I think that some of my best rides are the ones where I can truly turn my brain off and just feel. I don't meditate so the prospect of flipping that proverbial switch to neutral is not an easy task for me. Sometimes the odd rare occasion will occur and it happens...I go blank, the trees become a blur and it feels like I am a passenger along for the ride. I know my bike has a mind of its own, usually for the good but sometimes for the bad. When the brain takes a vacation my body and bike meld into one organic machine that lives breathes and rails. I try not to have work, family, people, or world issues invade my inner-sanctum when I am out for a ride, it does happen, but when I can keep the thoughts at bay, that is when the real soul of cycle locomotion is in control.
This happened tonight. It is sometimes hard to find the words that can describe the feeling that can be produced by riding a bike on a dirt trail over rocks and through trees. We used to call this "Souled-Out" back in the day when I was snowboarding. It's a transcendence that generally finds the recipient speechless, yet with a heightened awareness and super-human powers that makes one impervious to gravity. Not really, but it sometimes feels like it.
I will always come back to the central point, the point that we are riding toys. Yes, bikes are transportation, vocation, but most importantly they are recreation. Kids love bikes because they are fun. Adults love bikes because they are fun. The two wheeled time machine. Throw a leg over a bike and you will be transported (no pun intended) to a different time, a time where you are happy. Happy to be on a bike with your freedom. A perfect union of machine and human power, that creates life...or enhances life. Ride a bike...Live
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