Today was another gorgeous day. It was bright sunshine, clear blue skies, and in the seventies. From inside the house or in the back yard it was darn near perfect. When it came to biking, it was maybe not so perfect. Those winds were strong. Just like yesterday, I put off going out on a ride today until it was almost too late because it was easy to use the wind as an excuse. But once again, I bucked up and decided just to go for it. I set out on my ride without a predetermined route. I was just going to go where the winds blew me. And Blow me they did. But I kept peddling.
It took me 35 minutes to go about 6 miles. At first I went along the river on the East side of town and then crossed over the bride to follow the river on the West side. I rode past Lindberg State Park, the Weyerhauser Museum/Morrison County Historical Society, and past some Historic Site markers. I soon found myself riding out in the country where there were fewer obstacles protecting me from the wind. As fate would have it, I was also going up some slight hills. Each by itself made the ride more difficult, but combined really gave me a work out. My goal was to just go out to a certain point and then turn around. One of the thoughts that kept my motivation up was the reality that at a certain point the obstacles that were slowing me down would feel different on the way back. So although I was ready to turn aroun at five miles because of the wind and the hills (ok slight inclines) I pushed myself to go another mile. Just as I predicted when I turned around the ride felt completely different. It even sounded different. My speed increased and I was able to reshift to higher gears and bike at a comfortable pace once again.
I was cruising along at a nice pace when I biked by one of the historical markers I had first seen about 10 minutes earlier. Although I was aware of the marker's approach, I didn't slow down enough to really read what it said. So I whizzed right by it and then wondered to myself what it said. Then the thought of this blog project popped into my head and I realized that I had just left a learning moment behind. I didn't have to keep biking continously. It was ok to stop and look and see. So I turned my bike around and went back to the marker. It was an interesting piece of history. I included a photo I took so you could read it as well.
That particular piece of land was actually a trading center before the city of Litte Falls was founded. It was the first city so to speak and was known as "swan river". And yet here it was, over a century later, and there's nothing left to prove there was a city there at all. Instead, everything is further up the road by a couple of miles and the area goes by the name of Little Falls. Swan river experienced the winds of change. Then I started thinking about history in general and all the changes that have occured since the settlers and the Winnebago Indians crossed paths on this spot of land. In some cases the winds were supportive and other times they were not so kind. Just like my bike ride, depending on the direction of the wind it either felt like it was repressive or it was empowering.
And so it is that the wind became my analagy for how we move through life, or since this is my journal on my reality, maybe I should say "how I move through life" . Sometimes it seems there are forces that make it more difficult to achieve my goal. It might slow me down or challenge me more but I can still go the distance by working hard. Then I thought about how easy the ride seemed when the wind was at my back and I thought about how the reality of life is that when I'm supported my tasks don't seem as daunting. And just like life, I can't always predict which way the winds are going to blow but I can control how I choose to deal with the wind. On this day, I was happy that I choose not to let the wind scare me into staying inside. For if I had, I surely would have missed the exercise, the journey, and the opportunity to share another piece of reality.
Exercise meter: B 12.28 miles; 1:05 min; C windy
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