After a weekend off due to the Irish Fair (Will) and Mindful Leadership Conference (Linda) we got back on the bike this Saturday. The morning dawned in thick fog and an overcast sky. This proved to be our salvation since the dew point was high. Sun would have been fatal.
We haven't been to Cannon Falls for a while and hadn't ridden the entire trail yet this year. The parking lot at Welch was packed so we headed to the overflow lot. This seemed ominous: were we going to encounter boatloads of people on the trail?? Then I thought back to what I learned at the Mindful Leadership Conference and focused instead on the happiness that I feel when we're biking. Can I pass on that happiness to others we meet on the trail? I decided to look happy on the bike (Smile), say hello or wave at people and not react to the occasional road hog.
Last week was my first encounter with meditation. Although I practice yoga, I have never tried meditation. There were a number of opportunities to do this at the conference under the guidance of Mingur Rinpoche of the
Tergar Community. Rinpoche encouraged us to meditate anywhere: at work, at home, on the bus, on an airplane. So could someone meditate on a bike? Being the second person on a tandem I am in a unique position of actually having some contemplation time available. If you trust in the person as Captain; you have some opportunities to explore other avenues of contemplation on the back. True, it is best to do this when you are on a lonely stretch of road or trail with not obstacles to deal with. The stoker could rest their hands on their handlebars or thighs, close their eyes and focus internally. I tried this and found it restful but the fact that you continue to pedal might not bring a very profound meditation.
There are definite zones that you feel while riding. These are my definitions of my own experience and subject to argument. They may also be unique to tandem riding since we exist in a partnership on the bike. The stoker may be able to have more time to enjoy the zones than the captain. First is the creative zone: this is me thinking about what topic I can blog about on this particular ride. I find this particularly satisfying although it can detract from the "seeing" part of your ride. You are in the thought process ergo you don't see what's in front of you. The second is the pondering/thinking zone. This can be a positive or negative depending upon where your thoughts go. If you are inspired and think of some brilliant way to resolve an issue at work it's good; if you are making a long list of items you need to get done it's bad. My personal favorite is the speed zone: you have climbed the final ridge out of the river valley going into Cannon Falls and you know that the way back to Welch will have some great downhills. The exhilaration of the speed, wind and views makes you want to raise your hands in the air and yell some ancient Celtic battle cry. The worst zone is fatigue: you're hot, it's late, you've got a few miles to go to the end and you're only focusing on your feet telling them to pedal. I know that when I'm thinking about my feet I'm ready for a break or the end of the ride.
The
Cannon Valley Trail was in bloom with the last flowers of summer. I'll focus on the Jewelweed for this blog. It's from the Touch-me-not family or Impatiens pallida. It grows in shade and likes wet. Along the Cannon Valley Trail there are literally walls of Jewelweed. The name comes from water droplets on its leaves that look like tiny jewels. Supposedly the juice from its stems can soothe the sting from poison ivy. It attracts hummingbirds. Although the prominent color of late summer flowers was yellow we did see some brilliant splashes of purple from the Rough Blazing Star (Aster).
We have encountered all kinds of wildlife on the Cannon but yesterday was quiet. The chipmunks and squirrels were busy buzzing back and forth across the trail. We scared up a bevy of cardinals near Red Wing and goldfinches were very active. At Welch the boxelder bugs had hatched. As Bill Holm once wrote about the boxelder bug :
"I want so little
For so little time,
A south window,
A wall to climb..."
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