Stir It Up

"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work become monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go for a spin down the road, without though on anything but the ride you are taking."
- Arthur Conan Doyle, 1896

The academic hours that I have put in so far this week have clouded my vision and endangered my mental health. My main focus remains my school work but I recently discovered after a 7 day hiatus that I can never let other priorities keep me from pedaling a bike. I haven't felt as low as I did on Monday night for a long time. I finally cracked late Tuesday night while slaving away in front of this damn liquid crystal display studying for my Ecology of Disturbed Lands final.

My focus was gone. After 2.5 hours of sleep the previous night and a solid 15 hours of academia in the bag for the day, the mind started racing with thoughts of fluid circular motions of human propulsion through the landscape rather than the disturbance and recovery of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. At first the temptation to ride was dismissed due to a strong feeling of guilt. Telling myself that I didn't have time to ride just like I had countless other times when the seductive mistress of cycling had appeared in my mind. I then realized that my productivity had fallen off sharply to the point of being counter productive and that I needed to go pedal in order to avoid a mental melt down.

I had a surprising amount of energy at 11'clock on a couple hours of sleep. I think I was drunk on euphoric sense of freedom and the disappearance of the stress that had been making my life extremely dark recently. I tried to ride some of my urban singletrack stashes but with no moon and a low batt. led camp headlamp, my eyes were having a hard time focusing on the path. Stopped, turned the lamp off, let the eyes adjust to the little light available and continued on for a few hundred yards when all of a sudden my nostrils where overwhelmed with the unmistakable gamey aroma of a fresh kill. No way of telling if it was bovine, equine, or deer but the intensity of the stench told me it was close and I really didn't want to endo into the chest cavity of cow tonight or upset the big cat that was most likely having a feast before I clumsily rode into it's dinning room.

About Face. Ride back to the safety of the flickering mercury vapor lights in the distance. Its interesting how during the day I feel safer with a heightened sense of clarity in the natural world away from the influences of my fellows but at night the rolls switch. I am not one that is afraid of the wild but when you know you have a distinct disadvantage in all the senses,espicially sight, compared to the individuals sharing the landscape with you, it is easy to get the nerves going.

Anyways, after that I rode through town to the NBB rode a few laps on the short track course, watched some delicious brews being created and then rode home with a clear understanding of the current state of my life.

Riding is not a hobby that is optional in my life, it is a passion that requires attention on a daily basis in order to maintain my center and balance. I will never stop pedaling. Ride to live. Live to ride. 'Till death do us part.

One Love,
WC