"It's not the destination but the journey." I think that is a famous quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, but I'm not sure because I have seen it written in so many different forms. But regardless of how it is worded it is absolutely true. I think about this quote whenever I am out on my bike.
Most of us grow up learning to ride a bicycle, it's in someways a right of passage for us as children like learning to crawl or walk. This process comes with it's set of challenges, we pedal, we crash, we cry and get frustrated, but something drives us to shake it off and get back on this two wheeled contraption and try again. And at some point in this process of trial and err we find the balance and the ability to pedal forward, (literally). With this success we feel the simple joy of achievement and pride that we have figured out how to conquer the two wheeled beast. This was what I first felt when I finally learned to ride my bike without training wheels, just the pure simple joy's of riding. Somewhere in my early twenties I lost that joy and had to stop it see it from a different perspective to like it again. I have worked, raced, and observed the Bicycle Industry for the past 7 years and like any sport it has it's nitches, quirks, do's and don'ts, rights and wrong's, cool's and dorks, professional or recreational, etc, etc.... But when it comes down to it really is just the pure joy of turning the crank arm, pedaling forward, riding that sweet trail, or sweet stretch of road, being out in nature and just enjoying the simplicity of the bike, A.K.A-It's All About The Ride...
