Writing Lessons from Mountain Biking
I’ve never played on a sports team. Not one.
The youth philharmonic orchestra? Yes.
Fine arts classes? For like a decade.
Performance camps? You bet.
Book writing scholarships for high schoolers? Absolutely.
Sports? Nope.
I mean, okay, there was T-ball when I was five but that can’t possibly count and sadly, I remain sports-less. So it was a bit of a surprise that I took up mountain biking as an adult and (gasp) I’m not terrible. You would think years without hand-eye coordination practice would spell disaster the minute my foot touched the pedal. But with a little time, I’m actually sort of decent. In fact, I’m even an ambassador for my local bike shop, D&D Bicycles. You can imagine my shock when I rode my first MTB team relay race this summer and my team took first in our category!
What surprised me further was discovering a few complimentary ideas between mountain biking and writing—so much so that I encourage all writers to pick up a physical hobby. Let me show you what I mean.
1. Cause and effect. Much of the writing life is made up of delays: we wait months or years to see our published works, we wait on emails, we wait for acceptance letters, we often wait to get paid. We often don’t see the complete shape of a manuscript until the 18th editorial pass.
It’s deliciously refreshing to jump into a physical activity just for the pure reminder that, despite my worries, effort does indeed lead to results. When I hit the trails, I get the immediate effects of a route well planned, a summit hard-earned. And as each week passes, I enjoy increasing strength, endurance, and skill.
2. The importance of the mind-body connection. By nature, writing is a creative process born out of the heart-mind connection. So it goes that for us creative types, this connection is strong, or at least a path well tread. Meanwhile, the mind-body connection weakens.
This is a loss for writers because so much of being human is tied to our flesh and bone, to our movement and flow. Our bodies are a significant part of our identities. They shape our view of the world, and therefore our view of people. We do a disservice to our readers if we limit our experiences to the cognitive realm. The quality of our stories cannot afford this kind of neglect. Lifting our heads out of our hearts and working our bodies grounds our feet in the real world, inspires our senses, and refreshes our minds.
3. You can do more than you think. This is always true for physical exercise. Our minds, our over-cautious survival instincts, and our love for comfort hold us back from our full potential. And this is true in writing. It is always easier to close the screen than to sit in the discomfort of writing our way out of a plot hole. It’s easier to take a break and get a snack than to invent a new way of communicating a complex idea.
4. Your body follows your head. “Watch the trail” is a well-known mantra in the mountain biking community because the body will always follow the eyes. The temptation is to look down at the path, to focus on the current problem. Inevitably, that blinds us to the obstacle fast approaching. Mountain biking, and writing too, is all about maintaining momentum.
No matter what obstacle we face, if we keep our eyes on where we want to go, our bodies—and our words—will instinctually follow.
5. It jumpstarts the creative flow. Whether you’re heading outside or staying in your living room, physical activity changes up our environment. And with new perspectives come new ideas. Scientific studies tell us that exercise increases adrenaline and other chemicals which then boost our ability to focus.
And then there’s this magical element that enables the subconscious mind to brew on our problem projects. Often while I’m riding, a random thought will surface and I’ll suddenly know how to start that article, or I’ll realize what’s missing in that awkward chapter. Because when our conscious thoughts are distracted, our subconscious has the space to create solutions.
You don’t have to take up mountain biking to reap these benefits. In fact, I don’t believe you need to make a radical lifestyle change at all. We just need a regular reminder to get out of our stuffy, cerebral attics and breathe fresh air. Take whatever activity you already enjoy—walking, running, that team sport that I’ve never played, frisbee golf… and build it into your weekly routine. Get up, get moving, and you’re writing will be better for it.
