As a reminder: Flow states have triggers we can use to make it more likely we drop into flow when desired!  Links below to the ones we’ve already covered!

Novelty causes a rush of dopamine in the brain, both making us feel good and increasing focus and motivation.

It’s safe to say that novelty is my biggest flow trigger.  I love love love exploration – riding new trails, visiting new places, learning new things!  This summer, the biggest source of novelty for me has been flying, perhaps exemplified best by the 6-day trip I did in mid-September.

With a loose plan at best, a dear friend and I checked out new places from Mt. Spurr to Lake Chakachamna, to Lake Clark National Park, and eventually all the way south to the Valley of 10,000 Smokes.  The whole trip was packed with novelty – new places to land, new landscapes, and a lot of figuring it out as we went.  The Valley of 10,000 Smokes is nothing but novelty!  It’s hard to imagine a place that looks so much like the desert southwest could be in Alaska!

I also found lots of flow riding a few new bike trails, most notably the Iditarod National Historic Trail segments now possible with the new bridges!  One from Eddies to Center Ridge and back and the other from Ptarmigan Creek to Vagt Lake and back.  Long on my bucket list, I also carried up to Bonanza Mine above Kennecott and rode the 4000′ or so back to town – very exciting!  It’s so fun to check out new places on the bike, and to have an ever-increasing trail network!