Therapy!

Sometimes transportation cycling is an ordeal - I'd be lying if I said otherwise.

When it's down in the single digits (or lower) in the dead of winter.

When the skies are dark and the rain is pourin' down... it takes some will power. (I've had occasional rides home where I literally poured water out of my shoes, after arriving at my destination.)

When it's triple digits on a sultry summer afternoon, and heat waves shimmer on the asphalt, to some degree. (I personally enjoy riding on hot days, as long as I am able to stay well-hydrated. But lots of people ask, "How can you do that?")

When I unexpectedly need to haul something heavy or bulky.

But there are many, many, many days when transportation cycling is an unqualified pleasure! So enjoyable I'm surprised it's not illegal!

On a perfect spring day, with blue skies and big puffy clouds overhead, and just enough breeze to wiggle the brilliant-green leaves on the trees... it is Manna to my Soul!

It invigorates the body. It soothes the spirit. It calms the emotions. It is therapy!

(Can the same be said for getting in a car and spending a half-hour or 45 minutes in freeway gridlock? Perish the thought! For me, that would be an ordeal every day!)

No matter how bad my day is going, usually I can at least look forward to the trip home. Or when I'm totally beat after a day of yard work, it may be hard to get on that bike and ride... but if I do, I'm always glad I did so afterwards.

Pedaling is WAY cheaper than lying on a psychiatrist's couch!

(People who haven't experienced it probably think I'm over-selling it. I am not.)