Why do you ride?

I was looking back over my previous posts and I realized that I don't do a lot of adventuring anymore. Where I used to hop on the bike and have a general idea where I was going, I would head out and go explore new places. Now it seems I am just riding to ride. I keep doing the same loops or the same commute, it almost feels very routine now. Bicycling has not lost any of its magic for me, so I wonder why this is happening.

It was at that point I started thinking about why I ride. I have a tendency to purposefully avoid making things into a routine. So if biking is becoming somewhat routine, why do I still do it? After a couple days of thinking about it, I have my answers and I want to share them with you.

When I got out of the Marines, I really let myself go. I had a lot of mental anguish about my time served and also the stuff going on in my personal life when I came back. It all culminated into a lot of stress and depression, which I let go unchecked for quite a while. When I left the Marines, the construction industry fell off a cliff right along with the housing market, I was damn near homeless and working 3 minimum wage jobs to try and make ends meet. After a while of that I finally saved up enough tips and got my three pay checks at the same time, I sold some of my less valued possessions and had enough money to come back home to Minnesota. I didn't even have to pack the car up because I was already living in it, I left California and never looked back. When I got back here the stress and other issues didn't go away, they just kept growing. After a couple years of waiting and gaining a lot of weight and becoming a 2 pack a day smoker, I finally said enough is enough.

I used to live on my bike as a kid and I remember those days being very happy. So I got myself a cyclocross bike from bikesdirect.com. I didn't understand the idea of quality etc, but I was pretty broke at the time as well so it was what I could afford. I took to biking in a big way, the first year I got that bike I pretty much rode it into the ground. After about 14 months the thing was just busted, I think I did almost 4000 miles on it. I loved it for so many reasons.

It gave me time to think, time to get away from all the distractions in my life and just wrestle with my problems using a clear head that was not filled with booze or tobacco. I had quit smoking and started shedding pounds, it was great. My entire outlook on my life changed and in general I became much healthier both physically and mentally. I managed to work through all of my problems and riding bikes still gives me an outlet to do that.

In addition to being able to get away from distractions I also enjoy being in nature. I know riding a bike down a city street is not being in nature, but some of the bike paths and especially riding my fat bike or my mountain bike off road in the woods will get you there. There is just something about getting away from cell phones, computers, cars, and all the other crap that is supposed to make life easier but somehow doesn't always and getting out into the woods and listening to the birds sing and having wild life encounters that is very relaxing and rejuvenating.

Another reason I love to ride is that it reminds me of some of the better points of being a kid. The freedom you had as a kid on a bike was just freaking insane. Then you grow up into a teen and you fall into the great American trap, you want a car like every other schmuck and then boom your whole world opens up. For a while at least. Then you start commuting by car, because you can. You spend more and more of your life sitting in traffic and the next thing you know, you hate to drive. When I get on a bike and I stand up on the pedals and coast down a hill and weave back and forth it just reminds me of a happier time and place and all the freedom that goes with it. Now as an adult I can pretty easily hop on my bike and ride 40 miles somewhere, the freedom factor is even better now.

Riding bikes with friends is a great activity for so many reasons. When you ride with someone you can either try to challenge each other or just ride nice and talk to each other. The possibilities are almost endless of where you can go and what you can do. Just this Thursday we had fifteen people out riding around by the river bottoms and then we went to the dog park and made a nice big bonfire. That kind of adventure is something people remember, you don't remember all the times you just went to the bar to hang out with a few friends because there is nothing remarkable about it. Not to mention the people you meet while riding bikes. I am an extremely lucky guy to know and have met so many incredible folks, simply because I ride a bike.

Every mile I ride my bike is a mile I don't drive my car which saves me money and doesn't put that much more carbon into the air. It is not super significant, but it adds up and that is what is important to me. I am not a huge environmental crusader, but I do think it is important and I do try to do my part to not add any more damage to the pot.

These are all the main reasons I came up with. There are a few more but these are the core. Biking is never a routine, it is totally different every time and I still love it. I think I just have been utilizing my time improperly, so I'll fix it. Bikes will always hold a special place in heart.

It felt good to think about why I ride and what I get out of it, it was a good reminder as to why it is so important to me. So I thought I should write about it and share my stories with you, but I would like something in return. Leave a comment below about why you ride. What motivates you? I want to know. There is no judgement here, tell your story or just put something simple, it doesn't matter to me.