Triumphrat

eigenvector

Most of us probably associate a good ride with visible things - trees, mountains, pretty girls, that sort of thing. My favorite ride is incredibly enough my daily commute. Nope, no mountains, no girls, lot of douglas firs - but really why I enjoy it is the smells. Smells aren't things you usually get in a cage, unless it's a truly awful smell, but on a bike you can smell things that you'd never know were there in a cage. My commute passes by 3 businesses all of which have lovely smells. First overpass I take has 2 of them.

One is a barbeque joint that must be doing something at around 6 in the morning - the smell of brisket is HUGE. Absolutely smells wonderful as I pass by. Have never smelled it in my truck, but every morning on the bike it fills my helmet.

Second is a bread making company, every morning the smell of salty bread dough and fresh baked bread. Heaven.

Third is a bakery, or perhaps a large grocery store, I can't tell myself. But most mornings it smells like danishes, coffee, all the scents you get from a good bakery.

Perhaps they smell good because at 6 I'm absolutely starving anyway, but either way I love that route.

Gob-ny-geay

I often try to explain riding to non-riders at work, and at family get togethers, etc.

One of the examples I often use is the Anology related to Motion Pictures/Movies.

In a car, it is as if you are "watching" a movie through the windshield.

In a Convertable Car, maybe you can feel like you are at least "on the set".

On motorcycle, you are actually "IN" the movie.

Sight, smell, sounds, Touch (feel), and maybe even "taste", are all sensations experienced while riding, most of which is missed completely by modern, hermetically sealed and sound-proofed cages.

My favorite smell around here, especially in Spring, is the smell of farms - fresh soil, fertilizers, and yes... even cow manure ripening! Smells that bring back great memories of years past, and a good reminder that folks still do honorable, noble work.


Bob

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BrewDudeBob

Pig Farms....mmmmmm

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veggiebone

Smell is definitely something missed in a car. I am always amazed how many times I smell pot at 8am. I think a lot of people start their day high.

jtfink

There's a candy factory just outside of Chicago that sometimes puts out a ridiculously overpowering pink bubblegum type of scent. Its hard to pin down exactly what it is, but it is unique and it has been growing on me every time I ride past.

Cuchulainn

BBQ's, bakeries, farms, cherry and apple trees in the spring, flowers, rain, even cut grass smell amazing as you pass through. Speaking of cut "grass," I was riding through the campus area around University of Colorado with my wife a couple of weeks ago, and we started laughing through the comms as we were sure we were going to get a contact high LOL.

The downside to that, is if you are hungry already, the smell from restaurants can be maddening, garlic from italian restaurants and the spices from chinese and indian foods, seem to really wake my stomach up.

Another downside is rendering plants, stock yards, and the smell of beat sugar being processed. I found out the latter while riding through Brush Colorado once. Beat sugar being processed smells like fresh manure.

eigenvector

I worked on farms and ranches in my youth, so I can stand more farm type smells. I love the smell of wheat and pea fields. Now - silage is another matter altogether. I hate that stench, the guy who owned a ranch next to our farm had a silage pit with all the cull veggies from the cannery - carrots, onions, peas. Who'd a thought it reeked so much. Who'd a thought the cows would eat it?

Before and after a particularly violent storm the air will smell like the ocean - another smell I love.

Mope Head

My ride to work starts through town, then becomes mostly rural. I always get the smell of a good southern breakfast being prepared when I pass the local BBQ place. Predominately bacon and coffee.
Then as I leave town I pass through wooded areas that have a real earthy smell...and throw in the REALLY earthy smell of the occasional skunk or other roadkill. Then through some farmland that smells of freshly cut grass and manure that's been spread on the fields. Of course there's also the downside to rural. Being in a major poultry processing region, there is always the "pleasure" of getting behind the occasional "gut truck", hauling offal to the local rendering plant. Usually I just stop for a few minutes and let the air clear.

Here's something weird: Just this morning I was behind a pickup truck for several miles and smelled cotton candy. Had to be coming from the truck because as soon as it turned the smell vanished.

Also a favorite smell is wet asphalt on a hot day.

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Mope Head

Two other smells I forgot to mention:
Sourwood trees when they are blooming in early summer.
Small ponds. They smell like nothing else, a mixture of fish, algae and plants that I could recognize blindfolded.

Both of these smells are like anchor points to my youth.

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Nodster

OP - I thought you were gonna mention the 'Aroma of Tacoma'

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