Where Your Eyes Go, So Goes the Bike

When I got my bike two years ago, one of the first things Ben taught me was about cadence.

Essentially, cadence is maintaining the same number of revolutions per minute.  Sometimes, when you are going up a hill, for example, you need to upshift to a higher gear to maintain your cadence.  Conversely, going down the other side of aforementioned hill, you downshift.

I used to marvel as I watched Ben ride.  He didn't have to think; he knew instinctively when to upshift and to downshift.

I took a motorcycle class a few years ago.  They taught us that when you are negotiating a turn, you need to look where you want to go.  If you spend time looking down at the ground, guess where your motorcycle will end up?

Same is true on a bicycle.  I used to have to remind myself of this all the time.

Today on our ride, I found no thoughts in my head of upshifting or downshifting, or knowing where to look.  It was if I was riding by instinct.

I have arrived.

33 miles today, bringing this weekend's total mileage walking and riding to 90 miles.

Wow.

That is a lot of time for me to think!

I mention the above riding tips, because as I rode today, I did think about how this relates to a healthy journey.

There are times in your life when you are cruising along; you have hit your stride. Along comes a hill.  Maybe that hill is a barbecue, or perhaps it is a stressful event at work that you would normally eat your way through. (Been there, done that.)    There are times when you need to dig a little deeper, do a little more planning; you need to know when to upshift.

You need to keep your eyes on the road, and the health that lies ahead of you.  If you take your eyes off that healthy prize, you end up, just as on the bike, on the pavement. Sometimes you stay there long enough because you are too hurt to get up.  Don't bet yourself up about it, get up, and get back on the trail.

Learning to maintain your cadence on a healthy journey comes with time.  You learn to fuel yourself throughout the day so that you never get famished.  You learn to have snacks at the ready to stave off the call of the vending machine or the cafe at work.  Believe me, those rice krispie treats and Special K bars know my name; I have just learned to tell them to shut up!

You will get there over time; make small changes today that will make big changes in the end.

After our ride today, I made this amazing lunch.  Please do try it!

I got this idea from here.  Her picture is far lovelier than mine!  I imagine mine was just as delicious, however.

Watermelon was a perfect dessert!

The creaminess of the avocado and the scrambled egg with the saltiness of the salmon - BRILLIANT!

I hope you will try this, and to encourage you to do so, here are the stats:

The toast was made from Great Harvest High 5 Fiber; that an the avocado accounted for 33% of my fiber needs today!

And, hello, look at  that iron!

Off to the kitchen to prepare the rest of the items for the barbecue I am attending today.

Happy 4th!

Kel