Summer Steed

    When I was 2 and a half I started riding my first two wheeler. I had no idea this way of getting around would follow me around for the rest of my life. Now at 23 I find myself biking around whistler thinking about the days when I would just go biking for the thrill of it.  Driving just could never be the same for me, unless I raced my truck around being completely obnoxious, but something about that just doesn't seem like it would feel right.  I guess the bike will just have to do.  

Reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, opens my eyes to perhaps why I enjoy this activity so much. Although the bike doesn't have gears or a motor I feel as though thats what I contribute to the machine making the two pieces one sweet ride.  My self provides the gears and motor while the bike puts forth the essentials of a propelling machine.  Like a motorcycle I am outside and can see and feel the outdoors brushing against my body as I rip on down the valley trail. The trees surround the trail and give the feel of being safe and sheltered while at night they give off a fear of the dark and what lurks within the brush.  My intuitions of feeling safe or the fear of the unknown are the underlying motivators that make the bike go faster or slower.  

On my days off I will sometimes just go and see what happens. No plans in mind just to go and think. With my music playing the surrounding environment turns into a course full of turns, banks, islands, and people to talk to.  At night it gets even better because there's no cars, or people it feels like cruising around a ghost town.  Whenever I get into a mood where I feel like just being alone thats where you will most likely find me with my headphones in whipping through the village on my way to nowhere in particular. If there was a bicycling shrink thats the only one I would talk to.  He would have to wear a suit and carry a briefcase dangling from his handle bars that way if he got to deep into my thoughts I could just laugh at how ridiculously uncomfortable he looks. 

I don't know why I felt like writing this down but I just wanted to put it down that biking is more than a mode of transportation.  Maybe more of a mode of thought and a way of interacting with your inner self.