The fresh smell of a pine forest, thrill of adventure, feeling of accomplishment, clearing of your mind and soul, experience of God’s creation, exhilaration of the runner’s high, excitement of setting a personal best, making new friends, reconnecting with old friends, fostering your most important relationships, finding a new way, testing the limits of your body.
Cycling for me is a lifelong endeavor that has kept me physically and mentally sharp. It is a sport I plan to continue throughout the rest of my life. It has always been the base of fitness for other activities. I love that all skill levels can participate and friends can all do it together and meet up after a ride to hang out. There is a renewal in your spirit that takes you back to the time when you were a kid and your bike represented freedom and independence.
Cycling is enjoyable to sometimes run errands on a bike rather than a car. My wife and I enjoy making it part of an adventure to visit new and different breweries or to experience a new city by cycling around the trails. Madison, Austin, Topeka, Switzerland, Delavan, East Troy, Lake Geneva, Steven’s Point are all places we have explored in a special way because we did it on a bike.
Mountain biking, in the last decade, has become one of my biggest passions and hobbies. It combines my love for cycling with a love for experiencing nature first hand. Now using Strava I am able to track with GPS my personal progress and personal bests and now even compete with thousands of other athletes on countless segments. There are very few accomplishments more satisfying than finding yourself in the top 10 of hundreds of others or even making King of the Hill. One of the most compelling parts of this sport is that it something that you can do at any age. I remember seeing a group of 80 year old ladies in Switzerland biking together on their bikes like it was a daily activity for them. A lifestyle of fitness. I say all the time I am training to one day be the fastest 70/80 year old in my age group.
I recently read this article by John K Coyle. Here is the link. He makes a compelling case for why cycling is the "greatest sport in the world." I couldn’t agree more whole heartedly.
Maybe you have considered taking up cycling but needed a little push. Do it, you won’t regret it. Maybe you aren’t ready to be outside yet. Maybe get a Peloton. (Indoor streaming cycling classes that will blow your mind!) Here is our referral code to get $100 of free stuff when you buy your Peloton bike: BTVYFP. The email associated with the code is caheidke@gmail.com.
In just the last couple of years here are photos I shot on my iPhone or compact camera from just a few of my adventures on a bike. My wife is pictured in many of the shots as well as one with my friend Jake and one on the podium in my age group in a mountain bike race.
