[Photo via fyxomatosis]
Why I love cycling
A few weeks ago, I was pedalling my Batavus BUB east on a trail toward the Beaches. Just before the trail swings south toward the boardwalk, there’s a dip. I was doing, oh, what felt like a million kph (actually probably just 30 or so), absolutely attacking this chicane-like “dip.”
Earlier, I’d been driving the Honda CR-Z on an autocross, which was fun. But as I looked up at the outside of the trail I was rapidly approaching, the handlebars dropping away from my body, my weight shifting forward, legs still pumping furiously…I was genuinely thrilled. I almost crashed, but it was exhilarating.
“Whoa,” I said aloud. “That was more fun than the Honda.”
Of course, you can do insane speeds in a car, boat, whatever—and still feel alive. You can still feel thrilled. My bicycle is certainly not fast by any stretch of the imagination, but there’s a spectacular sense of pleasure from achieving speed while under your own power. (And, in my case, with the help of gravity…)
Humans weren’t really designed to go quickly. We got clever enough to strap wings to our arms (planes) and motors to our bodies (cars.) Going really really fast and pulling Gs is fun in just about any context (except, maybe, if you’ve just been gored by a bull.) I’ve been fast on the water, on land…haven’t skydived yet but you get the picture.
I’ve been finding cycling an exciting and rewarding alternative to both the car and public transit. It’s fun. It’s cheap. You get fit.
The other cool thing is that if you can take trails all the way to work (8.5 kms one way) you’re sharing the space with other like-minded people. Er…skinny people. People that are generally paying attention to what they’re doing, otherwise they’d crash.
I’m sure the love affair will end eventually. Or maybe I’m scared it won’t…I used to think that girls looked great driving motorcycles (and they do!) but now there’s nothing like the sight of a fit woman on a bicycle.
Ok, I’m a man. Maybe I love cycling because the scenery is better (it doesn’t hurt that the trail runs right beside the beach volleyball courts…) Maybe I feel better and better the more weight I lose, or that I have a misplaced sense of environmental superiority.
What I really love, though, is the wind in my hair. I love moving under my own power. I loved, on the weekend, spending a few hours with an SOS pad and my dad’s old bike, shining it up. I can’t wait to drop some parts onto it, fix it up, work with my hands a bit…
I still adore some cars. But I don’t adore crap drivers, crap roads, contraction delays, crazy police enforcement, environmental concerns…and the list goes on.
At this point in my life, I like it things to be simple. I enjoy being in control of my own destiny while on the move. I enjoy flying practically under the radar. I enjoy the fact 30 feels like 150. I like moving under my own steam. I like being exposed to the elements. I like side streets, alleyways, shortcuts…
You get the idea. Coming from someone whose first word was “car,” it’s a big deal.
![[Photo via fyxomatosis]
Why I love cycling
A few weeks ago, I was pedalling my Batavus BUB east on a trail toward the Beaches. Just before the trail swings south toward the boardwalk, there’s a dip. I was doing, oh, what felt like a million kph (actually probably just 30 or so), absolutely attacking this chicane-like “dip.”
Earlier, I’d been driving the Honda CR-Z on an autocross, which was fun. But as I looked up at the outside of the trail I was rapidly approaching, the handlebars dropping away from my body, my weight shifting forward, legs still pumping furiously…I was genuinely thrilled. I almost crashed, but it was exhilarating.
“Whoa,” I said aloud. “That was more fun than the Honda.”
Of course, you can do insane speeds in a car, boat, whatever—and still feel alive. You can still feel thrilled. My bicycle is certainly not fast by any stretch of the imagination, but there’s a spectacular sense of pleasure from achieving speed while under your own power. (And, in my case, with the help of gravity…)
Humans weren’t really designed to go quickly. We got clever enough to strap wings to our arms (planes) and motors to our bodies (cars.) Going really really fast and pulling Gs is fun in just about any context (except, maybe, if you’ve just been gored by a bull.) I’ve been fast on the water, on land…haven’t skydived yet but you get the picture.
I’ve been finding cycling an exciting and rewarding alternative to both the car and public transit. It’s fun. It’s cheap. You get fit.
The other cool thing is that if you can take trails all the way to work (8.5 kms one way) you’re sharing the space with other like-minded people. Er…skinny people. People that are generally paying attention to what they’re doing, otherwise they’d crash.
I’m sure the love affair will end eventually. Or maybe I’m scared it won’t…I used to think that girls looked great driving motorcycles (and they do!) but now there’s nothing like the sight of a fit woman on a bicycle.
Ok, I’m a man. Maybe I love cycling because the scenery is better (it doesn’t hurt that the trail runs right beside the beach volleyball courts…) Maybe I feel better and better the more weight I lose, or that I have a misplaced sense of environmental superiority.
What I really love, though, is the wind in my hair. I love moving under my own power. I loved, on the weekend, spending a few hours with an SOS pad and my dad’s old bike, shining it up. I can’t wait to drop some parts onto it, fix it up, work with my hands a bit…
I still adore some cars. But I don’t adore crap drivers, crap roads, contraction delays, crazy police enforcement, environmental concerns…and the list goes on.
At this point in my life, I like it things to be simple. I enjoy being in control of my own destiny while on the move. I enjoy flying practically under the radar. I enjoy the fact 30 feels like 150. I like moving under my own steam. I like being exposed to the elements. I like side streets, alleyways, shortcuts…
You get the idea. Coming from someone whose first word was “car,” it’s a big deal.](http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l67328tCkc1qz9bj1o1_r2_500.jpg)
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