While I was still training for GOBA I interviewed the Woosleys for a preview story. Sandy said something that really stuck with me that day. She said, “I guess I just really like how it feels to go somewhere under my own power.”
Cycling does make me feel powerful. I have to imagine others feel the same way. Although a bicycle is a machine, it’s engine is a human being. Even in the rain today I didn’t catch any fish on bicycles…. Without a person, a bicycle does very little, but powered by a person it’s the closest thing to flying on land.
There are so many things in the world we can’t control, and for me, that feeling of powerlessness is the worst emotion when it takes hold. It sucks the joy from my soul and tricks me into believing that it is real. The truth is that we are far more powerful than we know.
A good ride on a bike is a nice reminder to the contrary. It’s a simple machine and a profound experience like no other. When I put rubber to road each revolution of pedals helps me pound out the heartbreak, anger, and disappointment. Then the beauty creeps in, you just can’t miss it. Even when passing two waste water treatment plants on the B&O Trail, or copious amounts of horse dung in Amish country, you simply can’t escape the beauty and wonder of creation. Invariably you’ll encounter a hill or headwind and you’ll have to work hard, ah, but on the other side of that is the flying. Next thing you know you realize how far you’ve traveled.
I don’t think it’s any coincidence that both super heroes and cyclists wear spandex. We’re all our own superhero out there on the road and yes, we can fly.
You can follow Tracy as she wraps up her week-long adventure at GOBATracyGo.Tumblr.com.
