Exercise is a strange thing.
Despite putting in loads of effort you can start tired but finish full of energy. Despite seeing no one and creating nothing of worth you can start off feeling like a black cloud is following you and finish feeling on top of the world.
Up to this morning I hadn’t been out cycling for a week. This always leaves me with an empty feeling, like I’ve undone all the good work I’ve put in recently, a kind of misplaced guilt focused on the negatives rather than the positive of what I’ve done to get this fit in the first place. When I’m out the inevitable happens. I notice every problem, every flaw. The stiff feeling in my quads, the creaking from the bottom bracket that disturbs the peace. My brain is trying to sabotage the good work my body is putting in.
But at some point a switch is flicked. The sun emerges from behind the pseudo-clouds. My mind wanders off through its own passageways solving problems, recalling memories and sometimes becoming sidetracked to a point where it may as well have become separated from reality.
This won’t be the first time and certainly not the last. Whilst my bike certainly keeps my body from tipping into a higher weight category what it does to my mind is almost immeasurable. The rope tying the weights to my mind are cut and my brain is free once again to focus on what’s great about the world. Today I left unhappy and frustrated but returned positive and full of life.
This is my Cycling Happiness.
