what goes on inside your helmet?
 

For me, riding is therapy. it's why I'll probably never give up street riding all together.

I think about anything and everything when riding... my job, my next base, trips around the world, the blond with the rack in the car next to me, the economy in Ireland, ect...


but mostly I think about where my life is headed... I find that though I'm generally happy in my life... I'm happiest, on the bike, with the road ahead of me, and time to enjoy it.


I tend to sing random songs to myself.... make random noises... even call cadence :lol:


so anyways... what goes on up there?

I mainly think about how awesome my bike sounds. Seriously.

I'm sorry I can't hear you over how awesome I am...


:lol:

Hmm.... I try not to think a whole lot about anything but the ride itself... The sounds, the smells, the scenery....

:iagree:

But I do sing to myself. :lol:

:lol: so do I

I sing along to Pandora and my three days grace play list

Too much stuff. Then I catch myself and try to snap out of it and focus on the road but then my brain drifts off again and all non related thoughts pop back into my head.

The whole reason I get on the bike is to escape my thoughts. Riding is "here and now".

Me too! Heck, I have a FM radio and a MP3 player on my set-up and I don't even bother turning it on.

Yep or how perfect it's handling... how smooth the road is...what would happen if a deer jumped out right now...

Usually it's very introspective, and calm. If it's cold, or I'm racing, I've been known to shout in my helmet.

I shout a lot... just to kill the boredom on long trips... seriously... I'm like a toddler who just makes noise to make noise... :lol:

I get that way too if I am tired and have to ride home on the freeway. :lol:

I am with Fleck. I ride so i wont think. Just flow, me the road, the bike. Nothing else matters...

I've been known to do that. I also think about anything and everything.

You have corners to keep you occupied......:D

If I am just cruising a long straight road, I wander mentally a little, but I try to avoid those type roads. I keep busy in there analyzing my riding and the ride itself which pushes the rest away. When I am pushing hard on the street or track I yell at myself fairly often when I make a mistake. It helps me that to refocus myself on the job at hand.
I have never listened to music when I ride, but I think when I'm sporting it would be a distraction.

Thats the beauty of it. Nothing matters save your braking, line, turn in point. No mortgage, vet appointments, work. Honeydos... just noise, speed, and vibration.

when I'm riding agressively... then only the riding comes to mind...


but seeing as most of my rides are more "senic" now that I've gotten the DRZ... I tend to just let my mind wander...

I'm much more at home with my thoughts in my truck... even more so on my bike.

I have tried looking and admiring. But I just keep getting pulled back into the road. Maybe I should get a touring bike or DS to slow me down a bit. I still hanker for a GS800...

You shoulda been a singer. lol

I focus on the road ahead...I rarely ride the speed limit...it's always fast splitting or canyon runs. There isn't any time to be singing to myself with trying to pass cars or watch for cops.

i just do it when im bored on the slab, but if animal comes on its over

to be honest... I still want the 800GS too... but only for long trips... I'm really like'n the DRZ...

Honestly... I think about everything in life. I pray. I jam to my music... I listen to the motor, look at the great country side I'm riding thru

Listen to music, sing to myself or just let my mind wonder

I'm usually singing, or humming, just making some noise to myself in my helmet. But it's all good, because I know that nobody can hear my horrid voice through my helmet and over the bike. I've caught myself thinking "it's amazing how wonderful cam gears sound." And then I find someplace out in the middle of nowhere and I pull over and shut it down and sit in the grass and do not much but enjoy the sun and the quiet and friends.

But I haven't been able to ride in over a year and a half, so I'm itching to ride again. I've already gotten over the withdrawals, so it's time to ride again.

on the street, I've got my music going and I'm blocking out life. I concentrate on traffic and the road. I try and focus.
on the track, I sing to drown out the bikes around me and get myself pumped up - I block out life. I am thinking 1 or 2 turns ahead and on controling the bike to my limits. And I'm either shouting out a song or narating what I SHOULD be doing

I am usually singing, until I twist the throttle, then I either scream expletives, or giggle uncontrolably.

depends on the ride and the reason for the ride. sometimes i sing, watch scenery, watch girls etc. sometimes i focus very intently on the ride if it's a spirited ride. sometimes i just ride to relieve tension then i mostly listen to the bike, it's better then any psychologist.

Actually it's not handling perfect. I gotta tweak the set up slightly when I get it back out.

And I didn't say I wasn't paying attention. If a deer jumps out I'll slay it. jacko

Sometimes I do this.

