It's been over 5 years since I started taking piano lessons, and a little over 5 months since I started bicycling. One of these endeavors is more of a mental workout, while the other one is primarily a physical challenge... a perfect combination of hobbies!
I've been cycling for everything I can, getting groceries, running errands, enjoying recreational trails, and toughing out the occasional commute to work. Given I picked up this activity during the winter, out of necessity, I've been riding rain or shine, day or night, so far totaling about 400 miles as I slowly increase my endurance and speed.
Commuting to work is the most fun I've had in a long time, especially since it's along a beautiful river trail with wild life. It's also the most rewarding activity in terms of fitness benefits, given the distance and hills I need to conquer along the way. Unfortunately, commuting to work is not too practical given the time required, so I can only commit to doing it once or twice a month.
Cut to my struggles with piano lessons.
I've been feeling for a long time that my progress at piano has been glacial. I've been going week to week, month to month, with barely any progress on Alfred's AIO. My two kids and I take piano lessons at the same time. Previously, we were splitting 1 hour of lessons between us. More recently this year, we've been splitting 1.5 hours.
Unfortunately, my kids' lesson times always run over (with my approval), and so the time I've been getting for my own lesson is vanishingly small, and then I split that time among various things I don't care for (like scales) which compete with my actual priorities (like recital pieces), all while barely progressing over any one thing... let alone moving along in Alfred.
So I worked with my teacher on a new plan. My kids got the full 1.5 hour slot, while I signed up for a dedicated 30 minute slot of my own.
The cool part is that this has become a truly unique opportunity to combine both my hobbies, and I successfully trialed this over the weekend!
First, I drove my kids to their lesson, but instead of staying with them and wasting 1.5 hours like I normally would, I left my car at the teacher's place and biked back home. The ride home took me 15 minutes over 2+ miles. Then I got additional practice time at my home piano, recouping time that was previously wasted. Next, I biked back to my teacher's place, tackling some nice hills along the way, picked up the kids, and drove them home.
My own lesson was about two hours later, but for that, I biked both ways to and from my teacher's place.
All in all, that's 8+ miles of cycling, with hills, plus more piano practice and lesson time to boot. To be truly beneficial, this has to be a weekly habit that I can commit to, and with the exception of the rare snow day, I think it is totally achievable!
I'm so excited for this new plan! It feels like time well spent in so many ways and is very enjoyable to boot.
One hobby is feeding into the enjoyment of another, and it feels like a virtuous cycle of sorts. š
Bike Industry vs Piano Industry
A bit of segue here, but there are a lot of parallels between the bike industry and the piano industry. The bike industry is also dealing with the dominance of electric over acoustic. On the flip side, e-bikes are often more expensive, with acoustic bikes generally being more affordable, although the Steingraeber-equivalent of acoustic bikes, such as the ultralight carbon fiber speed demon road bike, can be punishingly expensive as well.
On the other hand, the bike industry appears to be much more vibrant than the piano industry. Innovations abound, with a lot of inspiration taken from the car industry ā an example being hydraulic disc brakes.
I was surprised to discover that there are bicycles with belt drives instead of chains, internal transmissions rather than the old clumsy derailleurs, and sometimes even CVT transmissions with infinite gears. There's been a lot of thought put into handlebar design. Even small things like the tire valves are being improved.
It's a fascinating world, but in sharp contrast, the piano industry feels completely stagnant to me.
Mechanical Contraptions & Shared Suffering
Finally, to my dismay, I've learned that bikes, just like pianos, require "tuning", and I absolutely despise the ordeal. š
