Saturday, September 19, 2015

10

Why The Bicycle Means So Much to Me

Ten years ago the bicycle took me off a path I had gone down before.  My alcohol use was getting out of hand and it was time for a break.

The bicycle helped me break that cycle. 

The first ride after this decision was painful; I had to walk.  For the next month I had exercise induced asthma.  Quicker than expected, but slowly, fitness came.

When my business was crushed under the weight of the housing market crash, the bicycle was there for me.  After sending out hundreds upon hundreds of resumes the only ones interested were in the bicycle industry.

The bicycle  lets me be the person I want to be.  Low impact environmentally conscious, not wrapped up in material trappings.

When my marriage ended the bicycle and the family I gained in the bicycle community was there for me.  Every Spring the first race reunion warms me with joy.

The bicycle provides me with mental and physical health, friendship, and puts a roof over my family's head, so yeah, it's kinda important to me. 

2 comments:

Unknown said...

<3 That's a beautiful post Charlie, those things that you worked through in your life, are things that could crush most people.

Johnny White said...

What an inspiring article, Charlie! Who would've thought that a "simple" recreation like this can actually be one's instrument to overcome real-life obstacles? I always say that biking can develop one person holistically. And you embody that idea. I hope you get to impact even more lives.