When I first started cycling seven years ago, I thought I'd use the time to think: to plan an exam, to work on ideas, to draft a student recommendation. What I experienced was the excess of sensory stimuli that you describe in #2: what bird makes that song? when will that car pass? this hill seems easier today! etc. and it was the perfect activity for my "monkey mind," but not for focused, sequential thinking. That frustrated me for a few months until I realized it was a feature, not a bug. Now cycling is a kind of meditation practice, allowing my mind to flow to all sorts of things and in the process, free itself from whatever most weighed it down. Seven years and 28K miles later, that's all I ask of it (mentally, at least).

Thanks for such an engaging piece.