I never seem to tire of writing about bicycles. I love talking about them, dreaming about my next bike trip, figuring out the perfect bike commute setup, pondering the ins and outs of randonneuring… you get the idea.
This love of riding bikes led me to start Chasing Mailboxes. I was searching for an outlet to write more creatively, compared to the technical writing and editing I do in my work, and wanted to focus on a topic that I felt passionately about, but was not overly intimate.
Chasing Mailboxes is a platform to diary the sensations experienced while cycling. These may include moments of discomfort, jubilation, frustration, or even self-doubt. It’s remarkable how the simple act of riding a bicycle can serve as a petri dish for so many physical and emotional states.
Most days I keep in mind that, as immediate and strong as my sentiments are, they are thoughts about bicycling, not anything more profound or grand than that.
This week that feels particularly true. As part of my regular life and work I follow the headlines and news of the day. The news this week has not been good. I won’t go into detail about it here, but if you read the news you know.
Sometimes my bicycle and the writing I do about bicycling are my way of escaping. Bicycling gives me an open road where I can contemplate freely as the breeze flows over my body.
The landscape distracts and the physical effort takes me inside myself which, in a way, is an escape from the sadness and pain in the world.
Maybe that’s cheating reality. I just wanted you to know.
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