Riding Unplugged

Almost everyone who rides a bike has some sort of technology with them.  From cell phones, to Garmins, to cadence counters and heart monitors - cyclists love to be hooked up.  It helps them track their riding and find ways to improve to get faster and stronger in a sport where many times you are truly competing against yourself. 

I like to think of me as being in the middle of this cycling technology field.  Tessa (the road bike) is equipped with a odometer to track miles and speed, and I also try to low-jack myself with MapMyRide app to see how far I went, how big the climbs were, my split times, and top speed, among other tools.  Just recently, I finally caved and set up my route timer to pause whenever I would stop moving, so I could get an accurate time without trying to remember how long I sat at the one spotlight that ruined my awesome average speed for that given ride.

In this data driven sport, I have tried to resist from going with too much technology.  I don't have a heart monitor and my odometer is currently duct taped to my bike as the normal piece holding it on was lost in mid battle with a climb.  But I find the data I do track does help me much in my everyday riding.

But this morning as I was getting ready to go out on the bike, I was having a hard time deciding on where I wanted to go and what type of ride to do.  I thought about driving up to the Arterial Trailhead or heading to my office and biking Grandview and the Mines of Spain, but I just wasn't feeling either of them for some reason.  Then I remembered the ride I did last weekend with Eric and Chris on the bike trail downtown and by the river.  The same trail that ran right by my house.

So that I had a ride in mind, I finished getting everything I needed together.  In my rush to get my helmet, sunglasses, and shoes on I forgot to do one important part of my pre-ride - I didn't turn on my MapMyRide tracking.

As I made my way out of my neighborhood, I finally realized this missed step and contemplated about starting it now but then also realized that I didn't put my ear buds in either.  So there I was, nothing to track how good or bad I was doing that morning and nothing in my ear telling how far I had gone and to play inspiring music as I put on the miles.  I was just there on my bike with nothing more than my legs and my ears.  I was unplugged.

Have you ever been to one of those restrooms that has a sign that read, "Sometimes I sits and I thinks, and sometimes I just sits."  Today's ride would be one where I would just sit on my bike.  Normally, my mind would race in 5 million directions as I would become lost in the rhythm of the ride - "Oh I need to pedal fast to beat that car - crap, I forgot email Sarah today - shoot that was a big rock - I think this is where I turn - I wonder what color North Face fleece I should order - squirrel!"  But today my mind was silent and I slowed down to see and hear all that I could.

For the first time, I truly started to notice all that was around me.  From the hissing geese that were upset I was on their trail, to watching and hearing fish jump from the river, and to feeling the warm breeze that was filled with sunlight - I just continued to sit on my bike and pedal.  I started to noticed little details in things that I had been by so many times before.  The benches on the McGraw Hill campus that looked like small wire couches and the view of Dubuque from the river vs. the view of the river from Dubuque - it all looked so different now.  Clearer some how.

Tessa enjoying the veiw AY McDonald Park

So many times in our lives we just get too busy.  Rushing from appointment to appointment and scheduling every hour of our day to try and fit it all in, when in reality we are missing everything.  We are missing the sound of our friend's voice at lunch because we are too busy texting someone else what about you are doing that night.  We are too busy checking our Facebook for updated pictures and statuses of others' fun memories to go out and make our own.  We forget sometimes, that the best thing in life is to sit, listen and see all that is around you.  To simply take it all in and breathe it all out.  To be unplugged. 

The ride today gave me exactly what I needed in my ever-changing, technology driven, go-go-go life.  It got me to slow down.  It got me to see and hear the world around me.  It got me find my calm again.  It got me to remember how very blessed I am to be in this moment.  It got me to be me again.

And as I finished my ride and walked back through my front door, I didn't automatically turn on the radio or the TV or to try and plan my day.  I simply sat on my chair by the open window and listened while I caught my breath and filled up my body with water.  I looked around my home, took it all in and remembered that this is such a beautiful and amazing life that we all live, and I can't forget to slow down every now and then.