Inspiration can come from anywhere. It’s all about giving your mind the freedom to wander and create. But sometimes it can be a little tough to dream up new ideas while sitting at the same old desk or sitting in the same old chair. That’s why many people find movement helps shake those new ideas free. Wordsworth, for example, famously found inspiration on some very long walks. Others, however, find it on the wheels of a bike.
Nick Perri is one such person. A Philadelphia-based singer and song-writer, Perri doesn’t just enjoy riding his bike – he uses it as a way to tap into his creativity and find inspiration.
“Sometimes I [ride through] this old beautiful cemetery and contemplate life, love, and adventure.” Photos by Derek Brad photography
For Perri, bikes have always been associated with discovery. As a kid, they were a way to literally get out and explore the world. Now as an adult, that sense of discovery has moved inward as a search for peace and creative expression.
“Riding helps calm my mind,” Perri writes, “It brings me presence and tranquility. I’ve spent many hours riding alone and have found much inspiration. I’ve been out riding, and song ideas will flood my mind and I will race home to complete them. I’ve had ideas about how to do this or that in my life - puzzles that were mentally unlocked - when I calm those compulsive thoughts and let my subconscious run free.”
Perri received his first Schwinn bike only recently as a gift from his wife. After binge-watching the Netflix hit Stranger Things, which features an abundance of 80’s nostalgia and bicycle-based adventure, she surprised him with a classic style Sting-Ray for his birthday (which is an excellent gift at any age if you ask us).
“And there it was again…Freedom…Joy…a connection to my past and future all at once.”
Nick Perri
As an homage to his two-wheeled source of inspiration, Perri features his Sting-Ray on the front of his latest t-shirt, “I Want to Be Free.” We couldn’t have put it any better ourselves.
