How to practice gratitude in cycling

Being grateful, expressing gratitude and thankfulness, has, in the past 20 years, been found to have enormous mental benefits. Research has found that people who are more grateful have higher levels of subjective well-being. They are happier, less depressed, less stressed and more satisfied with their lives and social relationships.

In the world of sports psychology, recent research has shown that athletes who have higher levels of gratitude also report greater social support, life and sport satisfaction, team cohesion, and lower levels of burnout. Integrating gratitude into your cycling routine could have wide-ranging benefits that go beyond just improved performance on the bike. Here are a few ways you can practice gratitude on your day-to-day rides.

1. Keep a journal

Journaling has been around for hundreds of years. Writing down the daily details of your life can be useful for memory, therapeutic and even fun. Starting a training journal can help you keep track of progress, patterns and other important aspects of your cycling plans. The journal is also a great place to jot down a few things you were grateful for during your ride, casually training you to work in the practice of keeping a gratitude journal. The notes don’t have to be long and complicated—they can be as simple as you were grateful that the sun was shining, that you didn’t get a flat or maybe you were grateful that you live near a particularly nice cycling road.

The things you list also don’t have to be directly cycling-related—they could be about the croissant at the cafe stop, the beautiful country road you were able to ride on, or that the song you had stuck in your head during the ride was actually one of your favourites.

If you’re less of a pen-and-paper type, you can always use your phone to keep notes, or even use the ‘Description’ section in your Strava rides. Not everyone is comfortable posting publically, but, if you are, most of your followers will likely enjoy reading one or two nice aspects of your ride.

2. Express gratitude

Did the friend you were riding with take an extra-long pull when they knew you were having a hard time? Maybe they picked a particularly nice route, or simply gave you the gift of a great conversation during your ride. It sounds very simple but putting in work to be mindful of when someone does something that you’re thankful for, and taking the effort to genuinely thank them, can benefit not only your interpersonal relationships but your own mental and emotional state as well.

3. Go for a gratitude ride

Often we ride with specific goals in mind: time, distance, a destination. While these are all good ways to motivate yourself, it’s healthy to occasionally take your bike out with no goal in mind—simply ride with the intention to enjoy biking and take in your surroundings.

This semi-meditative type of ride will have you observe things you see as you ride while absorbing and appreciating the colours, sounds and smells around you. Focusing on the feeling of pedalling and moving and the pleasant aspects of simply riding your bike can be a grounding and refreshing experience.