• Integrate Cycling into Your Life		• Develop a Personal Riding Style
• Honestly Evaluate the Detrimental      Aspects of Cycling		• Strengthen and Bring into Balance      All Elements of Human Nature
• Focus on the Process of Riding		• Make Riding Fun
• Use Comfort as an Indicator of      Efficient and Healthful Form		• Cultivate a Conscious Awareness
		• Let Go of Your Old Ways

What role does cycling play in your life now? These nine steps will expand your expectations and your satisfaction from cycling.

	The unfortunate Timothy McTight is a high-mileage cyclist who has not committed himself to a daily stretching practice or to developing good riding form. Imbalanced and tight muscles limit his health and riding performance.

1. Integrate cycling into your life. By incorporating cycling into your daily routine, you will reap benefits that will improve your life skills and attitudes.

2. Honestly evaluate the detrimental aspects of cycling and develop a cycling-specific conditioning routine to counter them.

3. Focus on the process of riding and direct your attention inward.

4. Use comfort as an indicator of efficient and healthful form while riding and conditioning.

5. Develop a personal riding style that serves your current life needs.

6. Make riding fun so you can maintain a passion for a healthful fitness routine the rest of your life.

7. Strengthen and bring into balance all elements of human nature: physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual.

8. Cultivate a conscious awareness to enable you to assess your needs, learn new skills, and fully appreciate your experiences.

9. Let go of your old ways so you are free to experiment and to define a new direction.

These are essential steps for learning and improving your skills and attitudes. I hope the technical understanding of how to use your body to optimize your riding experience will foster a zeal for knowledge, a culture of self-nurture, and the desire to initiate change — and that it will result in a new sense of bliss.

What do I mean by “bliss?” I draw on Eastern traditions to understand bliss. Bliss is an enduring form of contentment derived from being fully present and practicing simplicity, moderation, self-nurture, reflection, and conscious breathing. Bliss can be sustained by avoiding complexity; excesses; self-abuse; high-pressure scheduling; a scattered, driven mind; and striving to surpass friends in demonstrations of wealth, image, physical prowess, and risk taking.