What Time Is It? The Past, Present & Future On Cycling Tours

“I discovered it was Saturday today. Who knows. Who cares.”

These were David’s words from the first video below. Having just returned from an incredible month of cycling on the Ruta Maya, I can definitely relate. Time can be a tricky thing when you are in the midst of adventure and physical activity. I had excruciating moments where time slowed down as the rainforest heat and humidity made the steep climb I was on seem endless – my legs burning, my shirt soaked with sweat. On the other hand, I had other zen-like moments where my pedal strokes were strong, my mind was clear and I could have stayed like that endlessly, or so it felt.

Time seemed to expand just for me. Or maybe I stopped caring about time or feeling hemmed in by it. I guess this is the kairos time that Randy describes below. It’s one of the great joys of cycle touring – we feel a distortion in how we perceive time. In the videos below, our insightful cyclists share their own take on the subject of time.

“My mind is largely empty which is a good place to be.” David went on to say that he isn’t filling his head with “the normal crud” of life. When someone is able to loose track of time and to shake off the crap of life, if just for a period of time, that’s probably a sign that they are having a good time and fully embracing the experience.

Shelly Stark, while on The Odyssey earlier this year, shared that “when I’m home…I feel like time is slipping through my fingers. When I travel… time slows down… Anytime anyone gets a chance to [put things in perspective] in their life, they will be lucky and grateful.”

“[In Italy] they have two concept of time… chronos which is wristwatch time… and kairos which is like moments of time… perpetual time. When I cycle, it’s very much kairos not chronos. I am experiencing life on the road…It’s a gift to bike travellers that you really don’t watch time, you are in time.” Randy, while on the 2022 Viva Italia

“There isn’t a future. There isn’t a past. There is… the road. Time loses perspective.” that was Tom on the Tour d’Afrique in 2019. His riding colleague Peter spoke – as David had above – about how days of the week start to loose meaning. “I’ve lost all concept of time. If you asked me what day of the week it was today I wouldn’t be able to tell you. You live very much in the moment of now. How nice is that.”