Cycling #2
Cycling always comes down to basics: a frame and a crank, a chain and two wheels. And you are the motor. Water and gatorade are the engine’s lubricants.
As I head out into the roads and winds of West Texas, I love these words from Lance Armstrong:
“To me, riding is living. When I was sick with cancer, I thought constantly about riding. I daydreamed about the sensations of moving through the countryside on a bike, of the wind against my face. I yearned for the sense of well-being that riding gave me and the pleasant sensation of being spent after a long day. Riding up one of the Alps seemed like heaven compared to lying in a hospital bed drugged, parched, and burned from the inside out. Before, I’d enjoyed riding and the living it provided me, but I hadn’t truly appreciated it. After my near-death experience, when I confronted the possibility of never being able to ride again, my feelings for the sport multiplied.
“When I was well enough, I’d take short rides around my neighborhood in Austin. Or sometimes I’d go into my garage and turn on loud music, climb on a stationary bike, and pedal furiously until I was covered with sweat. I rode to prove I wasn’t dying.
“Now I ride to prove that I’m alive.”
I love that! I ride to prove that I’m alive.
used with permission
Though cycling gets back to basics — frame and crank — that doesn’t mean it isn’t profound. Check these two quotes from another cycling fanatic, Einstein:
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” As a child I knew less about physics than Einstein, but I had scraped knees to prove him right!
“I thought of it while riding my bicycle.” The “it” was the Theory of Relativity. My synapses don’t seem to be firing at the same speed as Albert’s when I ride, but I can say that a good, long ride has a way of clearing my head and of releasing anxieties and fears.
Never thought of Einstein being “active”. To keep balance, keep moving. I get this. I’m passing this along to one near and dear to me. Thanks, Mike. It takes something extraordinary to find the fight within to overcome the ‘anxieties and fears’. Cycling, running, moving loosens the grip, doesn’t it. ~ Blessings
Keep cycling my friend. It is good for the soul. If you want some company on a long ride give me a call.
Right, Carmel. Diane and I learned this about you a long time ago, though: you are extraordinary.
Royce – It all began with that rental bike from you! Would love to do a long ride together.