Many people recommended me this book by Haruki Murakami, but it was only very recently did I read it. It’s an insightful look into Mr. Murakami’s life and thoughts as he runs, cycles and swims, like an informal biography of sorts. I can see why it was highly recommended to me despite its rather incoherent style of writing, and it got me thinking. “If I had to pen my thoughts down after every cycle, what would they be?”.
You see, I cycle 20km (12.43miles) down the length of the beach and back, every other night in my jeans. It not only serves as a decent substitute to off-ice training, it calms my mind after a long day. As such, these trips usually occur late into the night after all the roosting birds fall fast asleep. Every now and then, I take a detour to a 24 hour beach side cafe for a coffee and do a bit of reading.
While I’m at the beach though, I feel completely free and at ease, taking in the sea breeze, with my Heir Audio custom earphones pounding out tunes as I ride. My thoughts usually revolve around the same things actually, and to think about it now in hindsight, it should seem dreary to me by now to rehash the same thoughts, but it doesn’t.
I often contemplate my relationships with people, past and continuing. How I might improve my communication or strengthen a bond, mistakes I’ve made in the past though deeply regretful, I look at them objectively to learn something, anything, from them. Situations in my life which sometimes are beyond my control leave me frustrated, enforces my will to punish my bike further. I think about my future and my optimism falters. Like a man on a row boat stuck in a fog looking for land. But “every fog clears even for just a moment”, I often remind myself. “Final Destination”-esque deaths flit through my mind once in a while, ways my bike could meet in some kind of horrific accident and part of my handlebar would be stuck in my head. That’s when I steady the handlebar.
And then there are moments of feeling absolutely one with the music, the road, the world. A magical place where everything else is irrelevant, you are irrelevant, but its OK. These are the moments I cling on to, as fleeting as they may be.
– Saintkeat
SaintKeat 