Why I ride my bicycle...

Apricot tree full of fruit in the Animas Valley...

I woke up in a funk and could not get of bed easily. I did manage to get up because I knew it was a beautiful day outside.

I could do maybe 7 minutes of yoga which helped me to find my breath and take some long deep inhalations. The anxiety subsided enough to sit and pray and meditate for another 6 minutes before I totally zoned out and went on to something else.

There is such a fine line between grief and feeling depressed. 

I got out of the house and went for a ride in the valley. It felt great to be out and not just exercising but also breathing fresh air with all the scents and aromas of the forest and riparian area warming in the sun. It's good for the soul. Then I encountered this tree, one of a dozen out there and I remember what abundance, wonder and joy there is in the world.

Fresh apricots off of a living tree is a gift.

It took about 3 hours to ride what should be an hour and a half. There is just too much to see and look at. There are horses to try and get the attention of, people to greet. Best of all I had shared ice water with Debbie and Chuck whose house I passed along the way.

The simple gifts...

Letting go of my agenda

Portmeirion, Wales
One of the most beautiful places I have had the privilege to visit.

I can plan all I want to but the reality is that at some point I have to let go of my agenda. If I cling too hard then I lose sight of my intention. 
The journey is the plan, at least for me. As Thomas Merton pointed out, 

“MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

I have another friend that is in her 70s and is getting ready to walk the Camino across Northern Spain. From her perspective having never done anything of the sort it's wild and woolly out there. It's the biggest adventure she can imagine. That's OK, she's never pushed herself out of her comfort zone or gotten out of a routine.

In my mind, it's a long walk down a well worn and marked country lane. The link is a more detailed look at the Tours route of the Via Frances. That's about as detailed as I may get. There is a guide book but it's in french. I'll figure it out.

 https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Chartres,+France&daddr=Saumery,+Saint-P%C3%A9ravy-la-Colombe,+France+to:Ch%C3%A2teaudun,+France+to:Vend%C3%B4me,+France+to:Tours,+France+to:Poitiers,+France+to:Mirambeau,+France+to:Bordeaux,+France+to:Belin-B%C3%A9liet,+France+to:Sorde-l'Abbaye,+France+to:Ostabat-Asme,+France&geocode=Fc4x4wIddLgWACmL4fEkRAzkRzEp7cdTSIhjeA%3BFRgo3AIdUDMaACm5lm9tZPPkRzG0nI_rppqfuA%3BFeF-3QIdUEIUACkJWxTLiX_jRzGghDkF18gNBA%3BFadB2QIdf0EQACk_k5lhM2rjRzH3-oF2C4cKew%3BFWAt0wIdKHMKAClVmpdKs9X8RzEwhDgF18gNBA%3BFQDCxgIdlzEFACmrs55Dcr79RzGTkODFGSPelw%3BFddVtAIdRE33_ylZj7MWeEsASDEwmu5gktMFBA%3BFZ0rrAIdlCn3_ymBylH36CdVDTGJejl7A4ZjeQ%3BFUfrpgIdhevz_ynB1ocrGvFUDTFg7hZIF2UGBA%3BFVQ1mAIdNufv_ylfCqikyblWDTGQLBZIF2UGBA%3BFZAIlAIdc6bv_ylRhFODpdBWDTE-I1MM7j-Cog&aq=0&oq=Ostabat&sll=45.844108,0.241699&sspn=8.249448,19.665527&vpsrc=6&hl=en&mra=ls&ie=UTF8&ll=45.444717,2.746582&spn=8.308273,19.665527&t=m&z=6&dirflg=d

A rough Itinerary

Taken while wandering in Cornwall last year.
Just never knew what was around the next bend in the road. Just had to pay attention and follow our curiosity.

If you click on the link below it will hopefully take you to a google map of my very rough plan. There are 3 other pilgrimages that pass through France on their way to Santiago. 

This route roughly follows the "Tours" route and sticks closer to the coast than the others. This one is not as traditional and I'm not sure I will be able to find sections of it as it has not been as widely traveled as  la Via de Le Puy. 
This is all part of the adventure. I'm not sure there are the guide books for the Via Frances like there are for the more popular Camino de Santiago across northern Spain. Apparently, according to one website one can see markings along this route but they are not so obvious. I don't think pilgrims 1,000 years ago really knew where they were going either. That was the point, to trust God and one's own intuition to solve the mystery and figure it out along the way.
That was the role of faith. As it will be for me. 
 

http://maps.google.fr/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=3+Impasse+des+Bl%C3%A9s+d'Or,+Amilly&daddr=Tours+to:Poitou-Charentes+to:Landes+to:Saint-Palais+to:Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port&geocode=FbMy4wIdDDoVACkV1nk_QgrkRzGB20Lt1sgNEw%3BFWAt0wIdKHMKAClVmpdKs9X8RzEwhDgF18gNBA%3BFcBuvAIdQEj7_yltEgugirEASDGgJOdgktMFAQ%3BFVR9ngIdf4H0_ykTn66lNzFUDTEAKBFIF2UGAw%3B%3BFQWekgIdohvt_ymf1LVsYdVQDTHH4ZFKxjzUJw&aq=0&oq=St.+Jean+Pied&sll=45.796545,0.061695&sspn=8.256234,19.665527&vpsrc=6&t=h&gl=fr&hl=fr&dirflg=w&mra=ltm&ie=UTF8&ll=45.367584,3.80127&spn=8.319587,19.665527&z=6

The real story.

