Those who follow me on Strava or Threads probably already saw this. But while walking my puppy this morning I decided to expand upon it a bit.
The great thing about long bike rides, long runs, long hikes in the woods, long kayaking trips, or really any other outdoor endurance activity is that it gives you time to let your mind wander. Sometimes that’s a good thing as it can help you mentally reset after a long day or a long week. Other times, it’s not so good as it can lead to stewing if you’re not careful.
Last Saturday I mentally stewed while riding my bike. That was partly due to the fact that it was a relatively easy ride so I didn’t have any hard efforts to make myself forget about everything but riding. So on Sunday I set out to remedy that by riding hard for 70 miles. As I did that, these thoughts popped into my head.
1. Always show up for your kids.
2. Interesting pictures make great search prompts. (I teach a course about that).
3. The older one gets, the more important a heart rate monitor is.
4. Ride hard and negative thoughts go away.
5. It never gets easier, you just go faster (Greg LeMond)
6. When does a cookie become too big to eat in one go?
7. Every mushroom is edible at least once.
What about you? Do you enjoy letting your mind wander while out on a bike or out for a hike? If so, put a fun random thought in the comments below.