As anyone who knows me knows only too well, my health isn’t perfect. In fact, sometimes it’s far from perfect, and it can be very irritating, as it keeps me at home. It keeps me at home and locked away from the wonderful wildness which I feel I need to counteract the stresses that bring me down.
I have plenty of other hobbies besides cycling, and I really shouldn’t begrudge them the pleasure they give me just because I save them for when I’m unwell. If I’m feeling good, my knitting takes forever, because I’m so often out on my bike; but if I feel unwell, I might get a drawing done as well as some knitting. I like to sew, and I like to write a journal. But it’s the nature of things that my journal only ever gets an entry when I feel under the weather, and the sewing list grows longer and longer until I have a good old sewing catch-up day, normally when it’s raining stair rods outside.
But sometimes, even when I do feel under the weather, I manage to get out on my bike. I might have to ride alone, because I’m slow and I occasionally need to hop behind a bush to answer nature’s call. But to be upfront about it (and I’m aware that I’m blowing my own trumpet here) I do pretty well. There are plenty of “able bodied” people who would struggle to do some of the rides I do, though there’s really nothing athletic about my riding.
In reality, I learn over and over again that cycling actually improves my health. I’m not about to argue that it directly does a lot for my physical health (though I think it does, to a limited extent) but it does a very great deal indeed for my psychological health. That, in turn, heals me, providing an antidote to all of those troubles and concerns that weigh me down, including my worries and concerns about my rotten health. One cannot be introspective whilst cycling.
Out on my bike I feel I’m really connected with the real me. Far from my desk at work and the dullness of my job, I am witness to the ebb and flow of life, both natural and agricultural, as it responds to the changing season. When I travel by my own steam, I feel a sense of pride in overcoming my little handicaps. When I don’t get out or when I can’t cycle, I miss it sorely, like a wrong that needs putting right. It’s absence leaves me with an ache.
And it’s so good for me, that numerous people who know better than me tell me it’s even good for my heart! If you don’t cycle yourself, it would be good for yours too.
