Meditation Biking OR 4 Steps to a More Relaxed Ride

I rode my bike down to the lake today. The trip is a decent ride about 9 miles each way. My bike doesn't have gears. Its a 60's Schwinn Cruiser with coaster brakes. I don't listen to music when I ride and without gears my mind starts to drift to the subtleties of biking. I start to think about all the different sensations that are happening in my body. I start trying to dissect the automatic and investigate things a bit more, in hopes of making the ride more enjoyable. Here's a few things I noticed today :)

 

1. RELAX
Since I'm on a cruiser, I'm sitting nearly straight up. When my posture is right I can release nearly all the tension in my back and just stay suspended in the seat, pretty much by the curvature of my spine. This makes for more effortless riding. If I end up more hunched over, I lean into the handle bars, the more I lean into the handle bars, the more my forearms, shoulders, and back muscles engage creating tension. The same thing happens with gripping the handlebars. I'm always trying to use the lightest, most relaxed grip on the handlebars as possible. To me, gripping the bars tighter doesn't create more control, it just creates tension. I let the bars stay loose in my grip and if I go over a rough patch of road, only then do I engage a firmer grip.

2. BREATH
When riding I try and keep my breaths as even as possible. Chest breathing promotes tension and anxiety - two things I never want while I'm riding my bike, especially through traffic. I'm always trying to use stomach/abdomen breathing as it promotes deeper breaths. Not only are the deeper breaths especially helpful going up hills but deeper breathing is also more relaxing, making for a more enjoyable ride.

3. PEDALING IN 4 PARTS
I notice that, of course, there's the down motion in pedaling and up motion in pedaling, but there's also the 2 ends nobody thinks about as much: the transition of the down into the up and the transition of the up into the down. Today riding along the lake paths, I tried to be mindful of keeping these transitions as smooth as possible - trying to avoid any 'stops' or 'jerkiness' between the down and up motions.

4. PEDALING AND (NOT)PEDALING
I push down on the pedals and the bike goes, sure, every one knows that :) but paying attention to my legs as the pedal goes up seems just as important as the force used to press down. As I'm nearing the end of the down motion, I try to make sure I guide my leg through the transition described above and then I try and release as much muscle tension in my leg as possible - simply letting the pedal guide my foot back to the top. By keeping my legs alternating this 'empty' state, I seem to have more stamina and push especially on hills.

Paying close attention to the subtle interaction between my bike and I as well as the inner workings of my body during a ride helps create a more meditative experience. My mind can then unwind at the same time I'm exercising my body. I usually arrive at my destination feeling more relaxed than if my mind is simply focused on the route or my time.

It'd be cool to hear what inner workings you pay attention to on your rides or what you think about the above 4 ruminations. Leave a comment on the blog or hit up my Facebook page :)


-Shane Olivo
The New Loud

Letting Go, Bike Riding

I rode my bike today for the first time in like 2 years. I didn't ride much last year, too damn hot and when it wasn't it seemed too cold - lol.

Anyway I rode down to the lake today and back. While I ride my bike, sometimes all over town, I don't consider myself a 'bike-rider' - I don't have a bike suit or a bike with gears (60's Schwinn with coaster brakes) or even a helmet (probably should get one of those).

I feel like a bike ride through traffic is an excellent way to practice 'letting go'. People drive poorly, they don't pay attention a lot - they're on their phone or distracted by their destination. They're definitely not paying attention to me on my bike. They cut me off or they ride stupid close. I've even had someone yell that I should be on the sidewalk - which is precisely where bikes should NOT be.

Anyway, stuff happens, stuff I can't control... I get pissed... I want to catch up to them and spit on their car or kick it or yell some shit at them, but their car is much faster than my bike, especially MY bike. I think "Wait until they get stopped at that light, Ima catch up and then SHIT IS GOING DOWN!!!!"

But that never happens. Their light is always on a repetition ahead of mine or they turn. So there's nothing to do except let it go. "Whatever!" Sometimes I try and put myself in their shoes, maybe they're having an emergency, maybe someone is hurt or their wife is pregnant and about to have a baby, maybe they just had a bad day and they just want to be home. I can't say.

I.
am not.
them.

I guess feel like I'm progressing because I'm getting less and less worked up by these situations. Most times the revenge scenario isn't even fully developed before I just drop it from my mind. Which feels a lot better than trying to catch something I'm never going to catch to create a situation that probably shouldn't be created.

-The New Loud