Hope everyone is doing well that reads this little blog. As of late I have finally gotten to get back on the bike. As I may have said in another post I was going full steam towards the end of 2019 and then things happened. I lost all the wind in my sails and it brought me to an abrupt stop. I tried in vain but nothing was able to make me cross that line.
Then one day I sent a message to a friend. I was looking for solutions and thought of him. He inmediately called me on messenger and showed me where he was. He was in the middle of nowhere. The sun was shining, I could hear the birds, his bike resting on a tree. He had a big smile on. We talked for a while and I thought about what he said for a long time.
That very night I decided to start commuting to work again.
You see when you lose it all the stuff gets out of order. First I got a bike ready, the right bags, shoes, clothing, repair kit, inhaler, keys, wallet. All organized on kitchen table. When you stop riding for a while all that stuff gets blended in with the rest of the stuff and creates a barrier to be able to ride.
The next morning I mounted the bike and rolled. After having ridden nearly 400k miles in my life it felt foreign. Wait, why does my butt hurt so much? My legs felt week. It started to rain. First a sprinkle, then full on rain. My first 4 days of coming back it rained solid going to work and coming back. I sheltered a couple times with the lightning being a stark reminder of a Trans Iowa many moons ago.
The rain did not affect me at all. It was mother nature welcoming me back. It washed my dark cloud, made me feel well again. I am back on the bike and I hope to stay on.
Things for sure have been weird. We are learning, coping, trying to understand. The bike gives us time to think, to clear the mind, to escape the fear, the monotony. I missed riding my bike but it was worth being off and taking care of things.
So if you are stuck in a weird spot, call a friend. Talk to somebody about what is happening. Call me. Text someone. I'm sure help is out there waiting for you. You might just need that tiny,little push to get you rolling again.
Thank for reading,
Ari