One of the books I read this summer was about the passage of time and our perceptions of it. It was a short book and overall it left me unsatisfied, but it had a number of interesting observations.
Everyone knows that time flies when you’re having fun. I also continually notice that my perception and enjoyment of time is dependent on what’s coming next. If there is something I’m dreading, time is suddenly more valuable. It moves faster.
This afternoon I was lying on my futon listening to the California Guitar Trio a half hour before a meeting with my advisor. I was tired from waking up at 5am to ride at Redington. I did not want to go outside, hop on my commuter bike and brave the hot humid afternoon. I had ridden enough today and the sun was killing me. As I lay there the notes sang and it was pure bliss. I felt like laying there for hours, but I could not. Time flew and it was time to leave.
Contrast this with yesterday, when I was a bit tired so I laid down on the futon and turned on some music. I didn’t have to go anywhere or do anything I didn’t want to. I could have rested for hours on end, but I didn’t. It wasn’t nearly as satisfying.
I’ve also found that my perception of time depends on my expectation of the amount of time a task is to take. My favorite example came up today on our ride: Redington Road.
Redington climbs a bit over 1000 feet to the Chivo parking lot. It usually takes me about a half hour to climb. It’s a climb, so I expect it to take a little while. Now, when I ride back down it my expectation is that it will be much faster–it’s nearly a constant grade. You can often maintain 20mph+, more than twice as fast. But there are a few uphills and quite a few switchbacks that slow you down. For some reason it always seems like it takes FOREVER to get back down Redington. Often it seems like it takes longer to descend it than to climb.
I think my expectations are warping my sense of time. It also has to do with the fact that I enjoy climbing Redington, while the desent is just a washboarded bump fest. I do still enjoy riding down to some extent, but not as much as climbing.
The ride was nice. We rode Redington to Bellota Ranch, then did the 8 miles of new AZ trail backwards (I wondered if we were the first to climb the new section from Bellota to Redington). I still like the southern AZ trail section better. We took the Italian Trap road a bit to the new connector over to the Side Door, then back through Chiva to Redington.
A solid, three hour loop at 26 miles and ~4000 feet of climbing.
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