Why I Ride
For me riding isn't about the pain like it is for a lot of cycling fanatics. Sure I feel it and it is a part of my riding. If at the end of a ride I have not felt at least some pain I feel like I should have ridden farther or harder. But I also feel it is a great accomplishment if I can finish a long ride at a good pace and a few minutes later I feel like I could do it all over again. To me that is a thrill.
Riding for me has also become about freedom, victory and recapturing the former me while building up the new me.
Most importantly by riding and doing certain things I am beating to death that bastard stroke that 1 year, 5 months and 17 nights ago came like a low life 'thief in the night'. Little did the thief know that by calling on me, it had 'bought the whole can of whoop-ass', not just a free sample for the taking. It was not just taking me on; it had encountered an army of dedicated and fiercely loyal family, friends and medical professionals.
I can beat the crap out of the thief by doing things I did before it slithered into my life; before so much was stolen, for no reason at all. I whip the thief by simply doing things as well as I can and not worrying about how I used to do them.
Riding is about freedom for several reasons. One of those reasons is that I will probably never drive again. I hope I will but some things are just as they are. People whose mental processing is as slow as mine, have lost half their vision and whose brain has shifted the midline of the real world by many degrees, usually don't get licensed to drive a 2000 pound hunk of steel through neighborhood streets. I have to rely on family and friends to get me around. Someday when I want to do something simple like go to the grocery store I will simply get on my bike and go. That day is actually pretty close; one more stake in the heart of that thief.
The Thief took so much of my memory that I don't even recognize my own neighborhood and house. I have lived in my neighborhood for 46 years and I have gotten lost walking around in my home. Thank God after a time I recognized my beautiful, wonderful wife and the rest of my family and friends; POW another stake driven into the heart of the thief.
My wife helps me 'memorize' bike routes by riding them over and over and drilling landmarks into my memory. When I’m able to ride a memorized route alone, that is a victory over the thief. When I was able to follow a list of directions and put a computer on my bike, even though it took me several hours and a couple of re-starts; that was a victory over the thief. When I exercise and eat right so that chances of more strokes or heart decease are minimized that is a victory over the thief. When my loved ones and friends spend less time worrying about my health and well being and living their lives to the fullest that is a victory over the thief. POW, POW, POW and POW four more stakes and more to come.
Cycling encourages me and helps me do all those things. It is to the point where cycling affects everything from my diet and sleep to the cognitive therapy my therapists give me. Cycling affects what I can go do and when I can go do it. I have woven cycling into almost every aspect of my recovery and my life.
So now everyone has a bit of an idea of why I ride.
P.S. Don’t worry if you see a red flare off in the distance. It just means that StrokeBoy took a wrong turn and is temporarily lost. Awesome Chick will release the bloodhounds and I’ll be found in no time.
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