Monday Blues (From the Library): The Bicycle Effect, Cycling as Meditation

You know, sometimes your book choice just does not quite work out.

"The yin, the yang, and the bang-bang." I don't need to tell you what film that line came from. Western films, okay, I am a bit of an aficionado, but eastern philosophy? YeahhhhNo. Just not my thing.

I am not sure what I expected from this book. I know I didn't expect to experience any kind of epiphany, some "oh, yeah, cycling and zen, they do go hand in hand, don't they" moment but, at the least, some kind of affirmation of my own cycling beliefs would have been nice. And there were some of those; for instance: "Crossing the city by bike and the surrounding neighborhoods produces a different effect to doing the journey by car or bus. You are not traveling in a shoebox, looking through tiny holes; you are inside what happens." Sure, that is something we all have commented on at one time or another; the experience of travel is different, there is a more personal and direct involvement.

Then there is this: "Why talk of the losses that I have suffered over the last year? Here, as you see me, I feel very relieved. We remain together, facing the mirror of water. Melancholy is incompatible with cycling, my friend." Pretty much true, right?

Others I can relate to on a more practical level, such as the story of a master sitting with five disciples: The master asks why the five rode their bicycles to the market and back. The first responds: "I can carry this bag of potatoes on my bike. I am pleased that I didn't have to carry it on my shoulders," to which the master responds, "You are a clever boy; when you are old you will not have to walk bent as I do." The second says: "Master, I can watch the trees and fields go past when traveling by bike," and the master says, "Your eyes are open, and you see the world." To the third disciples' response, "when pedaling, the universe penetrates my mind," the master responds, "your mind will work as perfectly as a wheel that has been newly balanced." The fourth says, "Pedaling, I feel in harmony with all beings." To that the master says, "You are on the Golden Path. When the fifth student says, " I ride my bike, just to ride my bike," the master sits at his feet and says, "I am now your disciple."

There is indeed a lot of philosophical thought here, but it all seems rather randomly organized, so there is no real flow, just a lot of fits and starts, and disconnected thoughts. Much of this may be related to translation; the author is from Argentina, so this edition has been translated into English. Often times I think other meanings have been lost in the process; take for instance this passage: "Sometimes I have no other alternative than to ride on the pavement (I believe he means sidewalk). With the chain on the smallest rear sprocket and on the largest chain wheel, and pedaling as if in a race, I go almost at the pace of a pedestrian." Whaaaat? That doesn't sound right at all.

Well, just ride to ride.

Kreimer, Juan Carlos   The Bicycle Effect: Cycling as Meditation   Scotland, UK: Findhorn Press, 2016