Bikes are awesome, okay?

I believe we all pretty much agree with this by now. You know the deal — they help you lose weight, stay healthy and fit, save you money AND make you an eco-friendly member of your society. It’s a win-win for everyone!

However, today I am not going to write about all of these benefits of his majesty, the bicycle. Today, I will write about a certain aspect of riding your bike I’ve found very important for me — and it is not related to fitness nor ecology.

I am going to talk about the effects of the bike on your mental health.

Bikes are the best!

Living in today’s world is pretty chaotic. We are all constantly connected to everyone and everything else. Your laptop is online, your smartphone is online, your tablet is online, your TV is online… We are being bombarded with x1000 more information daily than our ancestors 100 years ago used to be.

Our brains cannot comprehend that much information and this is bad for us. And the worst thing is — we get hooked on this constant consumption of information and we get cranky if there’s no Wi-Fi connection or we miss something on our social media. I’m not saying I don’t do all of these things. I find myself every day trying to catch up on all those “stories” on Instagram, very often at the expense of my sleep. And I hate it.

We need time to stop. To take a break from all this information madness. To let our minds wander, or just simply rest. Think of nothing. Hear the crickets. Relax.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the time for that luxury because of the tight schedules we have: Work from 9 to 5, get your regular exercise, buy groceries, prepare healthier food, clean up around the apartment, do the chores, spend time with family and friends. We are rarely alone and we are rarely unoccupied.

I believe that riding your bike gives you the ability to escape all of this. So this is what I suggest — Use that half an hour of travel to your workplace for a kind of an “urban meditation”.

Scrolling on Instagram while listening to music is a regular activity for me.

Turn off your mobile data. Take off your headphones and turn off your music. Block all external sources of information and just get on the bike. Ride. Let your mind wander freely. Ride and think about your day.

Make plans or schedule all your daily activities, work or non-work related. Think about your family, your friends, your significant other, your ex, that classmate from high school you haven’t seen in months or years. Tell yourself you’re gonna give them a call, relive some of the old days’ fun memories. Set up mental reminders. Not in your smartphone calendar. In your head. And then forget about them. It’s fine, don’t worry about it. We have been programmed to forget stuff. It’s completely natural, that’s how our brain protects itself. You’ll remember to call him again tomorrow.

Think about society, what’s wrong with it and what you can do to change it. Think about your hometown, what you like or dislike, do you want to move out or what you would miss if you actually did. Think about your favourite bands, movies or books. Remember some good times you had. Remember some bad times you’ve been through. Or don’t think at all. I’m not here to tell you what to think about.

Your mind is the only thing that belongs solely to you. It is the only thing that is completely private.

Everything else in your life you share with other people. Whether it is with your soulmate, with your closest friends, or the whole world through your Instagram account — we all share everything we do, think or feel.

We need to stop and appreciate the last line of defence of human privacy. Embrace your half an hour of solitude and truly enjoy your bike ride.

Enjoy the ride!

I firmly believe that implementing this habit into your life will have major benefits for both your physical and your mental health. It will improve your overall mood and increase your energy level. It will boost your productivity, expand your imagination and wake up your creativity. Heck, I came up with the idea for this article while riding my bike to work today!

And don’t start making up excuses. If you live anywhere in Europe or the USA (Unfortunately, I cannot speak for other places), your hometown probably has a solid bicycle infrastructure — meaning that’s one less excuse for you not to start biking right away.

The second obstacle is the distance between your workplace and your home. If it is less than 15 km/9 miles (which is around 40 min ride for an average biker) — you’re good to go! I biked for 30 min (in one way) every day for 3 months while I was working in Virginia, US. Now, I’m biking 20 min every day to my current workplace.

The last obstacle is your bike — You need proper gear in order not to hurt or exhaust yourself excessively while biking to work. You can get a solid urban bike for around $50–100, so there you go, we debunked all your excuses.