Traveling by bicycle

Have you ever been painfully attracted to someone…..but don’t particularly like them…..blissfully enthralled by their company.? That feeling for me, i can liken to the feeling of hill climbs when on my bicycle. But in between the lust there is the whole journey,….euphoria. A feeling so strong it can be like marriage, like being with someone You can not be without. I am in love…..not with Thailand which is beautiful, desirable, full of passion….. colour, taste, touch and smell….a country and people that can fulfil many persons dreams. Thailand is indeed wonderful.
But I am in love….. in love with riding my bicycle…..Travelling by bicycle. It is a difficult relationship….but in contrast….so easy. A country changes as you pedal with your own steam, while you don’t always have the time to see the “must” see tourist sights. The bleak and unmajestic becomes alive, blowing through your hair (when I am fast enough) blowing through your hair ( if the headwind is horrible enough) , muscles, joints, skin, mind, tingling with effort. And the people you meet….they all appreciate the effort. And You….you appreciate the effort so that everything is new, the unseen, forgotten or just ignored is in full bloom, vibrant and alive. One moment in the middle of undocumented nowhere becomes more impressive, more magical than any “wonder of the world”.
Sometimes I listen to music to help with the climbs….or take me from my monotonous mind…..so that when I pass a bar, cafe, blazing stereo from a car…. Or more likely rickshaw…when I hear a particular tune I am taken back in time. Once apron a time to the dance floor, a euphoric moment with friends, loving, happy memories…but now these memories are intertwined, I am taken back to a mountain pass in Turkey…..a desert plain in Kazakstan….I am taken back to a different, more lonely, individual but equally euphoric moment, a moment i will forever treasure of traveling on my bicycle.
I am still not particularly good at climbing, dreading the climb until I love it. I am not particularly good at riding long distances, just many, many short distances…..but what I am good at….I am good at….loving what I do….Yes, travelling by bicycle.

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