The Joys Of Cycling: The Tailwind

This is another installment of my continuing series, the joys of cycling. In which I try to chronicle some of the hidden gems of cycling.

The wind in Boston is in a class of its own. Most days it manages to blow directly into your face, no matter how many turns you make, no matter what direction you travel, right in your face. Like your annoying little brother who keeps his hands inches from your face in the back seat going “I’m not touching you!” over and over this constant wind in your face can be downright infuriating. I think this has to do with some ancient curse put on the pilgrims by the natives, or perhaps some fluke of geography and building placement.

On very rare days, the wind shift, and suddenly you feel a slight push on your back. You are riding the tailwind. Sometimes its a gentle nudge, a small insistence that, if you wanted, you could go a little faster, just saying. Other times, its a commandment, you will be going fast, Now!

With a strong tailwind behind you and an open road ahead you will feel like a rocketized animal. Unstoppable, unslowable, greased lighting. Giant hills become small bumps, distance seems reduced, and you may start to feel more like a sailor than a cyclist. Gently shifting your back to catch as much of that sweet sweet wind juice as possible.

I make no apologies for my love of speed. I have a small place in my heart that can only be filled by standing up on the pedals and throwing myself and my bicycle forward at top speed. A tailwind takes that feeling and perfects it. You are never more alive than when you are racing the wind. Getting home 10 minutes early, sweating like a pig never felt so glorious.

I have been lucky lately, the winds of Boston have been blowing in such a way that I have caught several gnarly tailwinds going either to or from work. Perhaps its a small thank you from mother nature for what she did to me all last month.

Do you race the wind? Are you a speed junkie? Or do you just like the feeling of having someone else do the pedaling for a bit, leave your thoughts in the comments.

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The Joys Of Cycling: The Flow

Have you ever been to the museum of science and seen that giant kinetic sculpture they have with all the little balls on rails? They all move so smoothly and flow so nicely. Or maybe you have seen the way water looks when it is running over smooth granite or the way plinko chips bounce around but always find a way to get to the bottom of the board on the price is right? What I am getting at here is that all of these examples are examples of flow, when something is just moving in such a lovely way. That is how I feel on my bicycle some times.

Traffic, pedestrians, pot holes, obstacles of all kinds become immaterial when you are in the flow. Its like you are a tiny drop of water effortlessly finding its way though an ants nest. Its a state of being more than a physical thing.

You will know when you are in the flow because a smile will form on your face and you will always find that green light, that tiny spot to fit into, that little bit of nice pavement between the potholes. Your commute will melt away before you and the sea of traffic will open up for you, and you will just move. Its a glorious thing.

It is often hard for new riders to get into this mode of cycling, as it takes a fair amount of concentration in what is going on around you. You have to judge what traffic is going to do well before they do it, you have to be scanning the road surface (potholes), the sides of the road (pedestrians, opening doors, people pulling out of drive ways), behind you (overtaking traffic, space for changing lanes), and in front of you (lights, traffic, random stuff) all at the same time. You also need to keep track of light timings, traffic patterns, and pedestrian hot spots. But once you get the knack of it the results are simply sublime.

When you are in the flow, the sea of chaos that is Boston’s streets suddenly organizes itself into orderly ranks. What looked like an impenetrable wall of cars is now suddenly overflowing with bike sized holes for you to utilize. Before you know it you are pulling up at your destination with a big ole grin on your face, and a pleasant hum in your legs.

Does anyone else feel like this sometimes?

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The Joys Of Cycling, Suffering On Your Bicycle

This is another installment of my continuing series, the joys of cycling. In which I try to chronicle some of the hidden gems of cycling.

It’s hot, it’s muggy, the guy on the radio described the weather as “aggressive humidity.” So in my infinite wisdom I decided it would be a good idea to ride 40 miles in a big loop out to Waltham, down to JP, downtown, then up to Somerville, with 30 pounds of crap strapped to my back. Not since the Katamari cat had I inflicted so much heat and weight related suffering upon myself.

Why I did such a silly thing is not as important as to how I felt doing it. Riding in the summer heat and humidity is a completely different animal. Its like bike riding but damp and oppressive. You start by developing a slight film of sweat, with quickly becomes a torrent, and soon you are feeling drips of sweat roll down your elbows and off the tip of your nose. When you have a heavy bag on, the sweat also accumulates down your backside, good times! It’s also interesting to note that so long as you keep moving the sweat does its job more or less (evaporating to cool you) but the moment you stop at a red light, release the flood! You go from a glistening cyclist, to a drowned rat in a couple seconds.

