Addressing my title
I was thinking today on my ride home from work that I have ridden almost every day for a few weeks now. I feel wonderful, too. Riding against the wind I can feel an almost sensual strength from my legs. Bicycling makes me feel more womanly because I become powerful. I think this is becoming one of the most important reasons I ride. The only other thing that has made me feel so powerful and womanly at the same time is West African dancing.
The other reason I ride is because it gets me where I need to go. So simple, really. I am, in some ways, a utilitarian person. Thinking in shoe terms (because I work at a shoe store and naturally relate everything to shoes), I would only buy a beautiful shoe if it didn't make my feet hurt. I consider objects in relation to their usefulness. The great thing about riding is that it is not only useful in getting me places but it is also in keeping me healthy.
I would not call myself an athlete. I was never interested in or skilled at sports. I don't particularly enjoy exercising, so I have to trick myself into it. When I first started cycling about 3 years ago, I remember being amazed that it felt so natural. I was actually good at something people do for a sport! Now that I ride so often, I don't really think about the exercise I'm getting. I do not understand the motivation of some cyclists who ride their bicycles to "train" or lose weight. These don't fit into my understanding of cycling. I ride because I have to be at work or buy groceries or go dancing downtown or meet a friend for coffee. While I am on my bike, I revel in and wonder at the wind rushing past me or the mountains with snow caps or the rising, swollen river or the feeling of my legs propelling my body and my bicycle 2 miles away.
So simply put, I ride because I can.
-rachel
posted by Rachel @ 5:37 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Wow, well said. I admire what you and Joe are doing. I live in a one car household. My wife and I talk about what it would be like to be car free. It's a huge, huge lifestyle change. It's great that the two of you make it work.
I like the title of this posting. I've thought about this before. In much of the less-develpoed world, people ride (or walk) because they have no options. Here in affluent America, most of us who ride do so beacause we choose to. In most cases, those who choose to ride do so because their lifstyle affords them the luxury to do so. Americans on the edge are always behind the 8-ball, always in a rush, trying to catch up, trying to get to work, trying to get the chores done, trying to get the kids where they need to be. It's a lucky few who can take the time to ride a bike and enjoy the day while going to work, or wherever.
well...
on my commute home from work I was letting various thoughts roll around my brain
as I passed a variety of cyclist
some going the same direction
some coming my way
I thought about sport and activity
I often debate in my head different topics....
such as... is golf a sport?
well...
today I played with the idea of when does an activity migrate to a sport
skiing can be an outdoor activity or it can be a sport
certainly walking and hiking are not always a sport
and cycling would fall into that same sort of activity or sport level
like running versus jogging
although cycling may have various factions
they are all forms of cycling
and each faction can be well.... activity or sport
although I think racing would always be sport
while touring could be either
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