Live to ride

Its been a while since I last published a post on my blog. I have been meaning to write about my experience of attempting 30 days of biking in April, but after yesterdays fatal crash in the Giro and the death of Wouter Weylandt my thoughts have been redirected.

Its made me think about the impact cycling has had on my life and the reasons why I appreciate it so much.

Being a cyclist is being part of something very special. I feel as if I belong to a community built on support, appreciation and passion. You become intertwined with people and you feel the impact just as strong when something happens within the community.

You grow everyday, inside this large team of riders and we all try to protect each other from harm. We give advice to those who ask (and even to those who don't), and we always get encouragement to better ourselves.

Whilst cycling you try to achieve more and more and even when you succeed at one thing, there is always something bigger or better to challenge us. And along the way you are never alone.

Cycling has made me a better person, I feel more relaxed, more full of life and I couldn't be more proud to belong to a sport that encourages such teamwork. I ride for a various amount of reasons, maybe to relieve the stresses of the day, to socialise with my friends, to get fitter, to get out in the sunshine, to enjoy a challenge, discover new territory, meet new people and to feel more alive.

On such a day that one in the community falls, everyone stops to remember, the reasons why cycling is such a big part of our lives and why we are the luckiest people in the world to be a part of it.