Teamwork and Mindfulness while Biking the Shenandoah National Park, Skyline Drive

Back from my annual biking adventure with my ‘Biking Chick’ friends. The nine of us went to the Shenandoah Mts. in Virginia this year, rented a beautiful house and rode a lot of hills. There were lots of lessons that always present themselves during this trips. The dynamics and mixture of personalities and styles all come together around something we love, biking.

As an individual sport, biking is a great opportunity to be outdoors soaking up nature and ‘being in the present.’ I find that when I am riding, nothing really matters except paying attention to the riding and the scenery that surrounds you…oh and the roads and traffic, of course! Biking with a group presents an additional team dynamic and support while sharing the experience with others.

The ride on Shenandoah National Park on Skyline Drive was really special, biking on the ribbon-path road is a mixture of challenge and awe for the vistas that await an ascent! Riding with a group provides support and comradery and also challenge to keep up the pace and share the views and the challenges with others.

Seeing a bear and her four cubs was a highlight of the trip, as two of the cubs climbed a nearby tree and the other two listened to mama bear and followed her lead across the road. I found that practicing my own mindfulness and focused breathing gave me the perseverance to climb the hills and keep pace, never getting off my bike throughout the rides! It was a good reminder to me in the work that I do with others around that persistence, discipline and ‘being present.’

We cooked meals together and played ‘Bananagrams,’ a tile word game similar to Scrabble where teamwork and collaboration were evident. We often think about teamwork in the work sense, but I was noticing how important that skill is in everyday life. And it was evident that we were ‘a high impact team’ in all aspects of our activities, something we all enjoyed and contributed to on the bikes, in the kitchen, and in our team game.

So, when you think about your family relationships and friendships pay attention to the joy that being a well-oiled team brings, along with differences and points of view…and the true ‘glue’ that holds the team together…biking…cooking…Bananagrams perhaps? And practice those team/leadership skills outside of the work environment.

There are lots of opportunities to be more mindful and cognizant of some great learnings and the ability to practice those teamwork and leadership skills outside of our working relationships.