Uprooting oneself from the habits, patterns, and creature comforts of daily life and taking off on a grand outdoor adventure can be a very exciting prospect.
At the same time, the sense of uncertainty, instability, and looseness that comes as part of the package can sometimes feel a bit unnerving, especially for those who live an otherwise regimented or predictable life.
After a decade of partaking in unstructured, multi-month adventures, I've found that developing a daily practice for life on the road helps bring me a sense of groundedness, healthfulness, and direction in the midst of a lifestyle full of unknowns.
These practices remind me that, while I don't have control of everything that goes on in the world, I do have agency over my self care, and that's one of the most important things.
1. Sleep Routine
With the uncertainties of where and when you might end your adventure filled day, it isn't always possible to keep a consistent sleep routine, but I've noticed that if I set it as an aim, I am much more likely to achieve it than if I have no mindfulness around it.
I try to get to bed around the same time each night, hitting the airpad around 9:30pm with ambitions of falling asleep around 10pm so I can get a sound 8 hours before waking to daylight around 6am.
A few things that help me fall asleep easier are trying to have my last meal at least two hours before bed, giving myself an hour before shut eye without screen time, and taking at least ten minutes to do some slow breathing or mediate before laying down.
2. Meditation
Putting aside a bit of time each morning and at the end of every day for a mindfulness practice is one of the most powerful parts of my routine.
Five to ten minutes of closed eye meditation, or a short gratitude practice of listing five things I'm thankful for. Really tuning in to the feelings of enthusiasm, faith, and abundance that I am hoping to have throughout the day has been a really helpful grounding agent and sets a positive tone for the day.
Some mornings it's harder than others to get into this optimistic mindset, and other times I rush through it or skip it at the end of the day, but I always notice that I don't feel quite as settled without putting time aside for this short but important practice.
3. Hydration
I aim to drink at least 10 ounces of water as soon as I wake up, which is a challenge for me as I don't always feel thirsty first thing in the morning.
After packing up the airpads and tent, I drink another 10 ounces, as a way to start my day with a good baseline of hydration before getting on the bike.
Topping up my water and electrolyte stores throughout the day has a positive impact on my mood, muscles, and nervous system and tends to help me from overeating throughout the day too.
Quenching with some coconut water or adding a bit of maple syrup or a powered electrolyte mix to my water bottles helps make hydration fun and effective.
4. Bodyweight Movements & Balancing Workouts
Ali's partner, Mat, showing us some moves!
Riding my bike for 8 to 10 hours a day is great exercise, but it isn't the most balanced lifestyle for the body (or mind) since it's essentially the same movement throughout the day.
Adding in a few sets of push ups and core moves during the day — stopping at a playground for a few pull ups or putting on a bodyweight YouTube workout to follow along to when I have a rest day are great ways for me to maintain my current muscle mass and keep fighting gravity so I can stay healthy and strong in a well rounded way.
I particularly like Tiff x Dan's YouTube bodyweight workouts, and my partner Mat has even created some of his own that I like to follow along with when I'm needing a good challenge.
While it can seem like overkill to others to workout while on a big adventure, I find that it is essential for helping me stay fit, less prone to injury, and makes me a stronger cyclist.
5. Food Tracking
I used to think that because I was off on a big adventure I could just eat as much as I wanted without paying much mind to my intake.
As it turns out, for me, it is really easy to eat more calories than I am burning, even when I am burning a lot on the bike!
After a few weeks on the trail, my body becomes really efficient at cycling and burning, and I tend to need less food, but continue eating like I need it.
Nowadays, nutritional information suggests that the amount of food you are eating is just as (or maybe even more) important than what you are eating.
Energy toxicity, or eating more than you need, can be hard on the digestive system, nervous system, and gut microbiome — it taxes your whole system and overtime can lead to lots of health issues like obesity and diabetes.
There are a few different ways to go about tracking your intake, and you don't have to be super stringent, but I find using an app called Cronometer is really beneficial for keeping my fuel intake in check.
It takes a bit more work to input everything in the app, but I find it is worth it to help me maintain my energy and perform my best.
The app also helps me track my macro and micro nutrient intake so I can see where I need to bolster my nutrition.
Final Thoughts
These five daily habits are some of the most helpful and affordable (often free) actions that I take on the trail that have helped me substantially improve and maintain my health and well-being on long adventures and are a grounding agent for positive change.
What daily habits have you developed that help you for life on the trail? I'd love to hear about them in the comments below!
Ali Becker is a freelance writer and adventure storyteller who spends half the year backpacking and bikepacking and the other half sleeping in strangers' beds as a professional house sitter. She and her partner, Mathieu, share their ups and downs on their IG channel at @trip.longer and hope to inspire others to get outside, adventure in nature and find their own freedom. You can learn more about them here: triplonger.ca.
