life's a bike (trip)

When I was younger, people would often tell me that life is like a rollercoaster. Sometimes you go up. Sometimes you go down. And sometimes you just go 'round and 'round. Like most kids, I accepted this simile unquestioningly. After all, it does make sense. Life is an ever-alternating series of highs and lows. Recently, though, I've come to realize that the rollercoaster analogy no longer works for me. The bike trip metaphor is still too simple to fully encompass all the complexities of life, but in some ways it beats the rollercoaster.

The problem with rollercoasters is that once you're strapped in, you're stuck. No one can force you to get on, but once you do, you're subject to every whim of a cold, mechanical machine. You have no control over where you go and you can never be too different than the other people that got on with you. Riding a rollercoaster will only bring you back to where you began. Nothing has realy changed, except maybe for the fact that your hair is a little rustled and maybe you want to throw up.

Biking isn't quite so passive. You still don't get to choose when you go up and when you go down, but at least there's more that you to do about it. There is always, of course, the option of staying on the paved trail. It's relatively comfortable, with just a few bumps here and there and maybe even a slight incline. If you just want to cruise through life, that's the way to go. You'll never be too far from a life companion if you go this way. Alternatively, you can veer off the beaten path and make your own way. It forces you to keep moving forward, especially when you're trying to get over a hill-- an obstacle. It burns and it's tiring and sometimes you just want to give up, but those climbs are probably the most significant moments in a trip. After all, the only way to get to the top is by moving up. Even if there's a plateau at the top, it's never a good idea to stop moving. The slightest incline wil get you to slowly start rolling backwards until you're back at the bottom of your climb.

The only time you don't have to pedal forward is when you're falling downhill. At this point, you're not really in control anymore. There are the hand brakes, but even those are a test of faith. You can never be quite sure that they'll slow you down enough, so you don't crash-- or even that they'll work at all.

I don't know much if anything about life, but I have learned this much: always keep moving forward.