I have never had that problem as all the time I am riding I am too juiced’ to dfall asleep.
btw – Driving in a warm, quiet environment causes lethargy, while riding produces enough Testosterone to keep anybody awake IMHO
Have to disagree there. Once (after a very long night) I was so tired that after some micro sleep I decided to pull over and have a nap at the table of a picnic site even it was on a hilltop and the wind was chilly…
Tencon: You have never tried longer brevets, i concur ?
Half the challenge for longer brevets (600 km, 1000 km, PBP) is sleep management. Personally, I prefer doing it the safe way – getting 5h of regular sleep each night. Some riding styles you see at a brevet are not to be imitated. Also, if the painted stripes starts to get into animated fantasy creatures, you should have found a campsite, bus stop shelter or anything long ago …
Here, riding a recumbent might actually be a disadvantage – it’s a good position for optimal physical performance, but it’s also a good position for resting – unlike a road bike. Which means it’s easier getting sleepy. On the recumbent tandem long ago, my stoker actually was been sleeping several times.
On the other hand, taking a quick nap on a recumbent is easy – just find a lamp post, lean the bike aginst it, sleep. On a trike or velomobile you can just go to step 3 directly.
My neighbor has one and has offered once or twice that I can take it for a spin if I’d like. I might need to take him up on the offer sometime just to see what it’s like.
That was actually what I did on Paris-Brest last year. Whenever I felt that I got really tired, I stopped somewhere beside the road and had a nap inside my velomobile. It’s not as good as a bed but much much much better than to know that the next control with a possibility to sleep is 60km away. I have seen bikers crossing both lanes of the road or sleeping without any cover in the wet grass at 9°C. I can’t imagine doing this, so I stick to my all-to-heavy but very comfortable velomobile.
@Rick: The comics arrived two days ago. Really great! Thanks a lot, especially for the handmade drawings!
Then there’s that wonderful albeit possibly dangerous totally relaxed state somewhere between alert riding and full sleep. “Where am I now? Oh yes. But how, exactly did I get here?”
there was a time, when I had delusions of going to BUDS, that I could fall asleep swimming…many a morning I was rudely awoken to the the sound of an oar slapping the water next to me.
I was on commute last year and saw another bike coming my way on the downhill slope of the MUT. As we got closer, the other guy started to veer toward me. As we got real close he began to come into my side of the trail. I saw his chin was on his chest and I yelled out, “Hey! Heads up!” He awoke with a start and I thought he was going to crash into the woods as he overcorrected. I had already slowed to a crawl and was ready to dodge in either direction, but he finally corrected into his lane, cursing as he passed. I should have just moved over and watched him ride off into the ditch or the woods.
This is two wheel related but involves a motorcycle. I fell asleep with the cruise control set (yes some motorcycles have them) and woke up just in time to avoid ploughing into the back of a semi at 60 mph (100 km/hour). Someone was watching out for me that morning.
Not only is it a safety feature, they look terribly funny trying to untangle themselves when they’re clipped in….
Flat pedals FTW!!!
I have never had that problem as all the time I am riding I am too juiced’ to dfall asleep.
btw – Driving in a warm, quiet environment causes lethargy, while riding produces enough Testosterone to keep anybody awake IMHO
Have to disagree there. Once (after a very long night) I was so tired that after some micro sleep I decided to pull over and have a nap at the table of a picnic site even it was on a hilltop and the wind was chilly…
Tencon: You have never tried longer brevets, i concur
?
Half the challenge for longer brevets (600 km, 1000 km, PBP) is sleep management. Personally, I prefer doing it the safe way – getting 5h of regular sleep each night. Some riding styles you see at a brevet are not to be imitated. Also, if the painted stripes starts to get into animated fantasy creatures, you should have found a campsite, bus stop shelter or anything long ago …
(that was me about brevets too)
Here, riding a recumbent might actually be a disadvantage – it’s a good position for optimal physical performance, but it’s also a good position for resting – unlike a road bike. Which means it’s easier getting sleepy. On the recumbent tandem long ago, my stoker actually was been sleeping several times.
On the other hand, taking a quick nap on a recumbent is easy – just find a lamp post, lean the bike aginst it, sleep. On a trike or velomobile you can just go to step 3 directly.
/Per Eric
I’d love to try a nice trike some time! I like the idea of not having to put your feet down when stopped
My neighbor has one and has offered once or twice that I can take it for a spin if I’d like. I might need to take him up on the offer sometime just to see what it’s like.
That was actually what I did on Paris-Brest last year. Whenever I felt that I got really tired, I stopped somewhere beside the road and had a nap inside my velomobile. It’s not as good as a bed but much much much better than to know that the next control with a possibility to sleep is 60km away. I have seen bikers crossing both lanes of the road or sleeping without any cover in the wet grass at 9°C. I can’t imagine doing this, so I stick to my all-to-heavy but very comfortable velomobile.
@Rick: The comics arrived two days ago. Really great! Thanks a lot, especially for the handmade drawings!
Martin
Then there’s that wonderful albeit possibly dangerous totally relaxed state somewhere between alert riding and full sleep. “Where am I now? Oh yes. But how, exactly did I get here?”
there was a time, when I had delusions of going to BUDS, that I could fall asleep swimming…many a morning I was rudely awoken to the the sound of an oar slapping the water next to me.
Ever see a cow tip over? not pretty – just like a cyclist, but only we get embarrased…
(no picture this week)
As an insomniac I never have worried about this.
I was on commute last year and saw another bike coming my way on the downhill slope of the MUT. As we got closer, the other guy started to veer toward me. As we got real close he began to come into my side of the trail. I saw his chin was on his chest and I yelled out, “Hey! Heads up!” He awoke with a start and I thought he was going to crash into the woods as he overcorrected. I had already slowed to a crawl and was ready to dodge in either direction, but he finally corrected into his lane, cursing as he passed. I should have just moved over and watched him ride off into the ditch or the woods.
This is two wheel related but involves a motorcycle. I fell asleep with the cruise control set (yes some motorcycles have them) and woke up just in time to avoid ploughing into the back of a semi at 60 mph (100 km/hour). Someone was watching out for me that morning.
Point taken.