Cycling as 'Mobile Meditation'
Apparently, the actor Robin Williams loved cycling. He was said to have a 'huge collection' of road bikes and called the sport "Mobile Meditation"
I loved this description of the activity, and it stuck with me a bit.
It made me consider my own relationship with cycling. How long I'd been riding bikes for, and how much enjoyment, satisfaction and utility I now reap from the activity. Some reasons I like cycling:
Physical Exercise
Riding bikes, is great exercise. It's a great way of burning a relatively high number of calories.
There's nothing better than the feeling of lying in bed, completely worn out and tired, after a day spent on the saddle. Road cycling in particular has great merit in the oppurtunity to vary your effort from moderate (drafting on the flat) to almost all out (e.g. a challenging steep climb).
If you've learnt to ride with clip in cleat pedals, this only serves to increase enjoyment, giving the sensation of being 'one with your bike'...
Social Outlet
Cycling is really cool for meeting new people. Clubs, Sportifs, Cafes. It's nice being able to connect to people through a shared interest. Topics of discussion are very easy to spawn (The Tour de France, Bike kit, routes, favourite riders), and makes it easy to strike up conversation with strangers. It's also a sport that facilites casual conversation as compared to other similar.
I live in Bristol and ride with a club called NPCC. Just for me, it's been an excellent outlet to meet likeminded cyclists and a great motivator to get out on the bike more often.
Transport & Utility
Riding a bike is also just quite practical. It's an affordable, environmentally friendly and overall healthy method of transport. It allows you to see a lot more in a single day than if you were on foot.
It allows you to navigate a city faster than if you were in a car or on a bus. And, when you arrive at your end destination, you're probably going to feel better than when you set off.
I'm all for cycling, and think it should, continue to, be heavily subsidised and encouraged by the UK Government.