I would say this ^^

Now you sound like a "girl". :lol

laughter, joy, self actualization, escaping into my own world

I listen to musico. It think about whatever comes to mind or I talk to myself or I cuss out the asshole near me.

You are what you eat. ;)

For me, part of the enjoyment in riding is the fact that I can unplug from so many things and just 'exist' in my head for a while. No cell phone, no radio/music, no discussions with anyone (other than myself), no e-mails, etc. When riding on stretches of road where I don't have to focus so intently, my mind will wander off in one of any directions. I love it. My mind is free to do as it likes.

I may think about a problem at work I'm working on, personal life/family, what to cook for dinner this weekend, what that hot mom I saw in line at Publix the other day looks like in her panties, is there really a God, etc. I often find myself humming a song or making guitar sounds. I may do nothing more than observe the world around me and take marvel in even the simplest things.

Being such an analytical person, I value that I have at least one outlet that allows me to find freedom from the shackles of daily events. Woodworking / building things is another avenue of mental therapy for me.

Me too. And singing, lots and lots of singing!

Let me guess, you sing "Like a Virgin" by Madonna?:D

Build me up Buttercup or My Girl are the two that get the most air time. ;)

It was just the first song that popped into my mind

I really don't "think" about much of anything while I'm on the bike, and that's why I like to ride. I turn off, other than the motor skills of riding and watching for hazards but thats almost background unless I'm pushing. I will have fleeting thoughts of any and everything for brief moments, check out some scenery, but mostly just "be" on the bike.

I don't listen to music when I ride and I usually only think about the ride itself. As others mentioned...the sounds...the smells...just stuff in general related to the ride. I also think about the what if's...deer running out...what's that cager going to do...etc...etc.... I also check my mirrors a lot to check on the wife who is usually in tow on her R6 to make sure she's doing ok.

I love riding and since it hit 60 yesterday we had a nice ride. Saturday was in the mid to upper 50's so me and a freiend took off and had a blast.

I normally sing some song to myself out loud inside my helmet for the entire ride.

Ditto that, wade. :dthumb:

When I'm doing the boring stuff, I'll wander around upstairs & make plans, (over)analyze stuff, sing goofy shit, etc. But on a couple of occasions that has caught me 'out' slightly - not enough to be truly 'oh shit' moments, but enough to really impress on me that when I'm in la-la land is when I'm most likely to get my ticket punched. So mostly I try to just sing/hum goofy shit & enjoy the music going on below (easy on the VFR!), but mostly focus on the sheer no-words-needed sweetness of the ride (and staying alive for many, many more!).

I also find it depends on what kind of road I'm on. When I'm up in the mountains, I'm completely focused on the ride- sight lines, potential hazards, angles, and all the physics of riding. It's a nice change of pace. When I'm traveling through the country I tend to take in the scenery a lot, possibly more than I should. When I'm commuting or driving the Interstate is when I do my best thinking... problem solving, inventions, life decisions, anything that I otherwise can't clear my head well enough to focus on day-to-day.

"Don't do it dude... don't turn left in front of me... don't DO it... F*CK, I KNEW you were going to do that"

Hating people. That's all I think about. How do I get around this stupid fuck or why is this fucktard on my ass? Or sometimes hoping that the gearless fucker who just went by me on one wheel would wreck. I have also been known to waive the middle finger at people who alter my ride by making me speed up slowdown, or change course.

So my rides usually are expletive laced, finger flying tirades.

You need to calm down.

Fuck you!

:lol: Why so angry, grasshoppa?

I can relate though - sometimes I get very, very aggravated by people doing stupid shit, especially when it endangers me! One of my major pet-peeves has been people parking in the fast-lane and being either oblivious or simply refusing to move over for faster traffic. That, and other asshat driving behavior has caused me to 'ride angry' far too often. One of my 'resolutions' (not really new-years, but close enough), is to let go of that shit & not let other peoples' inconsiderate behavior dictate my mood nearly so much. Like water off a duck's back... :)

I can see why you might be concerned with retiring now.

you should discover dirt riding. much less stressful then this. Yikes.

Been riding dirt my entire life.

ok so..................give knitting a try for stress relief. LOL

yeah didn't notice the crf450 in your profile, even though i have seen it there before doh. LOL

Riding is my stress relief.

You won't be lolling when he discovers a dropped stitch and stabs your grandmother in a pastel wooly rage :nono:

my grandma was a bad ass with her knitting needles she could jab you on the fly and never miss a stitch. LOL

a duel to the death with the needle things.

I almost ate the ass of a car doing that...

I think 2 jumps ahead and about staying off the front brake.

The rest is just enjoying the scenery.