To cope with high-pressures jobs, some people head outdoors to sweat off the stress, while others seek out friends to talk it out over a drink or a cup of coffee. When you have good friends to ride with and beautiful places to ride right in your backyard, you can multi-task by sweating it off and talking it out all at the same time.
How do you deal with stress? Do you prefer to go it alone or seek out others? Is there a special place you go?
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jillycube
April 4, 2013 at 10:42 am
I like venting while riding when I do want to talk about a problem or sometimes when I’m upset/annoyed about something I notice I tend pedal faster. I remember being in a social group (about 20+ people) ride and someone brought with them a sound system (it’s one of those portable ones but this one was loud) playing really obnoxious music and my way of combating this was to ride with the fastest person in the group to get away from it.
ladyfleur
April 4, 2013 at 5:09 pm
It’s food to do something physical while venting and I can totally see you pedaling harder. I hate music on a ride too, unless it’s a Bike Party. Then it’s fun.
fiedlerin
April 5, 2013 at 5:01 am
When I am angry/ frustrated/ annoyed (which are my most common negative feelings) I just go out alone and ride like crazy… then I am too exhausted to be mad any longer… can’t tell you how often my work clothes have gotten disgusting on my commute home, hahahahaha.
When I am anxious or don’t know how to tackle something I talk about it.
jg
April 5, 2013 at 12:41 pm
Steep hills, 10% and higher, by myself. The climb up physically beats the stress into submission. The concentration required to successfully navigate the descent keeps it there. Lather, rinse, repeat until some part of the body cries “Uncle!” I have a 45 mile route with 6000′ of climbing. When that doesn’t work, it’s time for better living through chemistry.
wellsuitedforlife
April 5, 2013 at 5:48 pm
At my heart, I’m an aesthetician, but beauty for me doesn’t conform merely to the traditional sense of the word, it has a very broad meaning for me. When stressed I seek out beautiful rides, this partially has to do with time of day to create the right lighting conditions. Thankfully, my morning ride to work from 8:30-9am usually has some wonderful lighting along the Guadalupe River Trail. I’ve also seen some very unique animal life including jack rabbits, which I didn’t realize still lived in the city. Areas along water, rivers and the ocean, tend to be my favorite rides. Living in Santa Cruz along the San Lorenzo River and commuting to San Jose riding along the Guadalupe River I get plenty of opportunity to destress.
Also as fiedlerin said above, generally I try to ride as fast as my body will allow while still pausing when a moment beautiful enough takes me (seeing a Blue Heron, a beautiful piece of graffiti art, etc).
ladyfleur
April 5, 2013 at 5:54 pm
There are so many animals living amongst us along our streams and in the hills. I love the birds on the Guadalupe River, especially the herons.
BTW, here’s a taste of the photos I took of you this morning. I plan to feature you on next week’s Fashion Friday. http://instagram.com/p/XvSIY1H4yC/
Andrew Boone
April 5, 2013 at 10:09 pm
You hit the nail on the head, Janet. Bicycling = Meditation. I love that soothing trance I fall into when cycling, and it happens most easily on my fixed-gear bike, because I’m always doing the same thing – pedaling. None of that should I shift? should I coast? nonsense to clutter up my mind.
I’ve been sick so I’ve been riding my geared bike instead because that lets me be lazy and go slower in a lower gear. Just been kinda bummed recently. There is an obvious and direct correlation between not riding and being bummed.