My First Multi Day Bike Ride
In the last year, I’ve read two books that have sparked my interest in going away on an adventure. The first book was “To Shake the Sleeping Self” by Jedidiah Jenkins and the second book was “On the Roads that Echo” by Charlie Walker. Both books told the author’s story of seeking adventure and in that process discovering more about themselves. It can be difficult at times to keep in touch with yourself with work schedules, relationships, and everything else we’re supposed to do in a normal daily life. These books had opened me up to an idea I had never really considered. The thought of going away on my bike and being gone for a while excited me. I made no movement towards making this happen until my good friend, Todd Hamer texted me to see if I would join him on his ride he does each year. I thought this would be a great chance to try this out and see if I could physically do it. Todd would keep sending me the routes we should take, none of which I ever looked at. I just wanted to ride and be in on the trip without talking myself out of it because of distance or elevation gain. Here are some things I learned on the ride and some thoughts I had while on the ride. When it’s just you, a bike, and a gravel road you have a lot of thoughts. This is why I never wear headphones on a ride.
Learning Lessons
We stopped more frequently than I had originally expected. This made a world of difference in being able to pedal more and feel more recovered when we started back. Don’t ride to the point of complete exhaustion.
More snacks. I packed what I thought would be enough riding food to get through the entire trip. I wasn’t even close. You’ll be hungrier than expected riding for extended lengths.
Riding Shorts are essential.
Ride Hands Free. This was a great way to break up the same position for my shoulders. I should have done this earlier in the ride. Adding this gave me a great chance to stretch my upper body while continuing to pedal.
Your thoughts will make the ride better or worse. If you sit and think about how hard the ride is and how far you have to go, it will suck. If you can remind yourself that you’re outside, getting exercise, and having an experience others will never have then the ride becomes easier.
Riding Thoughts
The most punk rock thing you can do is create change from within. Yelling about wanting things to be better is called complaining. Being active and creating change is the backbone of punk.
It pays to be healthy. We met people in their 60s and 70s riding from various states and they told stories about all the rides they’ve done. Take care of your body and have more awesome experiences.
People are nice. I had a chain get tangled and stop my ride for a bit. Someone riding by stopped and helped us get it taken care of. Many others riding by asked if we needed help. People are good by nature, we just have to give them a chance without writing them off.
Experiences over things. This was an experience I’ll remember for a long time. Many things I have bought over time I can’t remember or know where they ended up. Set your life up for more experiences and you’ll quickly forget the things you wish you had.
Input is overwhelming. Most of us have input from the time we wake up until the time we go to sleep. This is a disaster for our brain. It makes it nearly impossible to have clarity and get a break mentally. Go on a walk, ride, hike with no phone or headphones. Take in the sounds and sights and eventually you’ll notice thoughts exploring and at the end you’ll feel energized.
If someone would have asked me to do this five years ago, I would have said not a chance. As time goes on, we have a different perspective and also different wants and needs. I will continue to train so my body can physically do things like this ride so I can mentally be at my best when I’m needed. While these extended times away might seem excessive to some, I find that the more I engage in these, the more effective I am in everything. Find a way to challenge yourself physically and mentally and you’ll become a better version of yourself.