"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.”
—Arthur Conan Doyle
I slept in this morning, really slept in. By the time I arose out of bed it was near 11 AM. I could hear the critical mind calling me to task for being lazy. I worked on some projects needing attention, then decided to hit the creek trails. By this point it was near 1 PM. After riding few miles, I exited the biking trails and indulged myself with a hot dog to go from "Happy Hound." It is one of my guilty pleasures that puts a smile on my face in more ways than one. It is not only delicious, but every time I place an order at Happy Hound, I am reminded of an old Zen joke about a Zen master visiting New York City who goes to a hot dog vendor and says, “Make me one with everything.” The hot dog vendor fixes a hot dog and hands it to the Zen master, who pays with a $20 bill. The vendor puts the bill in the cash box and closes it. “Excuse me, but where’s my change?” asks the Zen master. The vendor responds, “Change must come from within.”
I have been thinking a lot about why I’m so passionate about biking. Part of it is spending time in nature, seeing places I haven’t seen before living in the Bay Area for many years, that are only accessible by bike or by foot. Despite the speed, I find myself relaxed. The body is loose, the mind clear, as I navigate the smooth and bumpy terrain. I’m in the zone. I’m in the “flow,” a focused state of mind in which action and awareness are one. It is almost impossible to be in a bad mood while riding a bike.
Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi defined flow as letting go of your ego—thinking I’m good or I’m bad—when you’re having fun but you’re still in control of your movements. These days it is more commonly known as being in the state of mindfulness or the ability to be present with what is happening in the present moment.
Biking, I have come to experience over time is an active form of meditation like yoga which I have practiced for over thirty years. Mindfulness meditation is the ability to direct the mind to where you want it to go and being fully present as it is happening. If your mind wanders, just gently guide it back to your inhaling and exhaling breath and enjoy the full experience of biking and taking in all the beauty around you.
These photos were taken on the Los Gatos Creek Trails to Vasona Lake County Park and back to Campbell, CA
