Moment of Zen

When my wife and I go on one of our driving trips we usually try to stop for lunch at some kind of scenic vista. We call it our moment of zen. It's a way to make sure we have a few minutes of relaxation on our vacation instead of just rushing around to get some where or see something. 

Riding has always been a stress reliever for me and I know it is that way for other people too. Part of the stress relief of riding is just getting out of the house and exercising. Part of it is getting into a different mind set. When I'm riding I forget about work and other things going on in my life and just concentrate on turning the pedals. On a good day when I'm ridding by myself I can really connect to the bike and tune into my body and get into a meditative state.

As part of the wellness program at work I have taken some mindfulness and meditation courses. I did it to get money put into my HSA account and the mindfulness and meditation courses are the shortest and easiest to complete. Most of these courses were a bunch of guided meditations with a guy talking in this droning soft voice telling you to empty your mind and find your center. It reminded me of those Saturday night live affirmations skits. It was useless.

However it did get me curious about meditation and led me to a book by Dan Harris (of ABC news) called "Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics" which explained meditation from a scientific point of view with out the religious overtones. After reading the book and a couple of others I came across a good description of what meditation is.

Your brain is like a highway with thoughts racing back and forth. You are the dog, on the side of the road, frantically chasing after each thought. What meditation does is calm the dog down so it just sits quietly on the side of the road and watches each each thought go by with out chasing it.

Some of the meditation practices have helped me recently during the passing of my mother. They helped me keep my anxiety in check as she was in the hospital and hospice. Some of these same practices are easy to apply when riding and was something I was sort of kinda doing anyway. These practices should come in handy as I will be doing a lot more solo rides.

Based on the latest guidelines there will be no group rides for quiet a while. Its just not worth the risk. I have been scheduling some zoom meeting with the insane bike posse to check in with them and socialize. This past weekend I also posted the route of my ride and some of the posse intersected my route so we could have a quick safe distant conversation. However I expect all my rides for the next month to be solo rides. It is tough riding 40 to 50 miles by myself but it does help that it is spring and the trees are starting to bloom. The hawthorn trees are at peak now as are the magnolias and cherry trees. There is a certain joy to watch the rebirth of spring.

It is going to be tough not riding in a group and still be motivated to go out and ride but I'm comforted by the words of Winston Churchill after the battle of Dunkirk.

 "We shall go on riding our bikes to the end. We shall ride them in France, we shall ride them on the seas and oceans (?), we shall ride them with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our right to ride bikes, whatever the cost may be. We shall ride them on the beaches(unless they are closed), we shall ride them on the landing grounds, we shall ride them in the fields and in the streets, we shall ride them in the hills; we shall never surrender our right to ride (unless of course Dr Fauci tells us to )"

So okay maybe Winston Churchill wasn't talking about biking in this quote and I might have changed it just a little but you get the idea. In any case stay safe out there and keep in touch.