Whilst the abstract question occupies your intellect, nature brings it in the concrete to be solved by your hands. –Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Nature”
As the season comes around to Fall again, I reflect on what this year has brought and may bring. I’ve learned a few things, most importantly that New Mexico is a beautiful place to ride. I knew it was, but after much practice, I find a true understanding deepening. Cycling activates our care, for ourselves, the earth, and each other. It opens our senses to the world. Our hearts beat stronger. Our lungs fill with vital air and oxygen. We relax and feel more at home. Cycling fits with our times, grows roots and makes our families happy. I am grateful for cycling.
An action is the perfection and publication of a thought. –RW Emerson, “Nature”
If we live truly, we shall see truly. –RW Emerson, “Self Reliance”
the ancient precept, ‘know thyself,’ and the modern precept, ‘study nature,’ become at last one maxim. RW Emerson, “American Scholar”
North American Mike Woods won his first grand tour stage in the 2018 Vuelta a España. Riding up steep grades past throngs of cheering fans, through the mist on a forested mountain top, Woods persevered. Rocking his bike back and forth, standing up out of the saddle, accelerating again and again, Woods pushed himself harder than anyone else could. When he crossed the finish Woods was caught by his soignuer, who held him so he wouldn’t fall down. Woods left everything out on the road. His ride was an amazing display of how sport gives an outlet, a place to put our energies, crystallizing our will into a determined moment, overcoming life’s arduous circumstances. Sport gives us the opportunity to show what the human spirit can do.
There were so many people on the side of the road today just screaming my name and my director was on the radio. In the last 500 meters he just said do this for your family. And, I did. I did. —Michael Woods on winning Stage 17, Vuelta a España 2018
Cycling it seems to me is so appropriate for the 21st century. It elevates human living in so many ways, including Woods’ showcase of the triumph of the human spirit. And it makes practical sense as a fitting, appropriate technology for daily living. It’s self-powered mobility that’s clean, renewable, accessible, affordable, and quite fun for everyone. From kids to families, all generations, young and old, including the many generations to come, cycling works wonders, and gives us a window into the beauty of the human soul and the everyday world we live in.
Mike Woods is on Strava, the social network for athletes. You can view his day to day activities there. From Toronto, Canada, he trains in Tucson in the offseason. https://www.strava.com/pros/425147
Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant? —Henry David Thoreau
People bicycling are like family. Cycling has an amazingly broad and diverse impact throughout our communities. But I still get surprised when I meet new cyclists and experience how the world of cycling is expanding. Cycling keeps branching out and bridging gaps. When I picked up the September/October 2018 issue of Bicycling magazine, I was captivated by the story on NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson and his love for bicycling, and how that love is shared by so many in motorsports.
Joe Gibbs Racing mechanic Sean Kerlin is a cycling enthusiast. photo from bicycling.com
I don’t care who you are…it [cycling] is just a great break in the craziness of life. –Jimmie Johnson
Johnson is one of the great drivers of all time, and he’s also cultivated a passion for cycling. He uses it for many of the reasons we all do. Cycling has helped him listen to his body and learn about its needs (which helps him in the race car when he is driving). Cycling helps him enjoy his travels more. Johnson gets to explore the places he goes in depth and detail by pedaling, and meets lots of interesting people. And then there’s the intangibles. Cycling just makes for a better day. I bet cycling helps him practice hand, feet and eye coordination too, honing skills.
I’m following Jimmie Johnson on Strava now, and enjoy seeing his almost daily rides. He has 7423 followers on Strava as of this writing, and posts some awesome pictures of the places he rides and people he rides with, including his wife. Cycling makes life more beautiful.
I’m a driving enthusiast, but didn’t grow up a NASCAR fan. So for me, Johnson’s cycling is a way into NASCAR traditions and culture. I found out they are not so different than what I am used to. They have a competitive drive that fosters innovation, and they care about the broader world, the environment and all people. The NASCAR Green program works to minimize NASCAR’ environmental impact and preserve the natural environment and foster sustainability.
No wonder so many of the drivers, mechanics, and staff in NASCAR have joined with cycling culture! It delivers a balanced approach and real sense of mechanical efficiency, ergonomics and light impact. Maybe when we ride a bike we are not as alone as we may think.
An action is the perfection and publication of thought. A right action seems to fill the eye, and to be related to all nature. —Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Nature”
The bike brings people together. When we see people cycling we have an automatic connection. We have a technology that helps us calm our minds, deepen our engagement with our bodies and the planet, and expands our sense of the other, making the world more familiar.
I like this poem by William Safford, called “Maybe Alone on My Bike”. There’s an analysis in the Literature chapter of this Routledge Handbook that makes me think about the potential of the bicycle. So much stored energy! It’s almost like cycling tames ourselves and opens us up to a conversation with the landscape. We sense a greater connection to the world around us.
I’ve blogged about the manifold applications of cycling over the years. Here are a few examples of the positive impacts cycling imparts on individual lives, our families, our imaginations of what is possible. Out of many, cycling makes us one again. Riding a bike more and sharing the experience with others is a goal that creates the kind of world we want to live in.
Bike Yogi 