my bike is a vehicle

[Richard]

dal primo numero di "the ride"

"My bike is a vehicle.

It transports me both

mentally and physically.

It acts as a social lubricant,

a reason to go places

and meet people. It is the

totem of my tribe, the

common denominator

in the web of relationships

and friendships of which

I am a part.

My bike allows me to live life in glorious lo-tech 3D:

a part of the life around me rather than an observer

looking in. When I ride, I feel alive, I become a part of

the landscape. I become aware of the weather through

touch not sight. Sometimes it’s a brutal set of sensations:

freezing hail biting at exposed flesh, headwinds that

make progress painful. I do not need the TV to tell me

it is cold outside when my face is numb.

I observe the passage of time from the saddle; note the

subtle progression of seasonal change. My companions

change as each year passes but the underlying geography

and the contact with nature are my constants. I have come

to recognise the precursors of each season and welcome

the promised change. Lapwing and curlew herald the

end of winter and promise dry trails to come. Swallows

and swifts feeding high on the moor announce the end

of summer. The browning off of Yorkshire fog is the clue

I need to head to the woods to revel in leaf-covered

singletrack accompanied by the heavy bouquet of decay.

Winter and I have become close friends. I make the

most of the quiet trails, riding knowing that the added

drag of soft ground will bring benefits to fitness and

technique. I soak in the views opened up by clear cold

air and leafless trees. I appreciate the fine line between

skid and traction. I hope for snowfall, will it to happen

even, while around me everyone awaits the ensuing

traffic chaos with trepidation.

My bike brings me closer to the earth. It gives me the

nearest thing to a religious experience that I, a committed

atheist, will ever experience. The much-sought moment

of nirvana – no wind – is one that any cyclist can

appreciate. Mind blank, lost beyond thought, simply

pedalling. The moment the boundary between man

and machine blurs. Not riding, not training, just being.

My bike has provided a reason to explore distant

countries; a modern-day grand tour. Sampling and

savouring the subtle differences of a familiar activity

on foreign soil. My bike has allowed me to interact

with the places I pass through. Not the isolation

of the tour group or the flickering snapshot views

through a car window. It provides the time to appreciate

the countryside I ride in with no need for the quick fix

of the snatched photo opportunity. I am instantly

accessible and approachable, I see the everyday as well

as the tourist fare.

My bike has provided a common language with

which to make new friends during my travels. It has

become a conduit to new experiences; a reason to take

the path less travelled, to visit the back of beyond.

It has fed my love of mountains and taken me to the wild

places I dream of when back at work. It has helped me

to explore my locality until I have the same familiarity

of it as I had of my childhood haunts.

I have become a part of something far bigger than

my local scene. Being offered ground-level knowledge

in foreign languages and repaying that by sharing my

advice with visitors, like-minded two-wheeled devotees

of a global tribe. I revel in the dispatches from far-flung

corners as much as I feverishly explore a new local trail.

I have come to see the hints of green among the grey,

my eyes attuned to the spaces where nature hangs on

in cities. I can think in maps, and mentally link them

together to provide an escape route from the drudgery

of city life. A daydream to be realised in snatched

moments. The juxtaposition of muddy bike and rider

amid everyday life. Freedom in the wild that hides among

the conformity, the consumerism and everything that

fills me with a sense of despair.

My bike provides me with a means of transport,

recreation, relaxation and of escape. My bike has allowed

me to see the future. I do not fear the lack of a car. I am

happy to travel under my own steam. I am independent

and proud. My bike is a vehicle."

Dave Anderson. Oxenhope, UK. Rides bikes.

mi era piaciuto molto, volevo condividere.

[PELT]

Essere o,non essere,questo e' il problema...

[ruggero]

bella richard.

bici 1, altri veicoli 0

[konablu]

...

L'avevo letto mentre ero in USA per lavoro e dovevo scegliere se prendermi o no una bici (da corsa o fissa che fosse) per girarci in città. E' stata una delle ispirazioni che mi han fatto decidere di prenderla.

[Richard]

pelt togli quell'avatar o ti banno. dalla vita. a schiaffazzi.

[PELT]

Essere o,non essere,questo e' il problema...

dai,lasciamelo ancora un po,finche il ciaba nn si ingelosisce...

[Richard]

lo è già, geloso.