Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Biking

I like to ride my bike around town. Unfortunately that's not a year-round activity in Michigan. Though I can say that as a kid I would ride my bike occasionally in the winter. That was fun when you hit ice!

I was trying to figure out recently why I like bike riding so much. A few things came to mind:

  • Health benefits - Ok, this one is obvious, but it should be included.
  • No barriers between you and the world. When you're in a car, you have metal and glass separating you from everything else. It encapsulates you. When you're on a bike, you contain the bike in a sense between your legs. That leaves the rest of your body closer to, well, everything else.
  • Freedom - you can access more places on a bike than you can in a car. I've found sidewalks and paths in the middle of the city I never knew about.
  • Photography - I'm not a professional photographer or anything, but I do like taking pictures on occasion. There have been many time where I'll see something driving along, and not be able to capture it because I couldn't get to the camera, or I couldn't stop the car. But if you're on a bike, it's much easier to safely stop somewhere and get all the pictures you want!
I think it also slows me down, and creates opportunity to clear my head and even have some conversation with my wife and kids. It is a choice I make to step away from all of the screens in my house (TV, Computer, PDA (still working on turning the cell phone off)) and take in some of the natural beauty of the world.

Anyone else have a love of biking or walking or running?Technorati Tags:

3 comments:

Mike said...

Thank you for your great comment re: neighbor post. Your comment and verse is the beginning of a sermon. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

I myself LOVE to bike... unfortunately my older one bit the dust (or got thrown away by my nasty soon to be ex whichever way you look at it, lol) and I haven't had one since, and I miss it SO much. A bike for me was like you described, freedom. Walking is great, but honestly unless you're walking accross the country you aren't going to get very far. Biking can take you miles and miles without even realizing it.

*Sigh* I really need a bike again.

Anonymous said...

Matt, thanks for your comment and I will look into your suggestions. It's great to connect with a fellow Muskegonite. I bike a lot, so keep a lookout and wave if you recognize me. I do the trails which around Muskegon are fabulous. With colder weather I stick closer to home and use the new sidewalk by Baker College to get to Big Apple Bagels.