Lessons Learned from Bicycling: Post-Pandemic Edition

In reviewing my earlier bicycling lessons posts, I noted a certain innocence in the writing. COVID has changed a lot of things for me – for all of us, so I thought that the topic might be worth updating.

I have shared that bicycling, as well as other forms of athletic endeavor, offers us opportunities to learn and reflect on lessons that are directly applicable to our Real World. We may think of it as just exercise activity but embedded in the experiences are reliable lessons.

The ideas come from my bicycling experiences in groups and individually yet are applicable to many of our current communications. I think it pays to pay attention and learn from what life offers us, no matter the form it takes.

Pandemic Lessons

The pandemic experience has taught all of us some new ways of thinking and acting. Some constructive and some, less so.

Uncertainty, as we have found, is still the rule in Nature, not the exception.

Humans also have a demonstrated uncanny ability to consistently make decisions that are not always in our best interests.

But I digress…

The Importance of the Group

While we are all certainly individuals and retain definite rights as such, we also owe an obligation of work to the group that provides for us. We are all truly in this together.

In a cycling context, the group provides shelter from the additional work of pedaling against the wind. In more urban settings, the greater physical presence of a group on the road provides recognition needed to protect riders from the all too familiar distracted driver.

• Stay focused on who you are and what you are doing.
• If what you are doing is not helping others or yourself, change what you are doing.
• Performance is everything. There are no points for what you thought or meant to do.
• Do not dawdle. Do what you need to and move on.

It is always about responsibilities. Protection of the individual and the group is a two-way street. When you sacrifice the safety of one, you weaken the other. Even when we disagree, our strength comes from still caring for ourselves.

Taking Bicycling Lessons Personally

The interplay of duties between individuals and the group is significant, and part of that equation starts with understanding oneself.

• Being left behind when not keeping up is often fair. Sometimes the need for the group to succeed outweighs the needs of the individual. We do our best to care for one another but sometimes the integrity of the group takes precedence. Get over yourself.
• Be willing to leave behind those that do not contribute. There is fairness in honoring their decision not to participate.
• Fear is normal. Keep going anyway.
• Admit your mistakes. Misjudgments happen all the time. Own up and move on.
• Opinions are useless. Go with what you know.
• Resilience, both physical and mental, always counts. Keep coming back.
• Shortcuts always have consequences.
• Keep your head in the moment. All plans mean nothing once everyone is in motion anyway. Focus on being flexible and engaged in the day.
• Be willing to sacrifice to achieve your goals (and those of the group). There is cost to everything. The question becomes one of degree.

The Glue That Binds

Interpersonal skills, while under a considerable amount of stress these days, are what connect us. Proficiency in communication is essential for success.

• Denial of realities is never an option. We embrace it all (good, bad, and indifferent).
• We will have bad days.Life is always unfair that way. See: resilience.
• Working together is messy and, despite advertising to the contrary, human relationships are never black and white. Ambiguity rules!
• Always take what your opponents say/do with a healthy dose of skepticism.

There is an old story of a race on a hot day. As the two leaders were climbing in the heat, hydration became an issue. One rider ran out of water, while the other continued to sip out of his bottle. The dehydrated rider eventually began to fade and lost the race. Afterwards, the winner admitted that he too had run out of water but by pretending to continue to drink, convinced the other to believe a lie. Be skeptical.

• Follow through on promises always. Integrity is everything.
• Predictions are always just guesses. Facts please. See: skepticism.
• Do not try to create problems just because you think you have a dandy solution.
• Never mistake incompetence for malice. People can be stupid any time they wish.
• Commitment and action come from within. Making others perform does not produce lasting results. Lacking internal motivation, their commitment fades.
• Name calling serves no purpose. Incivility includes equally nasty push-backs. Prepare for the consequences that will come when you choose this route.
• Use judgement based on what you know. Trying to leverage hyperbole and wishful thinking does not work.

Riding Together

The takeaway message that we are all hopefully learning from the pandemic. Like the cooperative duties inherent in the cycling experience, choosing responsible and constructive behaviors in life benefits all of us. Engaging in the incivilities that have been so endemic in our culture of late, provide very little of what we need to thrive.

Engage, enjoy, be happy, and be healthy.

“If you lose your integrity, you will also lose your identity, your sensitivity and your dignity. Integrity is honesty, modesty and security in all kinds of weather. It should be our priority!”
― Israelmore Ayivor