Let’s talk about pain for a bit. I understand pain and like most I try to avoid it. Pain is an important part of being human, but is not always a bad thing. Pain is a result of some activity that the body interprets as damage to itself and warns you to take action to stop the damage. Some of the things we do hurt, and should be taken seriously. We may need to back off the intensity or stop entirely to prevent actual injury.
So suffering is what has me baffled. Suffering, like anguish, distress, and anxiety, is a feeling about those events that are causing you some discomfort or pain. In short, it’s all in your head, it’s something we do to ourselves. Don’t get me wrong, I have suffered, and I am sure I will suffer in the future.
What I think is that cycling can be accomplished with very little, if any, suffering at all. While you are riding and working hard, get out of your head and look around. Replace your bodily feelings of discomfort with the feelings of wonder and joy of what you can see around you as you ride. Keep in tough with your body because you need to know if you are working too hard or too little. Just don’t ruin a good ride by creating a layer of suffering in your head. Leave the suffering for others that are looking for a reason to quit.
Let me know what you think about:
Suffering
Sufferfest
Type Two Fun
Ugly Al
