I once took a class where the teacher explain his theory about “going with the flow.” He said that every time he tried to fight the direction that the universe (or spirit or god, if you wish) was trying to guide him, he’d struggle and face obstacle after obstacle. But that as soon as he’d “listen” to the signals that were being sent his way, that the path seemed to open and everything tended to flow smoothly. The way he described it, was that he’d ask himself the question “What is TRYING to happen here?” and then, when possible, follow in the direction of that flow. And that this simple strategy had guided him to many of the best experiences of his life.
Well I experienced some of that today, as I rode out of Mountain Home, Idaho
on my way towards beautiful Ketchum/Sun Valley. For the past 2 days, I’ve been fighting to get out of Mountain Home and over Route 20 – the Sun Valley highway. And for the past 2 days, obstacle after obstacle has been thrown my way. Maps that point me in the wrong direction, roads to nowhere, constant sidewinds, rainstorms brewing in the distance, cold gusty winds blowing through my underdressed outfit (with no windbreaker), and only prospects of getting worse as the road was getting ready to climb to 5,200 feet with a chance of snow.
So today I decided to listen, and take the road AROUND my original route and down into the main central Idaho valley. So, prepared for the worst (literally 6 layers of clothing on or wrapped around me to ward of the cold winds and chance of rain), I got on my bicycle and headed south – down Route 30, the Old Oregon Trail and over towards Shoshone.
And the moment I left Mountain Home, I knew I’d made the right decision.
Maybe it was the 6 layers of clothes, or maybe I just got lucky and hit the timing right – but while the Sun Valley road remained socked in with menacing looking clouds, as I started down the road towards Shoshone, the clouds parted, and a beautiful sun shined through. Tailwinds appeared to gently pushed me along the road – and a long gentle ride eased me into back country that kept getting prettier and prettier.
So, as much as Day 16 and 17 were battles against the elements (and against the Maps that kept sending me down Roads to Nowhere), Day 18 was the day we got back on track. Oh, there were still some struggles along
the way: the 4 mile dead end road that my GPS system sent me down, and the usual equipment problems – 2 cameras accidentally dropped (1 working fine, hopefully, the other hopefully fixable…). But as the sun was setting on me as I rode into town in Shoshone it felt good to be back on the road making progress towards Virginia Beach once again.
From the road in central Idaho, this is Ted Schneck wishing you all clear skies ahead. And we’ll see you down the road on the Dog Cancer Ride Across America.
Bye for now.
- Ted
