I am a big fan of Jill Homer's "Up In Alaska" blog where she recounts her adventures in endurance cycling and snow biking in the Alaskan countryside. She is a much more extreme cyclist than I am, but has a wonderful way of putting the thrill of the two-wheeled experience into words. I really enjoyed a new term she invented in her latest entry, "Bikecstacy". It encapsulates one of the experiences that keeps me coming back, even when I am over-tired or the weather is less than optimal. Her description of the experience...
"Everything went quiet. It was right at that moment that I blasted out of the fog, with a sweeping view of the canyon and the mountains across the Channel, through a curtain of sideways rain that made everything look like it was shimmering. All around me, tree branches were whipping; grass was flattened against the ground; and I was floating through a bubble of calm. I felt weightless, freed of all friction and resistance, riding in perfect harmony with the wind. My odometer registered 43 mph. My heart pounded. I sucked in fast gulps of air. My whole body vibrated, consumed by an almost overwhelming feeling of elation ... bikecstacy."
Even though my rides have been far less extreme than hers, I have had this experience many times. The wind in your face, the stillness surrounding you, and the beauty of nature flooding into your eyes. There is nothing better.
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