Well, the project isn't started yet or anything. I just started reading the book The Happiness Project because everyone was talking about it and I am a sucker for projects and the search for more happiness. Especially when I can incorporate more biking into the whole equation!
Spring is springing and I am eager to get the biking season started. As I am planning out my race schedule for the year, I have been reminiscing about the past year and I am amazed how much happiness and community riding and racing my downhill bike has brought to my life. There have been so many new adventures and new rad women to meet. If you are a biker chick who I've met in the past year, you know who you are and I want to say how glad I am to have met you! Every single one of you has inspired me in some way and made my life richer, and that has in turn enriched the lives of other women I have encountered along the way.
For this post I wanted to share a paragraph out of The Happiness Project that really made me think about this past year of riding and racing. It made me realize how much happiness riding a bike can bring. They transport you into instant adventure and help you grow in unseen ways. They give you a strong body, but they also can provide new learning experiences, relaxation, renewed focus, new friendships, a greater appreciation for beauty and nature, and stronger community. In my view, riding a bike more often should be a huge part of anyone's "Happiness Project"!
(Excerpt from The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin):
"One reason that challenge brings happiness is that is allows you to expand your self-definition. You become larger. Suddenly you can do yoga or make homemade beer or speak a decent amount of Spanish." (or ride your bike off a 4 foot drop!) "Research shows that the more elements make up your identity, the less threatening it is when any one element is threatened. Losing your job might be a blow to your self-esteem, but the fact that you lead your local alumni association gives you a comforting source of self-respect. Also, a new identity brings you into contact with new people and new experiences, which are also powerful sources of happiness."
The last sentence make me even more excited to ride some new venues this year and meet a whole new set of riding compadres!
Does your bike bring you happiness? If you are reading this, that is probably a silly question. Let me rephrase...
How has riding a bike drawn more happiness into your life?
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