Going out west there was a steady wind in my face, this had the duel effects of cooling me down somewhat (i mean a 85 degree super humid wind will still cool you down a little bit right?), and making my uphill slog that much more horrible enjoyable. My back hurt from the various oddly shaped pointy things jabbing into it, my legs were letting me know they hated me, and every part of me was hot and miserable. It was awesome!

I truly enjoy suffering on a bicycle. Just feeling like total horrible twice baked ass. I don’t particularly like it AS I am doing it, but really enjoy it once I STOP doing it. I enjoy pushing myself, I enjoy seeing just how hard I can go, I enjoy finding a new level of personal achievement, but I really like the shower and ice cream after all that. Someone wiser than me once said that “mercy was the ability to stop” they were probably a bicyclist.

There are real benefits to pushing yourself on your bicycle. You get stronger, both mentally and physically. You feel more confident. You understand that you CAN do it. You can push yourself right up to the line, and and then ride screaming over that line into uncharted territory. You also at some point get to enjoy the end of all that, the sweet sweet feeling of falling asleep when even your toes are tired and ready for bed.

Do you ever do things on your bike that other would look at as pure agony? Do you enjoy the fine sleepy oblivion after a long hard day of cycling, do you suffer on your bicycle and suffer with a smile? Let us all know in the comments.

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The Joys Of Cycling: Road Music

This is another installment of my continuing series, the joys of cycling. In which I try to chronicle some of the hidden gems of cycling.

Have you ever been at an intersection where you notice that someone up front has done something stupid, lets say backed out into the intersection right as the light has turned green only to realize that the only way they can complete their three point turn is to move into the space that has just been occupied by the car that has pulled up behind them? Yea? Then you know what happens next.

The car in front knows what is going on, so they just sort of sit there and make nasty faces at the car in front of them. But the car behind the front car can’t a good god damn so they start honking, and then the car behind them starts honking, and then the car behind them starts honking, and if you are really lucky they will all peak in a crescendo of honking that is at once horrible and beautiful.

I am not just talking about the usual “my horn is my ‘solve anything’ button, and by pressing it I will solve this problem” honking, I am talking about 5 or six cars all letting go on the horn together in one big orgy of honking. Really laying on it too, none of that casual beep beep bull shit.

This happens down town a lot, as a bunch of frustrated drivers all try to get out of the financial district at once. At first I was highly annoyed, thinking to myself “how can that possibly help,” but over time I came to really enjoy the phenomenon.

Sometimes this little performance happen in concert with a fire truck or ambulance siren, and combined with the general noise of the city, creates a rich and complex music. Almost like a techno song, or some sort of sound art piece. Its one of the many reasons I ride without head phones, and one of the more interesting things about living in Boston.

The next time you hear a bunch of angry motorists lay on the horn all at once be sure to pause and enjoy the fine road music before passing them to continue on your ride.

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The Joys Of Cycling: Catching Them At The Red Light

This is yet another installment of my continuing series, the joys of cycling. In which I try to chronicle some of the hidden gems of cycling.

Its not often in life that you are lucky enough to have what I like to think of as instant karmic retribution. If you are unfamiliar with the concept ask any mother who has told their child “don’t touch the stove, its hot” only to have JR. instantly reach up to burn their hand. BOOM instant Karmic retribution. As one of those dumb little children I can tell you I never touched that stove again.

I don’t plan on raising children but I have experienced the same deep satisfaction of knowing I am right many times. It happens to all of us, and it is highly gratifying, catching them at the red light.

Nothing screams “I AM A DOUCHE ROCKET!” harder than honking at a cyclist as they slow down…to stop at the red light…directly in front of them. You don’t even have to say anything just give them a nice big smile as they pull up next to you. They know what they have done, and the shame burns.

I have speculated on why people do this, perhaps they didn’t see the red, perhaps they have been trained by a life time of being stuffed into a little metal cage to only look directly in front of them, perhaps they really are douche rockets. Whatever the reason, nothing gets a good case of schadenfreude worked up faster than seeing the look on their face when the full impact of their own stupidity comes crashing down on them.

Have you experienced this joy of cycling? Share your experiences in the comments.

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