Life on two wheels

I began riding my bike to work, regularly, about a month ago. It’s a good feeling to say the least. The obvious reasons being the primary motivation, such as gas heading toward $4 gallon, our influence on climate change, and getting myself back in shape. But some of the other perks of self-propelled transportation have manifested themselves in my daily life. It may sound like a familiar corny cliché but our automotive lifestyles have inhibited us from slowing down, quieting down, and enjoying so many things that go by in a blur outside the protection of our windshield. Even on the few occasions this month that I’ve fallen helpless to the need to take the car into town I find a feeling of angst that I am missing something outside. One such thing I enjoy is the direct connection I get when my mind decides it’s time to move forward and my legs respond by pushing the pedals which as an immediate response I am moved toward my destination. Sure you can accomplish the same thing with a combustion engine, but you lose touch in a car. You rarely appreciate the topography of the space around you when you’ve got 100+ hp pushing you up a hill or past another person, or even cruising downhill. You also appreciate what is happening around you, like what is really going on with the weather that day, or having a chance rendezvous with a friend, or seeing a part of your neighborhood you had never noticed. But on a bike there’s a deeper connection and meaning. It's hard not to feel good leaving your car in the driveway and setting out on your bike to experience more from your daily routine. Cycling has embedded itself in my life over the last year and a half, and without sounding too extremist I hope I might influence more to join me in a childhood pasttime as a part of our daily lives.