Mind meanderings can be pleasant. You might start off thinking about cycling along a shady forest path. The day is pleasantly warm. The birds are singing. Your pace is casual, and you\’re enjoying life. Your thought turn to the nice lunch you\’ll have before riding back home.

Suddenly, before you know it, you\’re blazing down a highly technical single track! You steer your mountain bike over huge, gnarly tree roots, and leap across daunting gaps. You seem to have wings.

The nice thing about mind meandering is this: typically you aren\’t actually riding a bicycle while indulging in such daydreaming. In fact, if you want to daydream, it\’s safer to do it while in a rocking chair!

Letting your mind wander while cycling is not necessarily a good idea. If you must ride alongside motor traffic, you need to keep your mind on what you\’re doing. The same thing goes for riding in a group. Not to mention while racing!

On the other hand, a solo ride on a route with little traffic can be a great time for reflection. Sometimes I get good blog ideas at those times!

There are times when I wish I lived where there were more cycling routes available. Some real meandering now and then would be a nice change from riding the same old path again and again. I\’d need to keep a map handy, though; such wandering would turn unpleasant if I were to get lost.

Perhaps, after all, I had better keep my mind meanderings at home.