Chapter Ten Sample
WHAT I KNOW NOW
Every year, from the beginning of April until the end of October, I cycle to work two or three times every week. I've been doing this for quite a number of years. The trip takes me from Newent to Gloucester, about ten miles and most of the journey is along country lanes and cycle paths. By the end of the summer, when the nights are drawing in, I give up making the journey in this way. The late-afternoon darkness makes it unsafe as part of the journey is along a busy main road. I will have eventually clocked up about 800 miles or so each year, just going backwards and forwards along my route. This year I feel a sense of achievement as I've easily passed the 1,000-mile mark for the first time. That's my annual target and I've never gone beyond it before.
I love this ride. It's an opportunity to clear my head and sift through thoughts and feelings and to work through life's daily worrying little problems. At the same time, I can watch the countryside passing by on either side and feel a little smug when I see people boxed up inside their cars. The cycle journey to work is physically quite easy once I'm reasonably fit but the trip back home at the end of the day can be tough going when I'm tired and hungry, too. The weather plays a big part in this process. Sunshine is great; rain can be a pain, but not nearly as bad as the occasional puncture.
That bit of extra oxygen pumping round my system helps the old brain to work more efficiently while I’m cycling but if you asked me what I thought about on these trips, I'd be hard pushed to tell you. Most of the time thoughts and feelings are just settling down into an even meditative state, sorting themselves out, becoming organised. Occasionally though, I can think quite deeply and when that happens the journey passes by almost unnoticed. One minute I've begun to pedal and the next I've arrived - just like that. Today will be one of my last journeys this year. The weather is fine and autumn is underway with the trees full of colour and beginning to shed their leaves. There is a nip in the air as I set off from home just before 8:00 a.m...
Every year, from the beginning of April until the end of October, I cycle to work two or three times every week. I've been doing this for quite a number of years. The trip takes me from Newent to Gloucester, about ten miles and most of the journey is along country lanes and cycle paths. By the end of the summer, when the nights are drawing in, I give up making the journey in this way. The late-afternoon darkness makes it unsafe as part of the journey is along a busy main road. I will have eventually clocked up about 800 miles or so each year, just going backwards and forwards along my route. This year I feel a sense of achievement as I've easily passed the 1,000-mile mark for the first time. That's my annual target and I've never gone beyond it before.
I love this ride. It's an opportunity to clear my head and sift through thoughts and feelings and to work through life's daily worrying little problems. At the same time, I can watch the countryside passing by on either side and feel a little smug when I see people boxed up inside their cars. The cycle journey to work is physically quite easy once I'm reasonably fit but the trip back home at the end of the day can be tough going when I'm tired and hungry, too. The weather plays a big part in this process. Sunshine is great; rain can be a pain, but not nearly as bad as the occasional puncture.
That bit of extra oxygen pumping round my system helps the old brain to work more efficiently while I’m cycling but if you asked me what I thought about on these trips, I'd be hard pushed to tell you. Most of the time thoughts and feelings are just settling down into an even meditative state, sorting themselves out, becoming organised. Occasionally though, I can think quite deeply and when that happens the journey passes by almost unnoticed. One minute I've begun to pedal and the next I've arrived - just like that. Today will be one of my last journeys this year. The weather is fine and autumn is underway with the trees full of colour and beginning to shed their leaves. There is a nip in the air as I set off from home just before 8:00 a.m...
