Day 23 - Rest day! Riding the Badger Ferry from Manitowoc WI to Ludington MI
It finally arrived: our day off the bikes after 22 straight days of pedaling, covering 2624 miles. All day yesterday I think many of us were already shutting down in anticipation of this rest; it may be one of the reasons yesterday's route felt so difficult. Anyway, it felt terrific to sleep in a little later this morning and go out to a local cafe for a relaxed breakfast and a refill of gourmet coffee.
This might be the day you would expect some introspective wisdom to spring forth, perhaps some keen insights into the spiritual nature of riding a bike for days on end seeing America. Well, not today. Someone asked me recently what I think about while riding. Is it problem-solving time, goal-setting ideas, resolving work or relationship issues and so on? After thinking it over I realized that often my on-the-bike thoughts are just a random series of unconnected threads. Sometimes I get a song stuck in my head, sometimes I look at the plant life and try to identify trees and flowers, occasionally I replay conversations of recent days and sometimes probably meditate without even being conscious of it. But whatever deep meaning may come from this adventure is more likely to reveal itself in the days to come after the journey ends. For now it's important to be present for what the experience offers at face value. That is plenty, believe me, including my aching right knee. Thank goodness for this day of leisure!
This might be the day you would expect some introspective wisdom to spring forth, perhaps some keen insights into the spiritual nature of riding a bike for days on end seeing America. Well, not today. Someone asked me recently what I think about while riding. Is it problem-solving time, goal-setting ideas, resolving work or relationship issues and so on? After thinking it over I realized that often my on-the-bike thoughts are just a random series of unconnected threads. Sometimes I get a song stuck in my head, sometimes I look at the plant life and try to identify trees and flowers, occasionally I replay conversations of recent days and sometimes probably meditate without even being conscious of it. But whatever deep meaning may come from this adventure is more likely to reveal itself in the days to come after the journey ends. For now it's important to be present for what the experience offers at face value. That is plenty, believe me, including my aching right knee. Thank goodness for this day of leisure!
No comments:
Post a Comment