Chatting during rides

[Philip Whiteman]

I guess that it all depends upon who you are riding with.  Certainly I have experienced:

- Really, great and interesting people.
- The riders who feel like old friends even though you have just met.
- The self obsessed rider
- The grumpy audaxer that cannot be shaken-off (I once lost the will-to-live).

[tippers_kiwi]

I'm usually pretty happy to have a chat, I can't talk on hills as I need to focus on breathing...I can sometimes manage a yes, no or grunt when climbing though 

I don't particularly like talking about politics or anything that's going to lead to a potential I'm right/your wrong, life's to short and I prefer to not have to think a lot on the bike.

Sometimes I like to not talk though and at those times I even get pissed off with the voices in my head trying to have a conversation!

[bairn again]

I find that its normally fairly difficult to hold a conversation while cycling (beyond somebody adjacent to you in a two abreast format and even then they might be hard to make out clearly) and that it does increases the risk of going in the wrong direction or other more serious mishap (missing potholes etc)

I'll always say hello to somebody who I draw alongside or vice versa - and maybe an exchange of names with somebody I don't know if we end up riding together for more than a few minutes. 

I find that cycling together doesn't actually need an ongoing dialogue, as one of the beauties of what we do is that it can be enjoyed largely unspoken.

Maybe that's just me.
 
 

 

[D O G]

I'm rubbish at starting a conversation on a ride, but more than happy to be talked at for extended periods of time.  It does make it pass more pleasantly, and is especially helpful when there is little other pleasantness about, like in the dead of night when raining!

[quixoticgeek]

I don't particularly like talking about politics or anything that's going to lead to a potential I'm right/your wrong, life's to short and I prefer to not have to think a lot on the bike.

I have been asked by a few Germans and a few Dutch riders about Brexit whilst riding along. Only one of them stuck around for a full discussion tho.

On Saturday one guy who rode with me for maybe 500m asked me why in English we call Nederlanders Dutch... Alas his English wasn't up to my attempt at a comparative linguistics discussion...

J

[hellymedic]

Too breathless to chat, despite slow pace and good training.

Not inherently antisocial, just NOT ABLE to chat while riding most of the time...

[Kim]

I'm happy to chat, unless

a) I'm suffering and really not in the mood for another iteration of the "recumbents can't climb hills" discussion (or similar).

b) I can't hear over the traffic/wind noise, which is often.

[Ben T]

It does often occur that someone will ride by the side of me and start chatting, but it is far, far too windy and they're talking far, far too quietly to hear what they're saying , but by the time I've given up trying to hear them they're too far into their monologue for it to be worth it/polite to tell them I can't hear a single word they're on about, so have to carry on pretending I can hear them with the odd "yeah", "hmmm", etc.
(It could be an extremely radical controversial  political rant for all I know and I'm nonchalantly agreeing but that's just the chance you take  )

[Karla]

Note to self: must express my long-standing love of Michael Gove the next time I ride with Ben.

[Ian H]

Note to self: must express my long-standing love of Michael Gove the next time I ride with Ben.

That's a bit kinky, old chap.

[De Sisti]

One way to avoid conversations when someone pulls up alongside you and wants a natter:

Rider: Hello, where are you from/where are you cycling to?

Me: You first. Tell me all about yourself from the moment you left school. In your own time; begin.

Rider: Oh, err, must press on then.

Has worked very well in the past.

[Pete Mas]

Conversation during rides is welcome, as long as it doesn't lead to inattention and missing turns.

As in life, a shared conversation of questions and answers and opinions works better than someone just rabbiting on aimlessly  without allowing the other person to get a word in edgeways...

Conversation can help the miles pass more quickly, but sometimes its just as  nice to just enjoy the silence and the scenery.

On multi-day rides I have sometimes observed that cliquey groups sometimes get established, and a newcomer who joins and is keen to chat can upset the equilibrium and irritate some group members keener on maintaining silence

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

I like conversations on Audax rides but they’re often stop start due to traffic, potholes, hills, descents, etc.  But a good conversationalist can cope with this and pick things up when conditions allow. Once or twice I’ve finished a conversation on a different ride to the one it started.

I quite like riding with chatty riders as I’m happy to tune in and out of the conversation.  I’ve certainly learned a lot, both good tips about events and life the universe and everything. I usually say hello but generally those who don’t want to talk usually make that evident so I try to leave them be. My preference is to chat.  I spend enough time riding on my own. 

[R_nger]

...I’ve certainly learned a lot, both good tips about events and life the universe and everything...

^^^This. So I don't understand why my natural instinct is to shun other riders 

[hellymedic]

...I’ve certainly learned a lot, both good tips about events and life the universe and everything...

^^^This. So I don't understand why my natural instinct is to shun other riders 

If you're struggling to breathe, you don't want to be distracted by babble.

