Always like having a good side quest. I usually just stumble into them along the way, i have a few more, but here are some:
- Hit up all the pump tracks. That one i do on every tour really, kinda surprised about how many bike pump tracks or skateparks i come across.
- I started playing “don’t use the power bank” on a 2,5 week long tour. I lost this game on the 9th day, but only because i didn’t know there was a cafe a couple hundred meters further down the road. After i lost i wasn’t too keen on keeping on playing anymore, don’t really remember.
- “Guess the Italian” - In the border regions to Italy i tried to guess number plates of overtaking cars before i could see them. I had no false positives, but a few false negatives. I was impressed by my guessing skills, or by the consistency of italian drivers. This game then somehow faded out in somewhere Italy i guess.
Anybody else got some side quests / mini games they’re playing?
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I love this! I often stop for breaks in cemeteries, and I always try to find the oldest tombstone (or if it’s a massive one, the oldest in my general vicinity).
Oh that is nice. I definitely visit more cemeteries on tour than irl and somehow some tombstone inscription makes me imagine what was going on, kinda sentimental to have a drink there.
Also when i’m in the most peaceful village and then there’s some war memorial remembering the people killed by the Germans there, that always bums me out so much, sadly these have to be found absolutely everywhere in Europe.
I play “speed your distance”: during km 1 you have to go at least 1km/h once (easy), during km 2 at least 2km/h (still easy)… Starting km 16 you have to hope to not hit a hard climb. Then I try to go as long as possible. There is a bit of luck involved… Maybe you get a descent on km 27 but frontwind on km 26. At some point you get less and less pauses as well. If you go to 20km you have around 3 minutes till the next km starts, but at 30 you only have 2 minutes! Sure you’ll fall under that speed during the pause, but you still need like 300-400m to speed up. My trick is to do a sprint every 2 km, so check 21km/h at the end of km 21 and 22 at the beginning.
The great thing is you always get a chance to break your record the next day! Also the first 30km or so pass in a breeze.
That sounds really good. I guess you then reset when taking a break?
I have no bicycle computer, so not the game for me i guess.
You probably could, I just do it once a day. That way I don’t feel pressure to go too fast all day long. It’s usually good when you have a long day ahead of you, with nothing interesting along the way or with bad weather. If I know I have a lot of sightseeing or nice company, I try to focus on just enjoy the riding itself
Remember your gears
If riding derailleur gears without handlebar indicators, try to avoid looking down at the casette.
I’ve developed elaborate memory systems for this and still I’m struck by uncertainty from time to time.
Nice one. I guess it’s a cool mix of “guess” and “feel” the gears. I have handle bar indicators but on the rare occasion it’s too dark, i am forced to play too :)
Geocaching!
That is actually a really intersting idea. Where do you look up these geocaching spots?
When cycling in a country where number plates have four numbers on them (e.g. 23-64-AD) I play the ‘24’ game. With simple math (addition, substraction, multiplication, division) try to make a total of 24 with the numbers (3-1=1, 6x4=24, 24x1=24, alternatively 6+4-2=8, 8x3=24, etc)
Holy shit, haha. I don’t know if my math on the fly is good enough for that. Why 24? Is it like your lucky number? I think i’ll give that a shot, spaniards have four numbers on their plates i think.
It’s easier than it seems :) When I was a kid it was a game we were taught at school, it kinda stuck with me
Once in a few years we ride on bikes to summer camp. So about 30 people in a group.
One game we play is that anyone who hears “Car” from behind has to repeat it 3 times. It is The Goose game.
That sounds fun, what type of summer camp would this be? Like (boy) scouts?
Yes something like that it is 2 day ride (about 150 km). We do it every 4 or 5 years.
