Life is a Bycycle Ride

Sunday, October 28, 2012
0430

This is the time I started my Sunday morning ride. I am really fortunate that the young man who lives with us part time has a great bike he lets me use. I thought I had died and gone to heaven the first time I rode his Trek because all I had ever ridden were discount bikes. Heck, the cost of all my bikes together MIGHT buy a new tire for his Trek. I have been rediscovering the joy and exercise of riding a bike for a few weeks now. This morning, the plan was to ride 30 miles as I completed 25 miles last Sunday.

I go outside, turn my headlight on and my blinking seat and take out on my journey. Tropical storm Sandy, even though she is on the East Coast, provided us with the winds and gusts down here in South West Florida. I will be honest, about 3 miles into the trip, I was ready to turn around and call a 6 day trip a success. As I rationalized this lame decision, a still, small voice in my head said, "Go ahead; you always take the easy way out eventually."

I did the entire 30 miles as I planned. I fought headwinds, rejoiced in tail winds, and had an great workout. As I rode, I was enlightened on how a bike ride mimics life. This is what I came up with as I peddled a long way from home.

Sometimes, the trip of life is hard. As I peddled and ran into a strong gust of wind, my stroke would slow down, my legs would burn and I would slow down to a snail's pace. There I was, putting forth a good effort when the wind hit me and made me miserable. I was going nowhere and the sustained, leg burning effort started to become frustrating. Life does this, too. You get up, put in the same effort you did the last day of your "Groundhog's Day" life, and a gust of life hits you in the face.

Maybe it is the car giving you troubles. Maybe your kid has temporarily lost their mind and made a choice that makes no sense but affects your life. I can tell you from personal experience, a bike ride burns my legs, but life burns me somewhere a little more sensitive.

Sometimes, you have to change gears. Bad days require extra effort to say the least. In life, we find ourselves grinding it out during those terrible moments. Ever had a migraine headache and no sick days? Days like that make you gut one out for the team. A person just gears down and pushes through the obstacle or mountain life has thrown. On the other hand, when things are going great, jump into that higher gear and things really begin t take off for you.

Sometimes, you can coast. Slow down and smell the roses. The day is going well and you have some extra time, money or energy (Or on a special day, all 3). Coasting on a bike allows you to cover ground and not exert any energy to do it. I do not coast much as I am trying to use biking for exercise, but there are benefits when I do. First of all, I use a coast to stand up and get out of the saddle. My butt tends to like coasting. Secondly, I can really focus in on the scenery around me when I am coasting. For me, I ride in the dark and I never get tired of looking at the stars and the sky. Coasting in life allows one to take the pressure off on those things that are pains in your butt (see, I said bike riding and life are the same!)

If you give up before your final destination, you will never get there. Many times, the head winds of life cause us to give up on our dreams. It becomes too hard, the mountain  too steep and the ride of life consumes too much energy. Instead of getting through the situation, we merely come out of the saddle and give up. I see 2 reasons to come out of the saddle. You can either come out just before you quit, or you can come out to put some real power in the stroke. It is easy to give up and takes courage to keep on going, even when it looks bleak and tiring.

So we know life is a highway (which has run through my mind since this idea came to me). Push through and look forward to coasting.