Soul Rider

I was planning on meeting a group of riders at Smythville for a ride today, but, when I got out of bed, I was feeling yesterday's work pretty hard. Yesterday's workout consisted of running around a waterpark, non-stop for 4.5 hours with my 10 year-old nephew. Yes, I'm logging that as a workout.

After doing a little yard work, I was feeling good enough to do some riding, all by myself, a sole rider. A lot of people would cringe at the thought of spending several hours of solitude on a bike. They have to fill the time with mindless chatter.

Most people spend their time on group rides. There's dozens of them around town of all different levels. Most of the people are tied to their speedometers. "What's your average speed?" I think a macho factor takes over, too. They have to show up the others in the group. I think, most of the time, they ride a little harder than they need to.

Don't get me wrong, group rides are an important part of training, and I plan to do quite a bit of it this summer. But, sometimes it does a body, and mind, good to just head out on your own. For this ride, you might even choose to take a couple of hits of whatever mellows you out and puts you into a good mood, St. John's Wort, or, whatever you preference.

It's also fun to pick a course that you've never ridden before, to do a little exploring. Also, leave the MP3 player at home too. You want get into the surroundings, listen to the different birds, the wind through the trees. There were a lot of sandpiper along the river, and their shrill squeaks would take me off to the Gulf shore.

When I parked the car at a trailhead for the Little Blue Trace trail. A scout troop was having a biking outing. What a healthy thing to do. Just get out with your kid and have fun on a bike. One of the parents got chewed out for leaving some kids a lone for awhile. "There has to be at least one adult with every child at all times." What a said state of we've reached. When I was 10, my friends and I would go off to the park on our own for hours.

I would just ride a long, and, if the road looked good, I'd head down it. Roads with names like Bundshu, Eureka, or Holke. There were a of of Ozark-like hills on my route. You'd have a nice payoff after a long steep climb of a panoramic view of lush, green valleys, and a freefall going down the other side.

Your mind really wonders on rides like these. It's important not to let your mind dwell on the problems and worries of everyday life. Instead, just let your thoughts go where they want to. I rode over a bridge and felt like I was in a cloud of swifts, darting to and fro, they'd catch a bug, and then deliver it to their brood, waiting in the mud colonies on the underside of the bridge, and then they'd dart off to catch another.

It might be a good idea to get a GPS for these types of trips. I was able use the Little Blue river as a point of reference, so I didn't get lost, but, I could see that happening. I guess worse things good happen. In the end, I rode 30, hilly, miles in a couple of hours. I felt a nice sense of tiredness when I got off the bike, so I know I did my body good, but, more importantly, I recharged my soul.