- the post-ride snack and nap
- that everyone can find some form of it that they really enjoy
- the friends you make
- that it feels like too much fun to be good for you
- seeing things I wouldn't see from a car
- that you don't have to be fit
- that it helps offset all the flying I have to do
- that cycling is appropriate for all ages
- that you can burn a lot of calories
- that you can eat almost anything you want
- that I usually arrive in a better mood than when I left
- that once you have a bike cycling is free
- seeing the world at a slower pace
- that so many other people share your passion
- coming down hills
- that it doesn't matter how old you are
- the feel of breezing around
- that you can make your own way across the countryside
- the variety it brings to your life
- that it rewards someone who puts in the effort
- the sense of freedom
- that you can do it for hours and chat with people while you ride
- that you get to pass through areas around your town that you might not normally visit
- that it rewards hard work and persistence
- the independence
- that almost anyone can do it anywhere at any time
- meeting others who love it as much as I do
- that it's simple - it doesn't need hefty infrastructure
- the freedom - never having to queue
- that with varied vistas it never gets tiresome or boring
- that every time I get on my bike it takes me back to my youth - the feeling of all the freedom experienced comes rushing back
- the freedom and adrenaline rush of being on the open road
- that even the most routine of journeys can be a cause of pleasure
Having established that there is some basis to the "smug" accusation, and caught up with my weekly quota of displacement activities, I think its probably best if I go for a ride now.
4 comments:
You'd have to do an *awful* lot of cycling to offset even one flight... Of that whole list I think that (whatever else I may pretend) it's the 'arriving in a better mood than when I left' that really clinches it. Everything else is just icing on the post-ride doughnut
Enjoy your ride
Yes I get that, but for me freedom, independence, sense of adventure are all up there too; and seeing places I wouldn't otherwise see, at a different pace. Calories, cardiovascular whatsits, carbon offsets don't come into it.
Oh, and another thing - the feeling that I'm bucking the system in a small way.
I suppose the freedom, sense of adventure, etc. is probably what puts me in the better mood...
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