(AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
10 Ways to fall in love, or back in love, with cycling this fall!
After a long spring and summer of riding the same roads and trails, riding with the same good friends, and rinsing out the same threadbare bike shorts, you may a bit drained and tired. It's understandable. Routines of life are indeed a double-edged-sword: On the one hand, human beings seek the daily comfort of routine habits. Whether it be drinking coffee from the same favorite cup each morning, eating your lunch on the same bench outside your workplace each afternoon, or putting on the same pair of comfortable jeans when you get home from work each evening, people everywhere fall into comfortable habits. On the other hand, too much routine can bring boredom, and boredom is bad--especially for cyclists wanting more out of life.
For you cyclists wanting to exorcize your bike-routine demons, and rejuvenate your bicycing souls, here are ten guaranteed ways to fall back in love with cycling this fall:
1. Introduce a friend or a family member to the pure easy-going joy of cycling. Invite someone who hasn't ridden a bike in years out for an ultra-mellow ride with you on a crisp fall day. Limit the ride to an hour or so, and buy them lunch afterwards. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how great you'll feel, too. In the SF Bay area, a great way to enjoy such a ride is by taking the ferry ride to Angel Island or Tiburon, and biking on easy roads and paved trails.
2. Host a bike movie party at your house for cyclists and non-cyclists alike. Rent a few great bike films, have everyone bring some great food, and you'll have a blast. Suggested movie titles include the classics Breaking Away, American Flyer, and The Bicycle Thief, but the newly-produced documentaries Klunkerz (about the Marin-county founders of mountain-biking) and the Coors Classic (about the great Colorado stage race of the early 1980s) are also great picks if your audience members are as into cycling as you are.
3. Ride at dawn on a weekend morning. There's something amazing about riding early in the morning. That special kind of quiet, the prism of the breaking light, and the crisp coolness of the air all combine to create the charming feel of being outside and active. Combine the solitude created by lack of work traffic, and you have yourself a great memory in the making.
4. Place an online ad for a no-drop weekend bike ride for all, and see who shows up. Be sure to pick a beautiful, and easy-to-find meeting spot--like the Golden Gate Bridge--and wear a big smile. The people who show up will no doubt be smiling as well, and all of you get to experience the fun of biking with new conversation and passion.
5. Write a haiku poem about biking. The rules are simple. Three lines. Five syllable first line. Followed by a seven syllable line. Concluding with another five syllable line. Good haikus have a seaonal reference, too. Here's an example: My bike is my friend. Rolling past trees and oceans. Such autumn spirit. Just trying to write poetry about biking engages your memories and love for biking--and that's the whole point!
6. Buy a cool bike accessory as a present for a friend. This gets you in a bike shop, doing something really nice for someone else. Whether it be a bike computer, some bike gloves, or a tool, you will both be more excited for your next ride together.
7. Plan a significant bike trip for 2010. Whether you decide to ride your bike around Ireland, do RAGBRI for the first time, or ride in the famous California Death Ride next year, have some fun now by researching bike rides and races that are at least 50 miles from home, challenging, and completely new to you. The planning will get you motivated now, and the fact that it's next year will keep you motivated in your riding through the winter.
8. Join a local bike organization or club. In the San Francisco Bay area, there are a myriad of choices for cyclists of all ages and skills. A good first step is joining the San Francisco Bike Coalition. www.sfbike.org The SFBC has lots of great information and contacts for all riders. And, membership gets you a discount at many area bike shops.
9. Learn and practice the 15-minute rule. On those days when you are not very motivated to ride, practice the 15-minute rule. The rule simply states: "Anyone can ride for 15-minutes!" Get dressed, pump the tires, and ride easy for 15-minutes. If you still aren't into the bike ride, go home and do something else. Odds are though, you'll be awake and happy to be on the bike, and will end up riding longer than 15-minutes.
10. Name your bike, and put appointments in your calendar to spend time with your friend each week. By naming your bike, you personify it, making riding more of a relationship, and less of a mechanical endeavor. It's weird, but it works. (Just don't name it after a spouse or a lover.)
Have a great ride!
[Be sure to read the companion piece to this article, and hit the "SUBSCRIBE" button above to automatically get e-mail notifications whenever Mark Loy writes another SF Cycling Examiner article.]
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