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 of us on a work week before a long holiday weekend. People cramming more into fewer days. Trying to bracket vacation time on both sides of the coming Saturday, Sunday and Monday. It’s an American tradition. Auto-reply, out-of-office email escape. Chaotic, head-pounding bliss.
Thankfully, luckily, mercifully, time spent on the bike is free of such hassles. Aboard a bike, the miles and kilometers all measure the same, despite our form or lack thereof. Count it. The math makes sense. No conference calls or meetings. The only PowerPoint is you, turning calories into power while pointing your bike along its route or sharing scenery via your index finger with a ride buddy. That’s right. Bill Gates and his suite of software is unwelcome. Period. What about Steve Jobs, you ask? All right. His technology can come along only for photos and tweets. Simplicity is job one, as well as its own reward. A good long day in the saddle can’t be matched by any holiday off, new Aeron chair or fleeting office perk. Those are most appreciated by people who will never understand why anyone would consider as fun, riding in a single day 100 miles, 200 miles, or in two days 508 miles (at Death Valley, no less).
So party on. Memorial Day weekend signals the unofficial start of summer. Monday off! The Indy 500! AAA Auto Club projecting gas prices and miles driven. To me, though, the coming weekend signals much more: the official start of rides well past 8:00 p.m., full-zip jerseys fluttering open on the hottest mountain climbs and the promise of new roads with good friends. Here’s to holidays on two wheels, powered by humans. Where the only numbers that matter are how many times you smile or laugh over the course of a ride. Where no one needs to shoot an email, close the loop or say “it is what it is.” Where people actually act like themselves. Hot damn. Time to pedal.
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With all the focus on going fast, my main goal, which has actually always been my goal, is to pedal my bike with no stress and pain. The intensity and training makes it easy to forget that my original goal is just to enjoy the ride. This is why I often ride alone. I am able to get into my own natural rhythm, to listen to my body, to meditate, to stop and take in the sights, to change my course depending on my mood. Each moment is a grand escape, a small adventure that somehow charges my soul.