Einstein shared with us that time is flexible, and I read Stephen Hawking’s book, A Brief History of Time, which, of course, was hardly brief and took up way too much of my time with little reward.
While I still don’t understand much of the scientific arguments behind the theory, I can say without question I’m a believer.
Back in the day when I covered all sports, I’d watch a college basketball game end and have 10-15 minutes to file my story. If I was lucky.
I covered Loyola Marymount at the height of their glory in the Hank Gathers/Bo Kimble years. Yep, I was there for the 186-140 win over US International. Talk about a late Saturday night!
I’m pretty sure that if I sat down with a stopwatch to write I wouldn’t be able to type fast enough to get much done in that short time frame, much less create a coherent story.
Yet night after night, I would zone in and judging by the amount of content I could create, I’m convinced I slowed down time to get it done. No question.
I was reminded of this recently as certain bike rides seem to fly by in the blink of an eye while they also appear to slow to a crawl at the same time.
I’ll hit a point on a regular ride where historically I would dread how a stretch always appears to drag on and on and on. Then, poof! It comes and goes in a flash.
As Dr. Seuss said, “How did it get so late so soon?”
It’s not just one place. It seems to be happening more often in a variety of spots. It’s a bike riding equivalent to falling asleep watching TV. But instead of waking to see I missed the best part, I actually savor those glorious moments.
Instead of everything going black, the beauty of nature seems to erupt around me in full Wizard of Oz technicolor splendor, the greens of the forest, the blue of the sky, the white of the clouds and the flowers of the fields hit full intensity as if Mother Nature cranked up the Saturation control.
The cool thing is it isn’t unnerving. Instead it’s soothing and comforting. A feeling of peace. Serenity.
This week’s question, do you have time rushes/slo-mos on rides?
Yup! Just the same as not remembering part of the drive to work. Zoned out. Taking it in while it bounces off…