Cycling as a Lifestyle
By Victor Jimenez
I can remember riding up Independence Pass, just outside of Aspen, Colo. It’s not the toughest climb but the altitude makes the winding road seem steeper than it is. Once and sometimes twice daily I would get on my bike and ride up 9 miles of the switchbacks, all the way to 11,000 feet. When I got back to town and cleaned up I would ride my bike to the coffee shop and even to fetch groceries. Riding a bike wasn’t merely a form of exercise or entertainment; it became a lifestyle.
What do you mean, cycling as lifestyle?
Many of us think of cycling as a means to get exercise and compete. While these are valid, they fall short of what cycling is really about. What I mean is that the terms “training” and “exercise” typically are associated with things that you have to do in order to accomplish something specific: completing an event or achieving a fitness goal. A cycling lifestyle, on the other hand, has no such goals attached to it.
Non-goal-oriented riding
If you enjoy riding a bike, take look at your overall life and find other places where you can incorporate riding. Some examples might be riding to school with your kid, going grocery shopping or even taking a cycling vacation. Remember, cycling should be fun. It’s easy to get caught up in the training and forget that it’s OK to go out and ride your bike for no other reason than to ride.
More than a machine for entertainment
Cycling is a great way to meet people. That year I spent training in Aspen turned out to be a turning point in my life. While I was out there training to become an elite cyclist something else happened: I met my future wife. If not for the bike I never would have gone to train in the high mountains and my life would be very different from how it is today.
Cycling is the balancing force
The news was terrible. My friend’s 34-year-old sister was diagnosed with terminal cancer and had a very short time to live. The family had a really tough time with it. My friend (also a cyclist) needed to get his head together, so he spent those six months riding his bike. Cycling can be like a deep meditation and for my friend it was his psychoanalyst, Prozac and church all rolled into one.
Many cyclists who have been riding for years understand the idea of familiarity and safety. Safety in the sense that riding a bike is emotionally comfortable. Any time I get on a bike it feels natural and familiar no matter where I’m riding or what bike I’m on. This is what the cycling lifestyle is about. It is a state of mind in which you think to yourself, “I am a cyclist.”
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Victor Jimenez is the owner and professional bicycle fitter at www.bicyclelab.com. Bicycle Lab is a small boutique studio that specializes in bicycle fitting, custom bicycles and education. Victor teaches clinics and classes to individuals, coaches and teams on bicycle fit and the technical aspects of cycling and is co-host of the www.cycling360media.com podcast. He can be reached at www.bicyclelab.com, www.facebook.com/bicyclelab or victor@bicyclelab.com.
