Cycling is one of the most fun physical activities, as it allows you to exercise your body while enjoying different landscapes. Although some people prefer not to use this vehicle in the city because of the risks involved and the high level of urban pollution, taking a trip to the countryside or the mountains with a bicycle is an excellent plan for any time of the year.
In addition, it can be practiced as a couple or as a family, so that it becomes a collective activity that can contribute to the cohesion between its participants. Without a doubt, those who are thinking of opting for couples therapy can try a couple of bike rides first, as it is cheaper and allows them to get out of the routine, one of the great evils of couples.
Bicycle: means of transport and (self)knowledge
The elementary and joyful experience is difficult to describe in words. The breeze on my face, the landscape of hedges full of flowers and wildflowers, the strange feeling of weightlessness that takes over gravity, and the excitement of my wheels turning faster and my eyes starting to feel the wind effect. Gently tilting the bike from one side to the other, I feel a sense of falling, a unique kind of emotion that I can only compare to being a bird in flight.
For anyone who has lost the habit of riding a bike (statistics tell us it’s the majority of the population), a bike ride in the countryside is a bit like being a child again, a sure way to recover the uncomplicated and carefree pleasures of youth. Within minutes of leaving, the mundane worries of everyday life are swept away by a torrent of sights, sounds and smells, as well as by the fleeting and intangible sensations of movement.
As a way of discovering the countryside, cycling is unparalleled. Walking will always have its place, but riding a bicycle allows us to cover a surprising distance with comfort and ease. Even the quietest rides can cover distances of 20 miles or more in a few hours: far enough away to find real changes in the landscape and appreciate all the fine details lost when driving a car. As Ernest Hemingway said: “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the best way to get around a country, because you have to sweat the hills and go down the coast” (although there is absolutely no shame in going up the hills).
Being free to stop and explore
Our countryside is blessed with a capillary network of quiet lanes perfect for cycling. Roads and flanges multiply the possibilities, although wider tyres – and mudguards – are sensible options when venturing off-road. There are no problems finding a place to park on your bike, so it’s easy to stop en route, to investigate a point of interest, to enjoy a picnic under an oak tree or a dip in a river or in the sea. Unlike a beloved clot of parked cars, a few bicycles leaned against an old wall or tree to positively enhance the town scene.
Finding peace and quiet on the trails
On the wildest and most remote trails, in the sunken caverns lined with knotty roots under an imposing canopy of trees, or in the high countryside with endless views of a distant horizon, it feels as if time is travelling into a past era of peace and tranquility, of harmony with the natural world. Unfortunately, such reveries are easily broken by a sudden encounter with a noisy and busy road. These roads, which invariably follow the best and most direct routes, are effectively off-limits to anyone on bicycle or on foot. It is alarming that many’B’ roads – which once the routes of the travelling cyclists have been widened and progressively straightened out – are heading in the same direction. It is all too common to find villages ravaged by the fast and busy roads that separate them from the surrounding area. Residents have no choice but to drive, even over very short distances, and this only increases the problem.
Source: https://www.drromeu.net/terapia-de-pareja-barcelona/ (Spanish)