Archive for August 2008
The Psychology of Recovery
To put it plainly, the past 10 weeks have been incredibly illuminating when it comes to my passion for cycling and its role in my life.
First off, I got it pretty good. I’m fully aware of this and by no means delude myself to the fact that many others go through more than their fair share of rough shit. I’m humbled every time I talk to my friend who just finished up her third week of radiation therapy; yet she’s always in high spirits and is just living her life the best she can. That’s pretty rad, in my mind.
So, that said, I’ve been thinking about what all I’ve been “dealing with”, particularly in my head, in regard to not being able to ride. To be honest, I never realized just how much I’d come to rely upon cycling as a “mediator” of sorts between the stresses of life and my navigational attempts through them. Nor had I realized the level of fitness I’d achieved through my daily riding. Now… well, I have a better idea.
I won’t ramble on about it any further, though… it is what it is, and was.
July Roundup
- Miles ridden: ~40
- Miles driven: 426 (135,391)
I wonder if I should email Park to let them know of another use for their stand…
The healing process has necessitated the lack of riding, however I’m hoping that August will be my “come back” month. The good news is that I’m healing. Slowly but surely. PT has been kicking my ass… to the point where I was doing breathing exercises and digging my nails into the table… however, I know it’s a necessary evil.
The other day, while at the grocery store, the one bike rack was utterly swamped with bikes. There were about ten, including an old rusted cruiser right next to a brand new Townie. Loved the contrast; unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me. Even better, when I was leaving the store I ran into a friend’s husband locking his bike up within the pile… I couldn’t help but feel shamed, for I had driven to the store.
I’ve been thinking more and more about how I want to build up the Karate Monkey, which is centering more and more around the sale of the One Way.
Good cyclists are a bit like good IT people. When they’re good, you’re barely aware they’re there. It’s only when they suck that they’re a problem.
A friend of mine recently made that comment as we were discussing their recent (multiple) encounters with cyclists in Portland wearing (both) headphones and riding around in traffic. It amused me.
