A bike is definitely more than just a bike.  This week, I realized once again that many times it also acts like a “Destressinator 3000-inator”.

A few times in the past I have blogged about how being on the bike is often my only escape from the insanely busy and fast paced life I’ve been living lately…and here I go again.  I hadn’t really thought too much about it for a while, and maybe it was because the stress level had decreased a bit.  But it surfaced again.

It all started last week when I read a great post by my #bikeschool buddy, Mike Osborne (@egggman).  Like me, he also gets solitude and recharge from the bike, and his post How Do You Destress Over Lunch? totally made me feel better just by reading it.  Man, I wish I could have been there with him that day as he jumped hills and rode the see-saw like a school kid.  When you’re riding a bike like that, there is no way you can feel any stress.

Yesterday I felt my stress level shoot up higher than it has been lately.  When it gets that high, I find it hard to focus on getting out for a ride.  But I knew I had to get out there.  Do you want to know what’s super cool?  Within 8 minutes of being out there, I was able to clear my thoughts and the issues at the root of my stress were totally sorted out.  At that moment, I claimed my bike to be the “Destressinator 3000″….yeah I think I’m watching too many Phineas and Ferb episodes.

Thanks @egggman, and thanks to my bike for being the best stress reliever out there.