E131- Community and the Bike Tour
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Speaker: Hello.
Hello, my creative friend. Welcome back to another episode of Create Today. I'm Beth Buffington, and I just got home from a biking vacation. Yes, biking. I literally just unpacked the bike and the bags from four days of riding 153 miles of the Great Allegheny Passage in Pennsylvania.
Yeah. With me on this trip was my husband and my bike buddy, Tom, and we rode the whole ride together on our tandem bike. Yes, [00:01:00] a tandem bike. And I have to tell you that I am still riding high, not from just tired legs and taking tons of photos and kind of having a sunburned nose, although that's real, too.
I mean riding high from the outdoor experience that happened not only with my biking muscles and a tired tush, because that's real as well, but from a high that happens in your heart, mind, body, and soul when you go on an adventure like this. So today we're going to talk about community and why getting out of your comfort zone and finding people who share a common niche interest, like biking, is so good for your happiness, and how this can multiply and ratchet up your confidence and shower you with more than just a fun vacation.[00:02:00]
I'm talking about an experience that starts with people that you meet on day one who are complete strangers, and how four days later you're exchanging phone numbers and you're saying, "Hey, if you're ever in my area, my friend, stop by." So today's episode is part travel story,
part huge thank you letter to the Wilderness Voyagers who organized this bike trip through the Great Allegheny Passage, and w- today we're also going to be looking into the science to understand why experiences like what I just had on my bike tour, about getting away and doing something physical with your body and being surrounded by people who share a similar passion, how this is actually creative.
Trust me, stick with me. Whether or not you're someone who even wants to get on a bike, this episode is for you. And honestly, it is one of the most [00:03:00] important things you can do- not only for your physical health, but also for your mental health
So let's set the scene. Now, Tom and I drove from the Chicago area to Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania, and started our bike tour on the trail that's called the Great Allegheny Passage, People also call it the GAP Trail. It's a rail trail that runs through Pennsylvania and into Maryland,
connecting to the C&O Canal Towpath towards Washington, DC. like I said, this is a rail trail. It used to be an actual railroad, which means that the elevation change is gradual, and most of the path is wooded and cuts through old steel and coal towns that actually built this country.
Now bikers also experience lots of water from area rivers. The trail follows the Castleman River, the Youghiogheny, I think I said that right, and the [00:04:00] Monongahela River, weaving through river valleys the whole way. It's so pretty.
Now Tom and I biked with Wilderness Voyagers. It's a bike tour company that's been running trips on this trail, on the GAP Trail, for decades, and honestly, they know this trail like the back of their hand. Our guides were Chuck Morris and Montana Miller, and from day one, you could tell that these weren't just people driving a support van.
These were people who were proud of the land, the history, the stories, and they loved sharing all of this with the people who came on the tour. But before I even get to the riding part of my story, I need to tell you about the storm. The night before our tour started, a brutal storm rolled through the entire region, and several tornadoes were reported.
And here's the miracle. The first day of our bike tour, we woke up [00:05:00] to a dry day, a little hazy at first, but the day turned gorgeous, really pretty skies, and we actually had sunshine
But as we started riding, we saw the evidence of the storm the day before. We saw it everywhere. There were downed trees along the trail, and some of them were really massive trees that were snapped clean in two by the force of the wind. And yet, the trail was clear. In some sections, volunteers had been out shortly after the storm with chainsaws, clearing trees and limbs and debris so that the trail could be back open for people like us who were biking.
And here's the part that really gets me. Some of these volunteers were doing this work while their own homes didn't have power. That's the kind of pride that I'm talking about. These aren't paid trail crews showing up on a schedule. These were volunteers who love this trail so [00:06:00] much that hours after a tornado, they were out clearing the way for strangers to enjoy.
Thank you so much, GAP Trail, for the beauty and the safety you provided us.
we biked four days and 153 miles. And each day held treasures. We biked through the City of Pittsburgh, under expressways, and passed beautiful fountains and buildings, passed the, the stadiums where the Steelers and the Pirates play.
Other days we rode through deep green canopies of trees with rivers rushing along aside us. We rolled through small towns where volunteers waited to wave to us as we stopped to drink water or picnic. We rode through old train tunnels that were as dark as night, and some so long that you couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel.
And we crossed massive trestle bridges over valleys that just would suddenly open up in front of you. [00:07:00] It was beautiful
Now, before we go any farther, I want to tell you a quick word about how Tom and I experienced all of this, because as I mentioned, we rode the entire trip on our tandem bike. Now, if you've never ridden on a tandem, here's how it works.
