How to feel really alive

How to feel really alive in three simple steps:

1. Wait for a morning when there are severe weather warnings and 90km/h winds threatening to bring down trees, powerlines etc.

2. Find out which direction the wind is blowing from.

3. Get on your bike and ride straight into the teeth of it!

I guarantee that within about 3km, you will feel more alive than you have done in a long, long time (unless you do this sort of thing regularly). Choose your weapon: The irresistible force meets the immovable object -- which will YOU be? Stalemate is an incredibly liberating experience. The wind itself becomes the objective, the destination of the ride is merely a secondary consideration at this point.

Something I really love about these situations is letting the dull, boring side of my personality express itself. I give it a free reign while I spin the cranks in a relatively small gear and gradually grind the wind into the dirt. Then as I get close enough to sniff ultimate victory, I let the arrogance take over. I have no aversion to launching a blistering attack in the closing stages of such a ride, just to let the wind know that it's been owned hard! Another advantage is that magpies tend not to fancy these conditions too much for some reason.

The one downside is when the wind decides to play dirty and throw a twig at your ankle. Still, losing a little blood occasionally can be healthy sometimes -- it reduces the chance of blood clotting in later life. This was how it all went on Saturday morning when I decided to defy such conditions and ride to Springbrook really early. Of course, there was an element of cheating -- with a 1,000 metre climb to play with, there isn't much the wind can do once the climbing starts and those instincts kick in. I also wonder whether there's an element of cheating in lifting the bike over this:



Looking further down the road, there was a situation where lifting the bike over wasn't an option, but look at the left of this picture, you'll see a very small gap -- apparently there's a road under this mess somewhere too.



But of course, the really great thing about windy days like this, is that they provide very clear mountain views from somewhere like Springbrook. And if you can find a sheltered spot, well, I'll let the pictures do the talking, check out the stray wildflowers in the bottom corners of the first two.