Fields on Wheels Blog.
- Giant Fanboy.
- 18 hours ago
- 2 min read
BIRTHDAY BLOG - WHY DO I RIDE A BIKE?
Over the weekend, I attempted to articulate why I ride a bike to someone who doesn’t ride …….
There is no doubt that when you first start it’s bloody hard. Every outing is an endurance, amplified when you see others around you apparently breezing it!
If you can make it past the first 6 weeks or so, it’s still bloody hard! But, with the right support and encouragement, which I was lucky to have from the Club, the gasping for every breath and burning legs starts to feel less painful as your bike fitness improves. Or maybe you just get used to it?
But then, the magic happens. Something changes; you have a choice.
You can still ride for the burn, but you can also take it a little easier and enjoy the sense and achievement of what your body has become capable of in a relatively short time. Or, you can give up.
Sadly, many do but if you choose to keep going, as you get fitter and ride further (not necessarily faster), a new world of opportunity opens up. Once established, the relationship between you and your bike is unique. We even give them names! Riding when you’re sad is uplifting, when you’re happy, it’s joyful.
In the last two years my bike has carried me safely to places and coffee houses that I wouldn’t haven seen or known were there if I didn’t ride a bike and I’ve forged long lasting friendships along the way.
Whether you ride fast or slow, 10 miles or hundreds of miles, with others or solo it is impossible to describe the joy of a cleared head, the hypnotic state of listening to the rhythmic rotation of the pedals, the soothing sound of tyres rolling along a smooth road and the occasional click of a changing gear. To understand, you have to experience it for yourself.
Feeling physically strong, mentally focused and alert, powered along entirely by your own effort is indescribable and for me, it all started with a Summer Wednesday evening newbies club ride on a hybrid bike that was likely no more than 10 or 12 miles.
Sometimes, it’s still bloody hard, for all kinds of reasons but if you are inspired even a tiny bit to come back to cycling or are curious to try out this great sport, simply start from where you are, ride the road in front of you and never give up!
All reactions:
Comments