critters, too.
More like "Hey you squirrel - Get out of the road. Run, run, run."
And I thank the cows and horses for still being there, and not being displaced by McMansions! :rolleyes:

[SouthernBelle]

Thank goodness I'm not the only who speaks to cattle and goats.

[teigyr]

I guess most of us talk to our bikes too? :o

[roguedog]

you gotta focus or you gotta breathe? :D

pppppphttttt

Hey, were you ridign the cindy with me?? or did you just hear me all the way up there :PP

We need more smileys!

[run it, ride it]

Oh goodness... I talk to animals, too. 'Specially when I'm running. I try to convince the geese they should be more scared of me than I am of them (ha!), and there are these two horses in a paddock on a back road who ALWAYS spook when I run/cycle by, so I try to shout up to them before I turn the corner so they don't bonk their poor heads on their feeder!

[Thorn]

I used to talk to animals and then....we were hiking in England where the walking paths often pass through pasture land. We walked through the gate and down the path, cattle on both sides of the path. Being the animal chatterer, as we passed them, I talked to them saying stupid things like, "Don't mind us, we're vegetarian." "Nice day, isn't it?" etc. etc.

After about 100 yards of that, DH said, "uh....we're being followed." Sure enough, several of the cattle were now following us down the path. We kept walking and I kept talking, now, more out of nerves than just animal chattering.

The longer we walked the more cattle followed us. We stopped to chat with 2 guys and one of the cows came up behind me and nudged me along. It was getting a bit unsettling and the guys were very nervous as well. By the time we'd reached the end of the pasture, we couldn't get over the stile to get out of the area because the cattle were blocking it (http://www.cassandrathorn.com/images/Organized/2002England/People/P6260056DalesWayGroup_P.JPG) We hopped a barbed wire fence.

Later, this city girl learned that cattle like to be talked to and will follow anyone who chatters with them. I've learned my lesson....no talking to the animals unless there is a fence between them and me.

Hmmm...maybe that's why I bike more now....the animals can't follow me?

[RoadRaven]

Thank goodness I'm not the only who speaks to cattle and goats.

LOL... of course, I neglected to mention this aspect of my chatter.

I usually say hi to some of the animals too as I pass too... mostly cattle, cause I like them.

[CR400]

Depends who I'm with and what the goal is for the ride. Yesterday I rode with a friend who is just getting into cycling. So we rode at a pace it was easy to talk, well for me anway not sure about her, but she seemed ok. If I ride with the top guy on our team I don't talk becuase I usually have to devote my time to keeping up and breathing. Unless he goes slower then we can talk. It also depends how I feel is it a get down to buisness day or a social day.

[margo49]

I ride alone.
But I have wonderful conversations with friends in my head.
I also talk to Salsabike and uforgot a lot about the countryside, flowers, birds, etc!

[10ch]

I ride alone.

margo49, you sound like such a cowgirl. Awesome t-shirt idea.

[KSH]

Just wondering what everyone's opinion was. I find that if I ride with someone that I can talk to (men don't get this) that I can go further, faster and have a lot more fun riding. I know there are a lot of very serious riders out there that don't like to "chat" on the road...what is your preference?

I like to chat, but I can't chat if I want to focus on going fast. I realized that the fast riders aren't rude, because they don't chat. They are just focused, and it's hard to chat when you are working hard.