Revelations from the Road…
You can learn a lot on a bicycle seat.
Especially when you occupy it for 579 miles over seven days, from Louisville, CO. to Jackson Hole, WY.
Lessons learned on a solo bike trip….
People are Kind. Hot, hungry and exhausted after a 65 mile climb up Colorado’s Poudre Canyon, you encounter a family of four at a rest stop.
They share their fruit, energy bars and drinks. Says the little boy, all of about 7: “You can have my bubble gum, if you like.”
The Simplest of Strategies Work in the Remotest of Places.
The guy at the counter greets you at the Muddy Gap, WY. gas station by saying:
”Welcome to Muddy Gap. We have clean rest rooms kept clean by that tip jar on that counter.”
You and everyone else stuff money in that jar, and it overflows with coins and dollars. Bottom Line: “Ask and you receive. Don’t, and you won’t.”
You Need Not Be Alike to Be Connected. You don’t have much in common with the bearded, leather-clad motorcyle dude with the pierced eyebrows and pony tail at the corner table in the Walden, CO. coffee shop.
But you have a great conversation over breakfast.
Seek a New View. Fighting 126 miles of stiff headwinds from Rawlins to Lander, WY, you can turn miserable moments into magical ones.
You need only shift your focus away from the wind, and toward the magnificent mountains and sprawling prairies on either side.
Accept Adversity. You make peace with that relentless headwind once you realize that strong winds live in Wyoming, and you’re merely passing through. You’re invading their space, not vice versa.
Big Joys Come from Little Pleasures — like soaking a tired body in 120-degree hot springs in Saratoga, WY.
A Good Breakfast Goes a Long Way. Start your day with oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, tea and nuts, and you get lots of pedal power.
Positive Self Talk Foils Fears, especially when steering an unsteady bike down a mountain pass in the dark and chill of early morning.
There’s Power in Perspective. Career challenges and pressing personal issues are irrelevant when you’re bucking headwinds, or fixing a flat tire along an interstate.
There’s Serenity in the Storm. Thunderstorms are terrific, when you watch them from a window of a country store.
There’s joy in the Journey. You can discover plenty of pleasure en route to your destination. 
Your Spouse is Special. To let me pursue my passion, and bicycle off into the middle of nowhere — well, Ellen Berns, you’re a gem.
Success is Sweet. Achieve something you work and train and prepare months for, and you feel that life can’t get much better. 
Fred Berns is a speaker, trainer and coach in the interior design industry.