Mountain bike meditation
Saw this posted on the Stray Cats Bicycles Facebook page.
"Road bike rides are for when you want to be alone with your thoughts. Mountain bike rides are for when you want to be alone without your thoughts."
I agree completely. I have long thought of mountain bikes as a very Zen process. As very much a way to meditate. That may seem completely crazy, but stick with me here as I explain.
Meditation, at least as I understand it, is about clearing your mind so that it can simply be. It is about trying to find some balance, some centering from all the thinking we do on a regular basis. To get to that state often a simple process like focusing on breathing or simply counting or even focusing on a corner in the room. Something like that. I've also heard that a good meditation requires a bit of...discomfort. You don't want to meditate while laying down or hanging out in the Lazy Boy.
When you get that down, that's all you do is focus on that. It allows the mind to do the rest. In a way it is like when you sleep. It is also why we often come up with great ideas in the shower (true story). We're not thinking the 10,000 things that need to be done. It is simply a time to let the mind be free.
Wonder how this ties in to mountain biking? Here we go.
When I ride my road bike, I am pedaling and breathing and...well, there isn't a lot of thought that goes into it. It's simply point the bike in a given direction and go. Make minor adjustments due to wind, hills, etc. But it's basically a ride. When I want to be alone with my thoughts, that is a great place to go. Just me, the bike, the road and the elements, which make it easy for me to tune into myself.
In the dirt, it's a different story. Sure I'm still pedaling and breathing and yes I'm on the bike. But that's were the similarities end. It's not just point the bike in a given direction and go. The bike and I go this way and that. It's up and over the hills and through the woods. It's "oh shit that wasn't there before but it is now and fuck I am going waaaay to fast but here I go just the same." In short, I need to be FOCUSED on the RIDE.
When a ride goes really well, I don't think about anything else. My mind is locked into the ride. Not V's doctor's appointment. Not the dishes or bills or work or anything else. My mind only has room to think about the ride. Strangely enough when I have caught myself thinking about life outside the ride when I'm on a ride, the ride often turns shitty. Not in a wished-I-hadn't-ridden sort of way. In a well-that-could-have-gone-better way. Since I'm old those rides are less frequent. I've learned to keep my mind and body focused on the moment. I won't tear into some diatribe about how living in the moment is the only way to fly, but really, it's great. It is hard. I don't always do it. But it's worth the effort.
The point is that when I mountain bike, like when I meditate I feel very centered. My mind is a crazy playground often so meditation helps me stay centered. Helps me keep my balance. I need to keep working on it, but regardless, it is very good for me.
I'll leave you with this. Be well.
"Road bike rides are for when you want to be alone with your thoughts. Mountain bike rides are for when you want to be alone without your thoughts."
Meditation, at least as I understand it, is about clearing your mind so that it can simply be. It is about trying to find some balance, some centering from all the thinking we do on a regular basis. To get to that state often a simple process like focusing on breathing or simply counting or even focusing on a corner in the room. Something like that. I've also heard that a good meditation requires a bit of...discomfort. You don't want to meditate while laying down or hanging out in the Lazy Boy.
When you get that down, that's all you do is focus on that. It allows the mind to do the rest. In a way it is like when you sleep. It is also why we often come up with great ideas in the shower (true story). We're not thinking the 10,000 things that need to be done. It is simply a time to let the mind be free.
Wonder how this ties in to mountain biking? Here we go.
When I ride my road bike, I am pedaling and breathing and...well, there isn't a lot of thought that goes into it. It's simply point the bike in a given direction and go. Make minor adjustments due to wind, hills, etc. But it's basically a ride. When I want to be alone with my thoughts, that is a great place to go. Just me, the bike, the road and the elements, which make it easy for me to tune into myself.
In the dirt, it's a different story. Sure I'm still pedaling and breathing and yes I'm on the bike. But that's were the similarities end. It's not just point the bike in a given direction and go. The bike and I go this way and that. It's up and over the hills and through the woods. It's "oh shit that wasn't there before but it is now and fuck I am going waaaay to fast but here I go just the same." In short, I need to be FOCUSED on the RIDE.When a ride goes really well, I don't think about anything else. My mind is locked into the ride. Not V's doctor's appointment. Not the dishes or bills or work or anything else. My mind only has room to think about the ride. Strangely enough when I have caught myself thinking about life outside the ride when I'm on a ride, the ride often turns shitty. Not in a wished-I-hadn't-ridden sort of way. In a well-that-could-have-gone-better way. Since I'm old those rides are less frequent. I've learned to keep my mind and body focused on the moment. I won't tear into some diatribe about how living in the moment is the only way to fly, but really, it's great. It is hard. I don't always do it. But it's worth the effort.
The point is that when I mountain bike, like when I meditate I feel very centered. My mind is a crazy playground often so meditation helps me stay centered. Helps me keep my balance. I need to keep working on it, but regardless, it is very good for me.
I'll leave you with this. Be well.
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