Western Blueflag

I have been afraid to write what I really want because I'm afraid I'll be judged. I would like to write honestly and openly about why cycling is so important. Actually all my outdoor endeavors are important for the same reason. That's because like a shark if I stop moving, I'll drown.

I'll drown in depression and self loathing. I've been medically treated for depression and anxiety on and off for about the last 20 years. It has been helpful to find a base line of what normal feels like. Now I'm letting go of Allopathic medicine and with the help of a good Naturopath (a form of alternative medicine) that specializes in mental health, I'm working my way off the anti-depressant medications I've been on consistently for the past 7 years. 

So far I feel pretty good. Cycling is just one part of maintaining mental health for me. In fact all forms of adventure have been a boon to my all around health. My well being is based on physical, mental and spiritual balance.

The profession in which I work is also a piece of this. I am a wilderness therapist currently working for a Wilderness Therapy program that operates out of Durango, Colorado. My office is a Crazy Creek chair on the ponderosa forest floor out in our base camp on Haycamp Mesa.

The photo at the top of the page is from one of my collections taken a few years ago while hiking with one of my students. In my next post I'll talk a little more about the topic of Eco-psychology.

What did Magellan, Fay Fuller, Walter Raleigh and Tenzing Norgay all have in Common?

None of them had a GPS or a Smart phone and yet managed amazing feats of exploration and adventure. For those of you who have never heard of Fay Fuller, she was the first woman of European descent to climb Tahoma. Tahoma is the local name of Mount Ranier, one of Washington States great volcanoes. You can read more about her at this link: 

http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7786

I've been reading various websites and posting to several forums and while I must say there is tons of information out there about where I want to go, I just wonder if we're all losing our sense of adventure by being plugged in while traveling.

For example, one of the reasons I've taken to bicycle touring and spend less time in the back country is because I meet more people.

when I was trying to find my warm showers host in Portland on my rented bicycle, I knew I was in the right neighborhood but couldn't find the street. I stopped to ask a guy sweeping his sidewalk. It's a small thing but had I had my own little GPS or smart phone and simply looked myself, I would not have had that moment of contact with a complete stranger. As we were talking, a friend of his pulled up in a car (a much older gentleman) and they chatted. The older gent told a story about how he had helped some young hoodlum years ago to stay out of trouble by having the kid help with his house. Years later, the older one could no longer do some of the work himself and one day a young man showed up recently to help him. Guess who that was? 

All I have to say is that's why I ride...I meet so many people and they all have a story about someone else and don't you know once again I learn we are all really connected. 

Family on vacation
I asked if I take this photo to use just like this. They said it was OK. Nice people really.
Are they connected? To each other?

Humans are community oriented. And while there are "online" communities, I have to ask the question: are we in danger of losing proximal contact with each other in order to do everything for ourselves?

I've considered getting one myself recently and I go back and forth about it. It's $99.00 with a 2 year contract, 29.00 a month for data or WiFi etc. I don't really want to spend my travel money on it. perhaps an I pod touch or an I pad? WiFi enabled...OMG!

I've been traveling for 30 years all over the world...

Portland, Oregon and Bicycle Maintenance Class

Portland, Oregon

I was in Portland for a week at the United Bicycle Institute for a week long, hands on class in the basics of bicycle maintenance. Portland really is a Bike Town! Just like it says on the wall...

Now...About those wrenches.......Here I am taking apart the crank set. That was easy...putting it together was the hard part. Bearings, nuts, bolts, screws....

I did manage to get it back together but then came adjusting the derailleur. I wanna know who invented that. Actually, it's quite a work of genious, I just don't happen to have the head for physics and engineering. it sure would have made understanding things much easier.   

Did I mention it was an all women's class???

 These gals came from all over the place. I was not expecting a full class but it was full.

 This is Lisa to the right who came from steamboat where she teaches mountain biking to other women.

And in the true nature of women working together, that's what we did. Work together. 

This is Martha an avid cyclcist from Washington State learning the "nuts and bolts" of basic maintenance...

Then of course there were the sights of Portland in Summer...I never knew what to expect next.....

 I can hardly wait to get back there...Next time I go by bike...