Why We Ride

<h2>Why We Ride ⇢</h2>

Once freed of your steel cage you are thrust into the world to experience a broader existence unfettered by HEPA filters and climate control. Your nose will get a vivid introduction to skunk roadkill and diesel exhaust, but will also revel in bread baking and plants blooming. Your body will feel the thousand tiny impacts of raindrops and absorb the buffeting of the wind. Your skin will feel the gently warming temperature as you crest a hill and drop to the valley floor below. You are no longer huddled behind a wheel disconnected from nature. It's Lawrence of Arabia in Cinerama versus a daguerreotype of a camel.

On my route home from work, right after the freeway exit, is some form of bakery. Either doughnuts or bread. It's commercial and sweet smelling. But every time I exit the 880, I smell fresh baked goods. Only on a bike.

Syndicated 2008-07-06 18:38:22 from RedProcess