So, my (brief) message for today is... cycling rocks. Not news to many, but a fabulous reminder for me. My running is still on the back-burner, but the biking is going great. I used to bike a lot. Before I got my drivers license (which wasn't till I was about 26 or something), I biked one hell of a lot - it was my only means of transport, and I lived in some pretty rural areas, so I regularly covered a lot of miles out of necessity, never mind all the cycle touring I did for fun. I used to dream of being Josie Dew, I read her books, and wished I could go off and cycle round wonderful foreign countries as my main occupation. But then I had to pass my drivers test and get a car for work, and then I moved to the city, and just didn't enjoy, or feel safe, or feel confident enough to cycle in the traffic-crammed streets.
Now I'm back up north in nowhere-land, the bike has been hauled out the shed, and I'm rediscovering the joys of cycling. Here are a few motivational reminders for the newly re-inititiating (not for the experienced experts who'd never be so slack as to stop cycling, you guys probably take all this stuff for granted and scoff at such newby-ism).
- The achey sore backside you get when you haven't been out on the bike in a while. Ouch. (It doesn't stay that sore forever, honest).
- Peddling downhill like a maniac, in the highest gear that'll gain purchase, till you go so fast you could almost be flying... zooooommmmmmmmm.....
- That pounding-in-the-chest feeling you get when you finally get to the top of a hill. Have to stop, gasping for air. Rest a moment, soak in the views. And then become aware of the powerful sensation of your heart pumping strong and sure. Oh yeah, I'm alive!
- Thighs getting noticeably more firm and muscular even after just a handful of sessions out on the road. Excellent.
- Swallowing flies. Yuk.
Image by moriza
No comments:
Post a Comment