A Good Ride to Clear the Mind

Around 2 today, right at the beginning of my last class for the day, thoughts of getting out and riding interrupted my focus. I really tried to stay on task and teach the students something, but the desire to be away from campus, away from people, just me and bike, kept poking at me like an insistent child. Then, when I was finished, a former student captured me for another hour. All the while she was talking, my mind was on riding. I wonder if she could tell I was off in cycling land rather than fully there with her. I'm sure she'd understand. She's a cycler too.

Finally, I arrived home. I ate quickly, changed, then headed out. I kept telling myself this would be a slow, easy ride, and at times it really was. A few times I kicked it up, but there was no reason to push it. At one point, as I passed a small farmhouse, I could smell the scent of dryer softening sheets. Shortly after that I could smell someone's charcoal grill. With the sun on its way to setting, the air began to cool, so I never really got too terribly hot the entire time. Not long into the ride, I could feel the stress of classes, meetings, and students slip away. None of that mattered.

In the end, twenty miles was all it took to make me look forward to getting back to work in the morning.

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