Taking the time
to just ride your bike ... seems like a straight forward statement but when I
analyse how much time I spend just ‘riding’ a bike it stacks up to a pretty
small percentage of the time I spend on a bike.
To offer
some clarity to what seems like a pretty dumb statement ‘riding’ a bike is to
be free from the constraints of time, structure and pressure of a goal or
target.
Most the
time my cycling is focused... I know when the next race is and how I need to
prepare for it .. this dictates what I ride, how I ride and where I ride ...
its not free from joy as no time spent cycling is ever negative in my view as
there are always a million worse situations you could be in but to just be on a
bike with no agenda doesn’t happen very often.
Weather at
the moment in the UK is outstanding ... our summer has finally arrived and
after many hours spent in the cold and rain its finally shorts and short sleeve
time ... so a long weekend was outlined .. Friday ride west.. bivi ... Saturday
turn and ride back east ... bikepacking so no destination was required just a
place to throw a sleeping bag down.
The only
route planning was an offer of mine to ride a proposed section of a long
distance bikepacking race route in UK .. other than that we had a map and a Garmin.
The Friday
morning started with meeting Adam Cooke on Newcastle Quayside and from there we
set off west.
Any
opportunity to stop for a photo or a cold beverage was taken ... without a
planned route the ability to impose any kind of expected timescale was
impossible and pretty liberating .. even when you try and have an easy ride
often it ends in you challenging yourself to complete in a certain time .. we
didn’t want that here .. it was a timing free ride and exactly the unplanned
nature we were looking for.
The riding
was varied .. we explored the offroad trails we hadn’t previously ridden and
generally just took a look around at places we would of usually gassed straight
through in pursuit of a pre determined time or destination.
When time
came to stop for the night we were close to 10pm and still with light we could
take our time looking for a good spot to bivi.
The
following day took in similar riding as we picked our way home exploring new
roads and stopping at cafes we had never visited before.
Safe to say
the mood was high due to the weather but I think the simplicity of just riding
a bike with no agenda also played some part in the enjoyment of these few days.
I think
without trying to offer any degree of forward planning this is the kind of
riding I need to make extra time for .. no agenda and the only plan to be
outdoors on bikes for a few days.
There is a
time for racing and training but sometimes its equally as rewarding to leave
the watch at home.
