Reason number 186 on why I ride; The Cathartic Value
I’ve made the statement before that riding provides mental relief. That it causes the rest of the world to simply vanish. In my article titled My Zen Road Trip I wrote: “…there are those moments where time simply stops. There you are; straight line, 75 MPH, beautiful day, and you hit a mental zone where it all becomes almost meditative.”
I think by that statement alone you would be safe in the suggestion that riding provides some level of cathartic relief. On Christmas day however, I experienced just how profoundly cathartic it really can be. In this case it wasn’t a particularly active or overly aggressive ride. Instead, it was a 75 mile (one way) trek on the super-slab to see mom for the holiday.
In my case however, Christmas was not a happy occasion. Owing to a handful of terrible events in my life, I find myself indescribably anxiety-ridden and not in the best of emotional straights. I’m not prepared to share any specific detail about the recent events in my life but suffice it to say that these events have had the emotional impact of a broken-heart to the “enth” degree. The term, “Emotional wreck” would have been a mild form of what I was dealing with in my head and heart. The constant feeling that I was on the verge of tears was beyond agonizing and unbearable. Preparing to leave for moms I was teary-eyed and deeply saddened. Christmas just wasn’t Christmas and I actually considered not going at all, fearing that I’d only serve to bring everyone else down. Depression tends to be contagious that way.
My ride to mom’s and the ride home later the same day proved to have been a greater emotional haven than any number of years in therapy could ever provide. Ten minutes into it I forgot about everything. No anxiety, no heart-ache, no worry, no tears save for those provided by 75 mile per hour wind and not the most suitable glasses. I had experienced a profound emotional cleansing such that on my arrival to moms, I was smiling. Not one of those phony smiles that get put-on when trying to hide bad news. This was a real, warming-the-heart sort of smile. I was in a great mood and I suddenly felt a bit silly at my angst over the preceding days.
Thusly, in addition to the Zen-like meditative nature of riding, add to it the cathartic, emotionally uplifting, mentally cleansing properties and you have a pretty good explanation about why I ride.
its one of those things…where a 75 mile ride seems like down the street. The only things you hear are the little nuances of your engine, the way the tires hit the road, and the only thing you worry about is the guy in front of you who is driving to slow.
That’s a great story – I can relate. Whatever it is that’s got you down, I’m sorry and hope you’re doing well. Riding is awesome – and it does lift the spirits in a magical way.
My mom lives about 75 miles away, too, and I think I’m going to take a ride up mid-week and visit.
Great information, I just bookmarked this.
I find riding up the coast in a Mini Cooper (top down, of course), to have the same kind of cathartic value. A year of therapy accomplished in a 90-minute drive. Great post. Spot on!