Just Going for a Ride

Yesterday, I set out with a plan. We were headed to Thong Sala. The main town by the pier. Not a short bike ride away. Of course, that meant I felt obliged to really maximise my time. Map out the most efficient route. Think of every possible item we might need for the rest of our stay and secure it now, whilst we’re in town. Scarcity!

Naturally, we left a little later than anticipated. Overlooked a few things. Cracks appeared quickly in my watertight plan. After riding all that way, we suddenly rethought whether we should bring back so many groceries. We realised that we could probably give the market a miss this week.

Basically, the reasons for our bike ride fell through. I felt frustrated, like my efforts had been put to waste. I hadn’t cashed in on the opportunity fully.

But it didn’t matter! Rather than wandering around trying to justify around travels, we hopped back up on our bikes and left, albeit reluctantly. Because we did, we had an incredible ride home, with clear roads, clear skies, and still plenty of daylight. It meant we could be home in time to catch an incredible beach-side sunset from in the water. Everything worked out perfectly, just not to plan.

Most of all though, I realised that the bike ride itself was enough of a reason to head to Thong Sala. I could’ve brought nothing back with me, but the adventure, exercise, and joy that comes along with riding a bike from Point A to Point B, affording yourself plenty of time to take it slow and look out over the ocean, would still be more than worth my while.

Often, the journey is more than enough reason to set out in the first place. If I’d told myself I was just going for a ride, then I would never have felt disheartened over not using by time effectively. Bikes are incredibly fun. I shouldn’t even need a reason to ride in the first place.