Time to Think...

Hello, friends! 

It's been a relatively light few days from a biking standpoint but that won't get me down.  We still logged a few miles and saved some cash by parking on campus.  You know how much I love saving money.  =0). 

As I was riding to campus the other day I had an interesting thought about how much I think while I'm riding.  It takes between 7-10 minutes for me to ride from my place to campus, depending on traffic but it is a solid time for thinking.  When I am driving my car, the radio is on and I'm either listening to music or sports talk radio.  Sometimes Meg is in the car with me and I'm talking to her.  Other times the only thing I can think about is whether or not I think I'm going to find parking. 

But it's not like that when I ride.  I take the same path to campus so I don't have to think about the route.  I know there will be parking because there's always parking.  If I'm biking it usually means that I'm not running late so there's a laid back atmosphere to things as well.  I don't play any music or anything while I ride (although I could via my phone if I wanted).  Pretty much, it's just me alone with my thoughts. 

Of course, that leads to the question that I'm sure is on your mind.  What do I think about when I'm biking?  The honest answer is that I think about everything and nothing at the same time.  I think about the future and what's going to happen a few years from now if we stay in Columbia.  I think about the past and wonder if I handled situations correctly.  I have conversations with myself about one thing or another.  I cook up plans for my next date night with Meg or a new idea for New Student Outreach.  Sometimes I see a bird and think about how great it is to be a Cardinals fan.  Really, it's a hodgepodge of goodness.

There is one disadvantage to thinking while biking.  It is that I can't write down any ideas that I have.  I don't have the balance to bike with fewer than 2 hands unless I have to do a turn signal, so I certainly can't write down an idea or use a voice recorder.  When I'm driving I at least have the ability to record my thoughts and listen to them later.  While I'm biking, I just have to hope that I remember.  Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't.  (Let's be honest, I usually don't).

So there's that.  15-20 minutes a day with a man alone with his thoughts, sometimes just thinking about thinking.  It's not much, but it's something.  Maybe my next great idea will come from a bike ride one of these days. 

Stats:
Places: Pretty much just campus (exciting, I know...)
Distance: 6.2 miles ($.57)
Meters: 8 hours on campus ($8)

Total: $8.57
Grand Total: $360.42
Left to Save: $222.61

Happy Biking!

~Adam