Tandem is a bike for two riders, right? So you ride in sequence. You pedal together, you stop together, you shift gears together, you coast together. There's no going off on your own pace. There's no coasting if your partner isn't ready to coast. You must find a pace that balances the efforts of each person and what they're capable of doing.
So you're moving in sync as one unit. and so Tom rides in the front, and he's handling all the steering and the stopping, and I ride in the back, pedaling my little heart out. And I, while Tom is looking for things that are on the [00:08:00] trail, I get to look at things, at the sky, the trees, the rivers, all the beauty that's rolling by.
I don't have to steer around things in the trail. I get to watch the world, and it's the perfect place for me to be, to soak in all the creativity that I see and I feel, and I love that.
Now we've been biking on our cyan blue tandem for over 20 years, and we've ridden in Colorado, in North Carolina, in Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, and now Pennsylvania, and a snippet of Maryland.
Okay, now let me get back to the GAP Trail and the bike tour that we were on with Wilderness Voyagers. The scenery and the towns were only half of the treasures that we experienced. The other half, and maybe the bigger half, were the people that [00:09:00] Tom and I rode with. When we arrived Sunday morning for our tour, we didn't know a single person on the trip, but by day two, we had inside jokes and some of us had nicknames.
And by day three, we were sharing photos of families and pets. By day four, when we rolled into that final town when we had to say goodbye, there were misty tears and hugs and sad faces, and it wasn't just from our sore legs. It was because we were really sad to say goodbye, and that is what I really want to dig into today because what happened on this trip happens to everyone who decides to go on a face-to-face retreat or a workshop, a tour, or any creative gathering of any type where people actually get together [00:10:00] face to face.
And here's the real science behind why good things happen when we're together and why it happens so fast. So let's talk about this. How does a group of strangers become a tight little community in just a few days? And additionally, why does an experience like riding a tandem deepen the bond that already is decades strong?
And the answer comes from research that shows that shared novel experiences compress time. Let me explain. There's a well-known body of research from a psychologist, Arthur Aron, and one of the core findings from his work is that closeness between people isn't really about time spent. It's about the quality and the intensity of that shared experience.
So [00:11:00] when you go through something new that is slightly challenging and you are a little vulnerable, together your brain files that relationship differently than it would a casual acquaintance. So you bond at a depth that would normally take months if you were just meeting for coffee.
So think about it. On this trip, most of us were a little nervous about the distance we needed to bike each day. I know I was, and I openly admitted my concern to several other riders, and they confessed to me the same feeling of this is reaching past my comfort zone. This trip was going to be a challenge to each of us, as well as an adventure.
We experienced this together. We were tired together, we were challenged together, we were sweaty together, hungry together, and we were awed by the scenery together. And in the [00:12:00] evenings, we celebrated our achievements from the day together. And that's the recipe
Now here's something else that fascinates me. Synchronized movement actually bonds people biologically, And there's actual research on this called synchrony.
When people move in rhythm together, whether that's dancing or rowing or, yes, cycling in a group, it increases oxytocin, which is the hormone associated with trust and bonding.
So pedaling alongside someone, falling into that same rhythm, even just breathing hard at the same time, your nervous systems are quite literally syncing up with each other. And that's not just a, a nice feeling to have, you know, misery loves company.
That's [00:13:00] biology creating connection. And if you want to talk about synchrony, nothing illustrates this quite like a tandem bike. So on our bike, Tom and I literally cannot pedal out of sync. The bike won't let us. We pedal, we coast, we stop together. We lean into turns together.
There's a rhythm that you fall into on the tandem that's, uh, almost meditative. And now here, here's a little more science to show you the positive effects that face-to-face experiences provide us when we are together in community. Let's talk about the word awe. I mean A-W-E, awe, and how awe shrinks ego and opens our hearts when we experience these challenges together inside a group.
Studies out of UC Berkeley spent years [00:14:00] researching awe, So for an example, the feeling that we all felt on the tour as we biked up to a massive trestle bridge, or we rode through a tunnel that was chiseled into the hillside, that was kind of scary on the inside, and we felt excitement as we passed into the light at the end of the tunnel.
Well, research shows that when you experience, um, events or moments like this together, that awe makes people more generous, more cooperative, and more connected to each other. It literally makes your sense of self feel smaller and your sense of we feel bigger. So when we were biking the GAP Trail and we heard someone in the group gasp, "Oh my gosh, look at that," it wasn't just a pretty view that we were sharing.
