Four–she’s a jolly good number. Another cycling milestone has passed, and that’s something worth commemorating with a blog post. Surely, there are plenty of much older geezers than I who have been out there racking up decades of daily bike rides. Or maybe not, and I’m in a handful of elite athletes who have a streak going. Hahahaha! Even pro riders take days off, and I’m certainly the very model of a modern amateur. As I often say, any day my streak might end, and somehow, life will go on. But I’m still streaking… for now. So here are some words about that.

Do Your Due Diligence, Dudes

Whether it’s one mile or something much bigger, daily biking (or any activity you choose) takes being diligent. “Failure to plan is planning to fail,” as it is said. For example, I often complain of being tired. Knowing that, unless I feel up to getting out early, I usually have to take a disco nap after work or whatever else I’m doing before riding. That takes a little planning. I look at my calendar for my obligations, of course. And on some days, I suffer and struggle. Like yesterday, I was sick but had enough energy for a slow ride on the new Cannondale Quick 4, Soqi. It was painful, difficult, and sorta sucked, but it was also a privilege. So, I can’t complain (too much). And my headache was diminshed by gwtting my legs and blood pumping.

Other factors: What does the hourly weather forecast say (and better yet, more than one source of it)? What is the weather actually doing right now? How do you feel? Have you eaten enough food and drunk enough water? The point is, if you plan ahead, you can probably make a daily cycling habit work. Maybe you don’t hit your mileage goal, but you’ve kept the streak alive. If you have too many responsibilities, though, daily biking may not be for you. That’s totally fine. Half Fast Cycling Club says that regular riding is a lot more realistic, and I agree with the gentleman from Wisconsin. It’s saner, too.

Home and Gym Trainer Miles Count

When the weather outside is frightful, biking indoors or in a garage is delightful. True, you’re not getting to experience riding the road or trail outdoors, especially fresh air, the sights and souds, and elevation. You can adjust the stationary bike’s resistance to add more difficulty, the lack of cars to contend with is a real plus, but the boredom is real. I watch TV shows wearing headphones because my trainer is noisy, but you can read, listen to music, or compete on Zwift or other platforms.

It may feel a bit like you’re cheating, but especially if you’re in a spin class, the exercise value is real. A mile is a mile, according to the Garmin speed sensor on my rear hub. It’s okay to be realistic and gentle with yourself when it’s a monsoon or 120 degrees out.

Replacing Car Miles Is Good for Us and the Planet

When not on the trainer, it’s helpful to me at least to have a destination. Although I’ve been blessed with a car the last few years, I am still biking more in a year than driving. Maintenance of the old hand-me down is proving to be way more costly than expected, so I may find myself back in the car-free or car-light world soon. In that case, daily biking is much easier, because if I want to go anywhere it’s walk to a bus, or bike.

But if you have a car and need it, can you do some things on your bike instead? I like to go to my mailbox in downtown Austin, Texas by bike. It’s not that far and keeps me a bit in touch with what’s going on there. You see, hear, and smell more on a bike than in a car, too. If you’re not buying a truckload of watermelons or hauling lumber, and when it’s not pouring, snowing, icing, or hot as blazes, why not replace a few car trips with your bike? Most car crashes happen within three miles of home, they say. Just take care not the replace that statistic with a bike crash.

Habits Are Hard to Break

Habits are hard to form, but after a certain point, they’re also not so easy to break. Or maybe they are, but it’s not *simple.* Once I established a daily yoga practice for three weeks, I found the benefits outweighed the negatives. A month became two, and so on. Ten years later, I can no more imagine skipping my usually nighttime half hour of yoga (plus five minutes of foam rolling that came later) than I would forgo brushing my teeth (and flossing, another habit I added a while back). Thanks to my brother, sister-in-law and author of Atomic Habits, James Clear, I made some habits without attachment to the outcome.

Of course, even a good habit can turn bad, as I’ve explored here and here and probably elsewhere. The Buddha said that any habit pattern of the mind is unskillful. I aspire to be a lower-case buddhist, but find meditation to be too soporific and, well, pedestrian. There is certainly an aspect of addiction with sports–runner’s high being the most famous of those. As with love, pets, electronic devices, social media, food, sugar, drink, drugs–many things can induce the chain reaction of brain chemistry that produce feel-good hormones and the like.

Final Thoughts

Be careful and mindful. You want to push yourself, but not so hard you fall off the cliff. “Sweet discomfort,” a yoga teacher once called it. Pain is counterproductive. Does cycling, or whatever your activities are, bring you more joy than pain and suffering? Lastly, don’t do as I do, do as I say: You do you and that voodoo that you do so well. And like an old friend Sam said, “Live to ride another day.” And if you want to, are able, and feel like it,  then add another, and another… or not. The mire cycling and cyclists, the merrier.