Day 11 – Busy Highways & Stress

By Mark Heggestad
“A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety. “
– Aesop

I believe stress is energy – it can be a positive energy or a negative energy.  Sometimes I can use it to my advantage, and sometimes, no matter how hard I try, it gets the best of me.

Today was beautiful just like yesterday; temps in mid 60’s to mid 70’s, sun shining, and continued scenic terrain.  Yet it felt like two completely different rides.  Yesterday was supposed to be the challenging day – 68 miles with many hills bookended with two summits.  Today was supposed to be easy – only 48 miles, and only one summit.

Yet, today was more stressful, less enjoyable, and physically more demanding.  For one reason – traffic.  We biked from Cambridge, ID to New Meadows, ID today on State Highway 95.  It is a busy state highway with little, and sometimes no shoulder.  Cars, RV’s, and semis roar by often and endlessly.  I tried every trick I could think of to avoid tensing-up as vehicles zoomed by.  I told myself to relax. I tried listening to music.  I pushed myself harder.  I tried going easier.  Nothing.  Nothing could keep me from tensing-up each time I heard the rumble of a semi coming up behind me.  I believe the stress of today’s traffic created more fatigue and exhaustion than the physical effect of biking.

Here is the good news.  Tomorrow’s forecast calls for 60 to 90 percent chance of rain along our path, so we decided to take a day off.  As much as we made that decision based on the rain forecast, I am looking forward to giving my body a rest and a chance to recharge.  I never thought I would be happy about a day off due to rain, but I am.   We have at least another 80 miles to go on State Highway 95, so the chance to give my body a little peace and quiet may help me turn that stress into something positive.

Despite the traffic, we did stop to enjoy the scenery.  It was another beautiful day and our busy road paralleled the Weiser River often.

The Weiser River

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 12, 2017 at 6:51 AM

    I'm anxious to hear about your day off. It looks like beautiful country and would be really peaceful hanging out listening to it rain...... Enjoy and relax!

    ReplyDelete

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