It was a moment of awe that quietly made everyone [00:15:00] in our group more bonded towards each other. Now, our whole trip was just one wave of awe after another, and I think it's part of the reason why the bonds we formed with each other, with the group, felt so strong so fast. Okay, here's a little more science about building community in a group that I want to share with you.
Novelty wakes up your brain's reward system. So let me explain this. When you break out of your daily routine, you know that autopilot that you just fall into robotically, and you then experience on a vacation, something you've never seen, new towns, new foods, new faces, new trails, new adventures.
Your brain's dopamine system gets reactivated in a way that a daily routine [00:16:00] just doesn't trigger anymore. And this is why trips, when you go on vacation, and you have challenges and adventures like our bike tour, this is why they make you feel so alive. You're not just on vacation, you're refueling a part of your brain that's been running on fumes.
and here's a little more science for you. Let's talk about the phenomenon of third places, and how this actually matters so much to your mental health. So there's a concept from sociologist Ray Oldenburg called third places, and these are spots that aren't home, that's space one, and aren't work, that's space two, but where community happens, and that's the third space.
And this third space could be as simple as a coffee shop that you [00:17:00] go to frequently or gyms, churches, clubs, that kind of thing, or as unique as our bike tour. Now, that was a moving third place. So for four days, our bike tour that Tom and I were part of, that became our community, our third space. And in this space, there were no roles, we had no job titles except our amazing guides, Chuck and Montana.
Yay, shout out to you guys. But during our tour, our group, we shared our common interest of biking, and we shared the experience of being on the GAP Trail and conquering the miles that we needed to travel. We conquered that together. Now, combine all these things we've just talked about, synchrony, novelty, awe, vulnerability, shared spaces, and shared identity, and you have the [00:18:00] exact recipe for why our group of strangers could become friends for life in 96 hours.
And also how a couple on a tandem pedaling in sync mile after mile after mile can come home feeling closer to each other than ever. Now, if you're wondering, um, "Beth, why are you talking about biking on a podcast about creativity?" Explain yourself, 'cause I have a feeling a lot of people might be thinking, "I don't think biking is creative, Beth."
But my friend, in my world, biking is creative, and let me explain why. Creativity isn't just about painting or writing or making something with your hands. At its core, creativity is about engagement, about solving problems, and being present and awake and alert [00:19:00] in your world. It's about doing something that soothes your heart, your mind, your body, and your soul.
And creativity demands your attention, your effort fully in the present moment. And when you're on your bike riding a trail like the GAP, you're reading the terrain. You're pacing yourself. You're noticing the details, the smell of the river and the trees, the sound of gravel underneath your tires, the way light filters through the trees.
And my friend, you are creating something when you're doing this. You're making an experience. You're creating memories and stories that you are going to tell again and again. And that, my friend, is creativity, pure and simple. I genuinely believe that biking, skiing, [00:20:00] hiking, canoeing, exploring something new is a creative hobby in the same family as painting or cooking, gardening, writing, music, crafting, sculpting, knitting.
But here, imagine that your canvas is a trail or a river, and the medium is your own body and your attention in the world. So like any creative pursuit, it's better when you do it with people who share the same passion. I mean, that just elevates the excitement. So my my suggestion, my advice to you today, my friend, find your people.
Get involved in a community. Do it as soon as you can. People, that's the magic ingredient. It's what can help [00:21:00] you take your creative spark and burst it into flame, into a flame that will burn steady. Now, this is where our bike tour and its community and being creative all ties together.
So I want to explain this a little bit better. And, you know, inside the Create Today podcast, we talk a lot about my going four words with your creativity framework. And the four words are revive, realize, refine, and release. Today I want to specifically focus on the first two phases, revive and realize, and explain how they are so interconnected with the experience I had with Wilderness Voyagers and our bike tour.
So let's look at that first word, and that word is revive. And the word revive, that's all about rest, real rest. And I'm not talking about the kind of sitting on your couch, scrolling on your [00:22:00] phone, not moving, isn't that giving me rest kind of rest. But the kind of rest that actually is refueling exhaustion from the chaos of our world.
And here's the thing, a trip like this looks, and it might sound tiring. I mean 153 miles of biking. What? But I came home more rested and more clear in my mind and my soul than I have felt in months. Why? Because rest, my friend, it isn't the absence of activity. It is the absence of the stress and obligation that accompanies the chaos in your daily life.
