It’s really not a fair fight. The bike triumphs on so many levels: physical invigoration, sun, wind, rain, chill, warmth, mobility, endorphins. The office, however, is a critical fact of life: income, eating, mortgage, intellectual rigor, retirement and college savings, quarterly earnings to the Street, innovation, technology, growth.
I’d be lying if I didn’t say that on the most challenging of workdays, the bike becomes a temporary salvation from the office. The opposite is rarely true. But sometimes the polar opposites converge almost perfectly. I don’t know how. It just happens. One (the office) helps fuel the other (passion for the bike). Ideas born on the bike make their way into work, and problems that need solving in the office melt away over miles pedaled. Do you ever experience these feelings?
So the big question: Why?
Maybe it’s because our first memories of bikes are tied to our youth, when two wheels provided freedom from the local neighborhood, a place where we spent a good amount of time doing chores, going through routines, dreaming of life beyond the usual — if only for awhile. As kids, we always knew those rides outside the comfort zone weren’t forever, and that we’d be back by dark into the arms of family and responsibility. As adults, we face the same kind of quid pro quo, except the stakes only get higher. I’d offer that it’s why the weekday bike rides we wedge in during this part of life only grow sweeter and become more cherished. They provide provide balance. And dammit, they’re worth it.
Related posts:
- The ride’s the thing: Why I bike This post originally appeared in the blog, 30 Days of Biking, on April 1. I’m popping it up on BC in its entirety for posterity’s sake. Also because I’m lazy today. Why do I ride? That’s like asking me why I breathe. Riding a bike is part of who I...
- Bike friends Bike friends. They’re invaluable. You may not always realize it. But without them, you’re a single rider, exposed to the elements and all the road can bring, both good and bad. Bike friends can make a ride at least twice as good as you thought possible — no matter the route...
- PDX: Bike Town Love bikes? Tunnels of green? Rolling hills, open roads and scenes that an artist couldn’t paint any better? Then Portland is your kind of town. In three quick days, I had a chance to sample just a little bit of what Portland offers. I wish I had more time. Portland...
- Truest bike love If you have not yet seen The Ride Journal, I suggest you check it out. The UK-based project is a labor of love that provides a glimpse in bicycles and the lifestyle that you won’t find on Velo News, Cycling News or Bicycling magazine. I had a chance to do...
- The hangover Because you have to reach a few lows to appreciate the highs, I’m experiencing a cycling hangover this week. No, I didn’t party or overdo the mileage during the Tour of California. The pain stems from this combo: not enough riding and too much man-made stress. That’s life for many...
