Cycling is Meditation

As a tour gets going and the weeks roll by, the cyclists on our tours become more fit. With stronger legs, minds can be freed to be deep in thought or to not have any thoughts at all. Our inquisitive content creators often pull participants aside and ask them about what cycle touring means to them. Previously, I wrote on how time is perceived while riding – this has always been a popular topic. Another common theme we have seen is the idea that cycle touring is a kind of meditation.

As Mimi Jones said earlier this year while on the Journey to the East “when we enter through these heavenly forests – sun filtering through the trees, birds chirping – it’s really a meditative process.” In another inspiring piece shot on the The Odyssey tour this spring, Anne Thompson shared that “on the one hand you can kind of day dream, but on the other hand, you’re focused, moment by moment.” Please take a moment to watch these insightful riders share more of what they are thinking and meditating on while cycle touring.

“I try not to think of anything. I clear my mind. It’s almost like a soul cleansing experience… you’re part of nature and it makes you feel alive.”

“The bike ride is a moving mediation…You get better acquainted with yourself, flaws and all, but you can also forget about yourself in the letting go of things.”

“Most of the time I’m just looking around and letting my mind wonder…The miles just sort of fly by” said Lenore partway through our Cairo to Cape Town expedition. As for mediation she says “here [on a tour], I can do that all day long on the bike and I can still want more of it.”

Her fellow rider Vik Patel shared that “I’ve never felt more in the present then when I’m on a bike on this kind of a tour… you get on your bike and everything goes away. That’s freedom, for me anyways.”

I hope you enjoy these videos as much as I did.