A RIDE TO MAKE THE MIND RIGHT
It’s been that long work week or a long day of work and the pressures of that boss, your bills, family matters, whatever it may be that’s weighing down on your shoulders to the point that you feel like you will never get that monkey off your back.
What do you do to get rid of that stress, drink? Eat? Maybe a little of both, but that may help for a minute (NOT) and it won’t give you clarity of the mind and body. What about getting on the bike you have in the garage or on the other side of your bed? That is if you sleep with her /him (“winkâ€).
Getting out on your bike and going on a long, heck even a short ride will do wonders for getting your prospective back. It makes you feel good about yourself, plus you know you’re getting some benefit from it too.
I myself like to go on a ride just by myself, no chit chat with others, just you, your bike, and the outdoors. Don’t get me wrong riding with a buddy or two is great too, but when you want to just get out and be in your thoughts of the world around you it’s kind of nice to be out there with just you.
THERAPY FOR THE MIND AND BODY
I will typically take my XC bike or my Enduro if I want to have a little bit of fun on the descents. Going on your DH bike would be a little much unless you like pushing the big beast for your therapy.
When you’re out there, wherever it may be its worth all the time in the world no matter the length of time you’re riding. I have friends that have their little trailer or their campers and they travel from spot to spot. I see their pics on Facebook and you just know it’s a daily dose of prospective and well being for the mind and body.
For most we may not have that luxury to get out like that, but maybe once in a great vacation. Just going to your local hills is always a great thing to do. My training backyard when I raced heavily in the day was Turnbull Canyon, just 10 minutes away (even closer when I lived down the street) was my go to therapy center to ride my problems away or just think things through.
Now one may think, why ride those same old trails I know it like the back of my hand. Not true at all.
When I’m on my rides I will stop and find a place that might connect to me for some reason, something to look at or even feel at the time of the ride. You have to open yourself up to your surroundings and let it all permeate to your soul. Get off your bike and soak it all in to the core. Take off your gloves, helmet, and sunglasses. Quiet your mind and breath in deeply and feel, hear, and see everything around you.
For myself I will close my eyes because I want to feel things without my eyes, heightening my other senses.
Doing these exercises brings calm to my mind and soul. My body feels alive and awake. This will take time to master as we generally tune into only what we see and when we see more with our eyes it send those feeling to the other senses, clouding them. That’s why I say use all the senses you have first to find the calm, as you progress then close your eyes and only use your hearing touch and smell.
The clam you will feel will let you relax and feel better about yourself. You will feel that those pressures you have will feel less stressful and let you deal with them better.
You know like “SERENITY NOW, SERENITY NOW…â€
As your riding, look at all your surroundings you will be surprised at what you miss by just riding a trail and not seeing where you ride. From animals, to the sounds around you, smells that carry from a distance that could give you a lunch or dinner idea for the day. You would be surprised.
THE RIDE BACK
Once you have found that center and you feel relaxed there is the ride back to the car or home, don’t start to dwell on the pressures you had going into the ride, stay focused on what you experienced on your ride and keep it close to your thoughts for as long as you can, why because it was what made you feel good about being there, made you realize that yes there are things to deal with on a daily basis.
You have given yourself the time needed to bring “YOU†time to yourself to see mentally you needed that time to refresh your mind and in doing so your body as well. Breathe in deeply and let it flow through you.
One last thing to do to keep the feeling alive in you during this time is to stop at say your favorite spot for a bite and your favorite libation. It’s that last me time as you tackle the next day with a fresh mind.
I love to do this as my last thing to do when I can.
YOU!! YOU!! YOU!!
Remember to go out and get that me time for yourself, this is what its all about when things might hit the wall for you. You’re not only exercising your senses, but freeing your minds soul and in the process not only exercising the body, but bringing in all that’s around you to help relax you in a whole.
Well if you try this I hope you feel better the next time you go out and need that prospective and relief from the everyday things that may weigh on our shoulders. Breath, feel, and open up you to the world around and relax.
“Time to ride!â€