Sorry, slowing down wasn't an option. I wasn't really antisocial...

[L CC]

As I've been out-ed as some kind of cure for long-ride tedium I'm forced to comment on this thread, darn it.

I guess that it all depends upon who you are riding with.  Certainly I have experienced:

- Really, great and interesting people.
- The riders who feel like old friends even though you have just met.
- The self obsessed rider
- The grumpy audaxer that cannot be shaken-off (I once lost the will-to-live).

I've met all of these guys/gals, which is weird, as I'm sure PW is faster than me on the road. I think I've shared a bike with 3 of them

Being female I also have regularly met the patronising 'gentleman' who doesn't like leaving you to ride alone, in the dark. They can be hard to shake. I tried "just stopping for a pee" with one, who then got off his bike and waited for me.

Depending on the ride, I quite like company. It's more to do with how I'm feeling than them, to be honest. I think I've been all of PW's folks.

DrM- "don't you know who I am" 

[ianrobo]

I love chatting to people about what they are doing, have done etc but I always seem to find people who seem to have different plans for the ride so often lose them. For example I am not one for stopping long on longer rides and don't particularly like cafe stops (eeeeekkk)

[tippers_kiwi]

Audax is unusual, as participants come from a wide range of backgrounds, and from around the country. It's normal around here to chat at supermarket tills and bus-stops. Visitors from other parts of the country sometimes ask where you know the stranger you've been talking to from. They're a bit perplexed when you say that you've never met them before.

I get this with my Children a lot. I grew up in NZ and I still say hello to pretty much anyone and they always ask me, who was that? Several years of commuting into London has however meant there are times where I don't say much, maybe it is just because there are too many people to say hello to though

[bobb]

American riders are often very upfront in their questioning. They usually start with "What's your name and where are you from?" I want to reply with "None of your fucking business", but I have learnt from Derren Brown that the best way to end an unwanted converstion is to reply with something completely random, like "The wall outside my house is less than 4 feet tall". I tried this once and the guy fucked off immediately. No doubt thinking I was a complete weirdo 

[Nothereforafasttime]

Too breathless to chat, despite slow pace and good training.

Not inherently antisocial, just NOT ABLE to chat while riding most of the time...

Totally agree.  I'm too busy trying to breath properly.  Some people just have an inherent knack of chatting away whilst I'm nearly dying trying to get a single sentence out.

[Exit Stage Left]

Audax is unusual, as participants come from a wide range of backgrounds, and from around the country. It's normal around here to chat at supermarket tills and bus-stops. Visitors from other parts of the country sometimes ask where you know the stranger you've been talking to from. They're a bit perplexed when you say that you've never met them before.

I get this with my Children a lot. I grew up in NZ and I still say hello to pretty much anyone and they always ask me, who was that? Several years of commuting into London has however meant there are times where I don't say much, maybe it is just because there are too many people to say hello to though

I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned headphones. They can be a sign that intrusion into an inner world might be unwelcome. If someone is happy to listen to music between controls, where they then spend their time updating their facebook profile, then there's little point in trying to make conversation.

They've sorted out their own entertainment, and there's no joy in finding yourself written up in a negative light by someone used to defending their personal space.

[ianrobo]

Well I listen to podcasts but if someone wants to talk happy to

[FifeingEejit]

I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned headphones. They can be a sign that intrusion into an inner world might be unwelcome. If someone is happy to listen to music between controls, where they then spend their time updating their facebook profile, then there's little point in trying to make conversation.

They've sorted out their own entertainment, and there's no joy in finding yourself written up in a negative light by someone used to defending their personal space.

What about the invisible headphones created by ear worms, I can be having an absolute ball with an ear worm and my internal disco is shattered by some skinhead coming along and disturbing it.

[ianrobo]

I guess that it all depends upon who you are riding with.  Certainly I have experienced:

- Really, great and interesting people.
- The riders who feel like old friends even though you have just met.
- The self obsessed rider
- The grumpy audaxer that cannot be shaken-off (I once lost the will-to-live).

I can be all of those !!

[Exit Stage Left]

I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned headphones. They can be a sign that intrusion into an inner world might be unwelcome. If someone is happy to listen to music between controls, where they then spend their time updating their facebook profile, then there's little point in trying to make conversation.

They've sorted out their own entertainment, and there's no joy in finding yourself written up in a negative light by someone used to defending their personal space.

What about the invisible headphones created by ear worms, I can be having an absolute ball with an ear worm and my internal disco is shattered by some skinhead coming along and disturbing it.

I remember an earworm generated by the instruction 'TL sp Knockando' on a ride on Speyside. That led to a conversation on PBP2011. There followed another conversation 800kms later on, complaining about a 'Family Man' earworm.

Planting ideas which only make sense as the ride unfolds can be fun, but many might say, 'I can't go for that'.