The Soul of Cycling

Sometimes what most people would define as a “hobby” can be a life-giving endeavor, a feeder of the soul. Sometimes it is the determinant between fully living life and a slow, painful deterioration of the spirit. Riding a bicycle as a child was liberating and a joyful experience. I learned later in life that it is not just good for the body, but also good for the mind, spirit and soul. When my mental health took a turn as an adult, I once again found the freedom, delight, joy, dedication and zest for life – that two wheels gave me. 

Cycling connects. It connects a person to the deeper thoughts within their psyches. It has helped me face challenges, problems that needed to be faced and conquered and provided clear minded thinking to identify and act on new relationships and opportunities. Movement is medicine. There is something about forging on, cycling, human and machine in motion, feeling my muscles strain up hills and earning my downhill bliss – that rush of wind, speed and adrenaline – and accomplishment. 

According to a Bike New York blog post, while the physical benefits of cycling are plenty, “the cognitive benefits take the incentive to a new level.” 

“Cycling can improve your brain’s cognition, functioning, and physical structure. It can even slow your brain’s aging and help it become more efficient by building neurons and growing the hippocampus. Whether you’re looking to improve your physique, help treat a disease or disorder, boost your brain’s functioning, or just smile a little more, there’s some way that cycling can benefit anyone,” according to the blog. 

People may not think of cycling as having a connection with the natural world, there is in fact depth to the relationship between a human being on a bicycle and the elements. Mother Nature is full of fierce splendor when experienced from a gravel road, mountain bike trail or a paved road. It is a point of fact: cyclists see the various sides of nature more intimately than others. 

These experiences help cultivate a sense of awe for life, a lingering feeling of gratefulness for being able to ride a bicycle, for the wind and the rain, for the excitement of downhills and the demands of up hills. 

I also fully believe that cycling really offers a microcosm of life. There will be struggles and victories. Things will go remarkably wrong. But they will also go incredibly right. There are always going to be moments when you are not sure if you can or should push on. But you clip in, grab the handle-bars, start moving and embrace whatever comes your way.