Simple Pleasures: Going For A Bike Ride

My motto is "When the going gets tough, the tough go for a bike ride". Ever since elementary school it has worked wonders for me.

I learned very early that fun things happen when you are out riding a bicycle. You are in the environment rather than being in a climate-controlled enclosure of glass and steel. Riding my bicycle has always been one of my most cherished simple pleasures. It keeps me sane.

Linda and I used to go biking together fairly often, but no more. It has been a few years since she has been able to ride her bike - now she requires four wheels.

I thought about my sweety during my last ride. I was on my way home after witnessing a magical bit of the 2013 salmon spawn in a creek a few kilometres from home. I was motivated and inspired by what I saw.

As I pedalled along quiet back roads I thought of how I might share my ride with Linda. My old digital camera has a video setting, and in lieu of a helmet cam, I wondered if I could pull off a hand held short video of a favourite part of my ride (without wiping out).

I stopped, took the camera out of my pack, and proceeded to film 74 seconds of my wind-whipped blast through the landscape. My little cinematic adventure turned out to be some of the most fun I have had on a bike. Check it out.

Feel the wind in your hair, and the joy in your heart. But don't click play if you are looking for adrenalin junkie footage. This is more along the lines of a stress-free ride through the park, with a couple of hills thrown in to get the heart rate up.

Linda had fun sharing my ride via video, and I hope you will too.

"Those who wish to control their own lives and move beyond existence as mere clients and consumers - those people ride a bike." 

- Wolfgang Sachs, of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy