On Learning to Slow Down…
We’re now about three and a half weeks into our trip. We’ve spent several consecutive days on the road and we’ve hung out in some great cities. We’ve camped and crashed in guest rooms and met some amazing folks. And we’re starting to feel like we’re almost getting into the swing of this new life.
One of the primary goals of this trip is for it to be non-linear. We didn’t want to map out a detailed route and then follow it letter-by-letter every day. Instead, we wanted to be able to feel our way across the US and be guided by the seasons and the people we meet. The opportunity to slow down is one of the greatest gifts of bike touring… and we both want to embrace it and see where it takes us.
That said, this way of traveling is extremely different from any other bike tour we’ve done previously (all of which have been very Point-A-to-Point-B). And we’re learning that actually slowing down (and taking the time to read or sketch or being okay with only riding 20 miles) is much harder than expected.
Our ride North from Portland to Seattle turned out to be a string of 40-or-so-mile days, back-to-back, almost routine, as if it was just a very long commute. (Which is not to say that they weren’t full of amazing scenery and interesting people, only that we began to feel dictated by the need to get to that night’s end-point.) And we realized that we had begun to do exactly what we had set out not to do… zip down the road to our next destination. It’s hard to change your patterns. Even if the rest of our life has completely changed, our bike touring pattern hasn’t… yet… and we’re finding that we have to teach ourselves how to slow down, incorporate more spontaneity, break up the routine.
Our last night of camping before rolling into Seattle was at a beautiful spot called Twanoh State Park. It was right along the water, it was away from the rest of the campers, it was peaceful and a great place to catch up with our thoughts… and it was 14 miles down the road from where we had camped the night before. We ate lunch there and contemplated stopping for the day and camping in that spot. Were we okay with not going very far that day? Would it make us lesser cyclists for having a short mileage day? In the end, we chose to stay… and it opened up the opportunity for me to sketch, for Russ to write, and for both of us to indulge in fudge bars and a glorious sunset.
It seems ironic that it would be difficult to not juggle many different things at once, and that it would be challenging to remember that we are, after all, the ones dictating the pace of this trip. But, in having to re-learn how to slow down, we’ve had to become more aware of our actions and patterns, causing us to be more present in every moment and actively choose what we want our lives to look like. Without a doubt, this will continue to be a difficult lesson to learn, as we continue to make sense of the flow of this trip and and let go of expectations… but it does not escape me what a precious gift it truly is to be conscious in our lives.
And, as an aside, Seattle has proven to be a great place for entering into discussions of consumerism, growth, responsibility … and slowing down. Thanks everyone!
Laura,
Very well said. My friend Adrian and I are commuting to Long Beach from Orange and Anaheim Hills respectively. So it is about 30 miles in and 30 out each day. he rides all 5 days I commit to at least 3 sometimes more. Just this morning, Touring came up in our morning discussion. He is a Hammerhead A-B guy, Me, well I enjoy the journey. We respect each others perspective. I love the fact you guys are listening to the flow and are letting go.
Todays picture reminded me of this poem I stumbled across –
“It would be merciful for people not to come calling and disturb the loneliness of the mountains, to which I have returned from the sorrows of the world.”
14th-century Zen Buddhist poet Muso Soseki
I found 30 miles a day is just about right.
A wonderful post and I can relate to what you are writing about. The thing I struggle with most in slowing myself down is my own self judgments. “I’m not covering enough miles”, “I’m weak and not as strong as so and so”, “I’m not good at this” – whatever.
When I can find balance and take a non-judgmental stance, that is when I can be in the moment and truly enjoy the simple joy of putting one pedal stroke in front of the other. This is also why I don’t have a computer on my touring bike. It’s a judgment meter.
Thanks for sharing your journey,
Jack
Being mindful of the present is a constant struggle for myself as well. Your observations reminded me of a video clip I watched recently that defined mindfulness as “being aware of your present experience with acceptance”. It sounds easy but I find my self thinking predominately of past encounters or future plans.
Here is the video link: https://www.health.harvard.edu/video/positive-psychology/what-it-takes-to-be-happy-Q6.htm
Cheers, 🙂
Learning to slow down is tough. However, I think that the two of you, traveling together, have an advantage here.
I have found that when traveling alone it is a million times harder to slow down because once you stop there is no one to talk to, no one to explore with, no one to discuss big ideas with, etc.
I think that the advantage of traveling with another person is that together you somehow have more to enjoy. With another person, it’s easier to stop and smell the roses, meet people, see the sites, etc.
This might not be true for everyone of course, but it’s certainly been the case for me. When I’m alone, I fly (usually, but not always). But when I have a travel partner, I’m forced to slow down… and I notice a whole lot more by doing so.
Keel it slow… and keep up the great work!
Beautiful post Laura! It is amazing how hard it can be to change habits, even when the change leads to a more enjoyable life.
It’s amazing how we all dream of slowing down, smelling the roses, etc., yet we have to teach ourselves to do it when the time comes.
Slowing down on a tour is the same dilemma that I’ve run into with my wife. I’m a 50 to 60 mile per day rider while my wife is a 20 to 30 MPD rider so we “try” (operative word) to meet somewhere in the middle. That said, I like covering long distances and yet I wish I felt free enough to stop 10 miles down the road and stay the night or two, I just feel driven more than my wife when on a bike. I liken it to me wanting to smell the flowers at the destination versus her wanting to smell the flowers along the way.
TDP, that’s an interesting philosphy between you and your wife. I know that when i ride for even short distances, my pace usually picks up as I go, and after awhile, i’ll be flying along, kind of missing everything along the way. But if you think about it, wanting to get to the destination sooner so you can relax and enjoy what’s there has its merits too. Interesting to think about.
the part of life I struggle with is as I get older I often get stuck thinking about my past capabilities and not appreciating the present performance.
Embrace your journey… it’s great to see you guys recognize what is important and that’s how you get there not how fast you make.
hi laura and russ,
a beautiful post and again one i can identify with a lot. i’ve come across your blog during the time of preparation for my trip. but since it started 2 month ago i had no time to follow your posts. which isn’t easy with all the content you keep putting up even since you are on the road. maybe one day we’ll meet, maybe somewhere in south america :-)… but for now it is still europe for me. i wish you all he best,
matthias
Very thought provoking post, Laura.
I have found myself mostly a point to point tourer feeling like covering ground to make a destination goal. But I have always had a limited time budget and a destination goal. With your less constrained schedule are you more likely to pick non straight line routes. e.g. going 90 or 120 degrees away from your general course to loop in some places to visit and adding unplanned length? Another fun and pleasant experiment might be tailwind touring. (Where you turn with the wind at every junction and see where the wind takes you.)
Happy Trails to you both.
-tom
I your site and follow tou both on FacaBook. I like your idear of not so much planning every, but going with how you feel. By stopping when you want with not set miles is fantastic.
I will be touring Britain This summer from May-August, I had all the maps out and was planning and planning at the start if the idear. Now the plan is: not to have a plan, if that makes sense.
Thanks, very much,
Geoff.
Great site you two. I took a trip across country by VW bus in my late twenties,(before I rediscovered cycling) and had the same experience in the first week traveling of doing the point A to B thing. It does take some conscious thought to just slow down and see where the road takes you whether that’s 10 miles or 100. Good for you that you figured it out early on!
I agree with Geoff as I started to plan in detail the start of my bike trip from Ireland to Singapore and it became too frustrating. I know from experience that the plan will change a thousand times so instead, I note a number of places I would like to see in a country and then worry about connecting the dots when I start. Too many variables that you can’t anticipate from home.