When you’ve been riding for a while, the routine of getting dressed becomes part of the metronomic rhythm of your experience. First the chamois, the jersey, the cap, the helmet, the gloves, the shoes… and now the neck warmer. Our new consideration as we don our kit to ride the hills, on the gravel, in our community and on the open road.
The Gaitor: our attempt to protect against the spread of CoVid-19, which has been going on for 3 months. It’s been terrifying and lonely…and also considered the particularly important “Great Pause” of our lives. It is time to reconsider our lives, our families, our health and our livelihoods.
Some of us were asked not to leave our homes for weeks and months, others lost friends and family members. But despite all this uncertainty, we’ve had the opportunity to focus on the things that are clearly most important in our lives. Determining the people and things that are truly our creators of mental health, the places and environments that serve as our sanctuaries.
Isn’t that how life goes sometimes? You don’t know what you have until it’s lost or taken from you. Enter the bike…
I have always found cycling to be my saving grace. It has carried me through heartbreak and divorce, it has taken me to the most beautiful nooks and crannies of the world, to the places that nourish my soul; and that saves the day once again.
As I get dressed to go for a ride in Boulder, I’m struck by the palpable sense of community I feel with my like-minded soulmates on two wheels. Gravitational pull has never been stronger. Whether I’m riding side by side (6′ apart) with my best friend or going on a solo adventure, I feel a real sense of communion in our shared love of cycling. Even when I ride alone, I feel like I’m part of something bigger, something that’s moving and progressing toward a greater end.
Maybe this ending is a clear idea, free from the anxiety of the news, the stress at work, the kids at home, the worries of life. Whatever our reason for cycling, we feel like we’re doing something tangibly helpful to heal our feelings of grief during a time we may not see again anytime soon.
Right away we ride alone together: we share the road, the trail, the trainers, as a community eager to attach ourselves to something more positive, more productive and more hopeful than life in quarantine. So to all my wingmen, I say: enjoy this beautiful breeze on your face, washing away your fear and feel your heart beating as you climb that hill. Things will get better. The wind will soon be at our backs and until then, we know you are in good company.