So for four days, my only job was to ride my bike, eat good food, and talk to interesting people. No emails, no emptying the dishwasher, no house chores, no decisions about dinner, because [00:23:00] Wilderness Voyagers handled all of that. We had amazing accommodations and really comfortable beds, hot showers, and just really incredible food, by the way.
It was amazing. Again, shout out to Montana and Chuck for all their help in the details and their organization. So my nervous system got to downshift in a way that it almost never gets to do at home. Even though my muscles were completely pooped by the end of the day, I found rest. Revive, my friend, is a way of stepping away from stress and overwhelm so that your body and your brain can actually settle down Calm down, find some peace, and rest.
And that is what refuels exhaustion. And [00:24:00] now let's look at the second word in the Going Forwards framework, and that word is realize. Realize is about seeking clarity in your life, waking up from autopilot. You know autopilot is that deep robotic groove that your daily routines just suck you into. So this bike tour allowed me to yank myself out of autopilot to become truly aware of my surroundings.
I had the luxury of being truly present in each moment, and actually see the goodness in the world around me, the goodness in my life, in my relationships, in the friendships I was making. And this clarity, I tell you what, it sparked a bunch of new ideas for me to use to create today. When you're sitting around a table at the end of a day, um, after you've ridden 40-some miles, and you're [00:25:00] swapping stories with people from other parts of the country that you just met a few days ago, it's almost impossible not to realize new perspectives, understand new ideas, and feel gratitude for the life that you're living,
You realize how much goodness is out there in the world, and you understand how resilient and kind people are. Sometimes you need an experience like this to realize and appreciate the goodness you have around you today in your life right now. When your body and your mind are free to realize, ideas surface that have been buried under the noise of daily life.
So this trip wasn't just a vacation for me, it was a revelation of the words revive and realize back to back and day after day. What a gift, [00:26:00] what a treasure. And I would be completely remiss if I didn't give another shout-out to our amazing and super prepared tour guides on our bike tour with Wilderness Voyagers.
Chuck Morris and Montana Miller were our guides. These were two incredibly experienced bikers who have spent years helping and guiding strangers who become friends on the GAP Trail and on other bike trails across the nation. And I tell you what, the quiet support, the organization, the mindfulness to the details, and just the friendly helpfulness of both Chuck and Montana, this is a testament to the Wilderness Voyagers and how they are so in tune with what people need when they come on these trips.
if you're curious to know more about my trip and about Wilderness Voyagers, check the show notes for some more [00:27:00] information. This brings me to something that I want to offer to you, because everything I've just described, that feeling of community, of shared passion, of people gathering together for support and growth, well, my friends, that is exactly the kind of creative support that I provide inside Create Today.
If this episode piqued your interest for finding your own creative community, to find that feeling of connection, that spark of creativity, that sense of being part of something bigger- I want you to know that you don't have to wait for your next big trip to find it. The Create Today Membership is here for creatives who are looking to grow their business, to build their creative confidence, and to find more happiness in their own lives by using creativity as a vital [00:28:00] tool.
And for those of you thinking more about your health and your wellbeing, I want to tell you about Sylva Sessions, which I co-host with my friend Lisa Murphy.
We've built Sylva Sessions around what we call the three Cs: core care, which is using movement and nutrition to bring peace and health into your life; creative care, which is using creativity as a vital tool to help you think through your challenges and create positivity in your life, and we do this through community care, which is, you know, that phenomenon of people gathering together, supporting and encouraging, each other to find happiness and health together.
So you don't need to bike 153 miles to experience this, but it's true that community is something that all people need, and that is what Sylva Sessions and the Create Today Membership are here to provide. Links for [00:29:00] both of these incredible memberships and community experiences are in the show notes.
I'd love to have you come and join me so that we can create today together Now, my takeaway for you this week is that you find your GAP trail, whatever, however that looks for you. Biking, cooking, painting, hiking, knitting, skiing, rowing, sculpture, pottery, whatever your creative passion is, find the people who share that same interest, and go and do this with them.
And if you've got a partner who shares that passion, even better. Get on your tandem, literally or figuratively, and really it'll strengthen your relationship. My friend, I want you to step off autopilot. Let yourself revive your [00:30:00] energy, refuel that exhaustion, and let yourself realize and understand the clarity of what it feels like to be awake in your world and actually
wake up to the clarity and the goodness that you have with you right now, today. I want you to find your community so, my friend, you can stay creative
