“We ride to breathe, to soar, to live, to relax, to feel free and be mindfully aware we are living in the present moment.”
Knowing my son-in-law Kyle Lewis is an avid bicyclist who introduced me to a biking app called Strava that creates a map, records average speed, elevation, distance traveled, and other stats, I texted him saying we should ride together someday. “I’d love that,” he said. Little did I know that day would come sooner than expected, thanks to the generosity of Bill Rothenberg, one of my riding companions. Bill offered to drive up with our bikes to meet Kyle in front of his Redwood City home this morning. My daughter Michelle and granddaughter Lyla warmly greeted us. Though Bill knew Michelle in her younger years he was meeting Kyle and Lyla for the first time.
Kyle had mapped out a 22-mile ride for us that had us riding through Redwood City, Woodside, Portola Valley, Palo Alto, and Atherton. We encountered some interesting sights like the Castle Home, Dinosaur sculpture, a friendly woman on horseback who I asked if it was okay to photograph that led to an interesting conversation about the responsibilities and joy of riding horses.
One of the highlights was entering the sweet space of Haddart County Park just off King’s Mountain Road above Woodside, CA. It is a 900-acre serene refuge of forested slopes and steep, cool canyons within easy reach of the population centers of the San Francisco Peninsula. A great place to explore a redwood forest. Kyle had related to a post I had written recently on how biking solo in nature makes you feel peaceful and at one with the world. It has been known for centuries that the sounds of the forest, the fragrant aromatic scent of the trees, the sunlight peeking through the trees, and fresh, clean air restores, refreshes, and rejuvenates our energy. Kyle said, “This is where I go to meditate." Of course, he meant meditation in action or better yet, mindful awareness of being in the present moment.
I never got to speak to him about an ancient practice I have employed from time to time called forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku. In Japanese shinrin means “forest,” and yoku means “bath.” Practically speaking, shinrin-yoku which is a national pastime in Japan and has been proven scientifically to reduce stress and promote well-being, metaphorically means bathing in the forest atmosphere, or taking in the forest through our senses and bridging the gap between us and the natural world.
We exited Haddart Park onto Kings Mountain Road, the most interesting downhill ride of our near 2-hour trip reaching maximum speed of almost 30 miles an hour. We returned to Kyle and Michelle’s home, had another chance to play with Lyla before Bill and I uploaded our bikes on the back of his SUV and headed home.
