Oxbow Creek really came through when talking about the fund raising! Our school raised $2,500 for Camp Odayin. The kids that helped out signed the bike. It was a fun way to make them a part of the ride. Thanks everybody!
I was on the snow ride last night with Bernie and it was wild!! What a great time. It was cold and a little scary. The elements are what makes cycling so great. That was a ride we will never forget. Bernie was the good teammate as he bridged the gap and paved the way to super prime. I love riding with these guys that are six inches taller than me!
Here is my next installment on bike love:
The Act- Popular Science came out in 1896 and said there was no reasonable explanation for why you should be able to balance on a bike. I think that is part of the magic of riding. By balancing your surface worries are taken away and you are left with yourself. There is a natural introspection. You start to discover what it is that you are about and what it is that you stand for. Riding is different than running or swimming in the sense that you can do it for hours and hours and the longer the endorphins are running and as you get into a rhythm you find things out about the world and yourself you didn’t know were there.
100- When people ride 100 miles for the first time there is a definite sense of accomplishment but there is also the realization that you have gone a long way and have seen many things. You can hear in peoples voices, they survived and not only did they survive they thrived. As hard as a century is you are left feeling cleansed and a bit light on your feet. There is a peace that surrounds the event and you accomplished more than you thought you could, you are already looking for your next goal.
Psychology- When you are riding you make many cycles through Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. If it is hilly, which it always is, your legs will start to ache. This is suffering and through suffering we see life clearer. We begin to understand just how beautiful life is and how our day to day concerns are not as overwhelming as we thought. We have many gears and options to solving problems. Riding in the rain or a headwind reminds us how good we have it and how many gifts we truly have. The ride is rough. The road is muddy. This is a metaphor for life and no matter how rough the road, it is still beautiful. We are living.
I have a picture of a rider covered in mud in the cycling classic Paris-Roubaix. It has been rainy and they are on dirt roads, all you can see are the whites of his eyes. It is all in his eyes, he is loving the moment and he is living. One look into his eyes and there is no question that he is living! There are people on the side of the road cheering, under umbrellas and totally clean... What is it they wish? That they were racing! They want it but they can’t get there and what is holding them back? Themselves. It is the danger of the video game or TV, it turns of our heads and gets us to believe that media is life and that we are living.
From Jay...
When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments. Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of man. And (unlike subsequent inventions for man's convenience) the more he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product of man's brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and of no harm or irritation to others. Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle. ~Elizabeth West, Hovel in the Hills
No comments:
Post a Comment