Where Does the Time Go?
When people learn that in any given week I might spend 15 to 20 hours on the bike, they often ask, “Isn’t that boring? What do you think about during all that time?”
No matter how familiar it is, this question always catches me off guard. To me, it’s absurd: a bizarre, nonsensical question.
I wasn’t sure whether other cyclists (or other athletes) got the same question, but I recently read an interesting article entitled "Thinking (Or Not) While Running" that captures much of what goes through my mind during a long ride. It’s short, so I recommend reading it.
For my part, there are some points I’d like to add or clarify.
First, I’m not always riding alone. A long ride is a good opportunity to catch up with old friends or to get to know new ones. Who can’t relate to spending time chatting with friends?
Secondly, a big share of attention is devoted to the immediate task at hand. Any athletic activity requires constant attention; but cycling requires complete absorption, given the plentiful obstacles and inherent dangers of the sport. Much of my internal dialogue goes something like this: “Swerve, pothole! Car back, stay right! Swerve, fallen branch! What’s my heart rate? Hill, upshift! Dog, sprint! Careful, roadkill! Watch out, gravel!” and so forth.
However, all those imperatives are brief moments amidst a broad opportunity to immerse oneself in the sun and scenery of nature. A cyclist moves through the world at a very human pace: covering much more landscape than a pedestrian, but still in full contact with it, unlike all the drivers in their hermetically-sealed, climate-controlled, two-ton metal isolation chambers. Cyclists experience a very intimate connection to the wind, the sun, the roads, the hills, the woods, lakes, and streams.
Cycling is also a wonderful way to break free of the modern American compulsion toward spending every waking second doing something “productive”. A fulfilling life isn’t defined by how many to-do items you’ve checked off, but by how much enjoyment you’ve accumulated during the precious days of our life span. For me, cycling provides a deep and lingering sense of enjoyment.
Finally, there’s one item that non-athletes will find even more difficult to relate to, but it’s the reason why children enjoy activities like running, soccer, football, basketball, tennis, and cycling: there is an inherent pleasure associated with physical exertion. A long ride provides the opportunity to explore the sensations of all kinds of efforts, from high-cadence sprints to powerfully climbing long hills to recovery and complete physical exhaustion.
And all that activity burns calories… When a long ride might burn an extra 2,500 kCalories, there’s plenty of time to fantasize and think about how one is going to make up that caloric deficit!