Business Staffer Isaac Ramirez has owned his bike for over three years, and it has provided him with a stress-relieving activity. Illustration by Lilli Sams
Business Staffer Isaac Ramirez reflects on his love for riding his bike.
For as long as I can remember, I have looked to biking as a way to have fun while also escaping schoolwork and politics. It is a hobby I commit to so I can separate myself from the daily stresses of work, school and the never ending discussions of politics. Biking gives me an escape into a bigger world that doesn’t hand me assignments with harsh deadlines or opinionated stances on certain politics.
My bike has taken me places that I love going to mostly for their scenery and the history I have with these places. I’ve gone to Anna Ruby Falls, Ben Burton Park, and I have completed some of the Appalachian Trail with my bike.
However, not even the scenery of those places compares with just a casual ride around my neighborhood, it is a place I have known for as long as I can remember and I am always waving hello to familiar faces as I pass by.
My neighborhood has a very steep hill that is always very fun to ride down. I always feel the wind brush past my hair and the sound of wind flowing past my ears and the feeling of perpetually accelerating without having to pedal. In that moment, everything else is left behind — it’s just me and my bike ahead of everything else. These feelings of exhilaration make me forget upcoming assignments or big tests I have soon. While many people can see this as procrastination, I see it as merely a form of evading the stress put on me by the things I dread most: school assignments.
Biking helps me relieve my stress from school and extracurriculars, and it allows me to explore new places and test my abilities.
I live to bike, and bike to live.
