COMMENTARY
Bike riding good for the psyche, body
By Sally Hall
Special to The Advertiser
Some days are better than others. For me, Feb. 7 was one of the good ones. It remains in my memory, bright like the sun of that day.
Photo courtesy of Sally Hall
The news that morning had been bad: the stock market was continuing its slow nose dive; the Army's 101st Airborne Division, a spearhead for invasions, was being deployed to the Persian Gulf as war with Iraq appeared imminent; and the terrorist warning system was one level below red, the highest level. But I went on a 25-mile bike ride, and the ride was good.
Sally Hall, who began riding again eight years ago, credits biking for her good health and happiness.
No, the ride was fabulous.
I had been too long off my bicycle. Bad weather, friends unable to ride, a ski trip, an English night course to teach, an adorable grandson to babysit for — I had let them all be impediments to riding.
In riding's stead, I had walked, taken spinning classes, swam in the ocean and participated in weight-training classes. Each had its pleasures, but none provided the exhilaration that biking had for me.
I came home to biking that day.
The dawn was perfect. The black clouds and heavy rains of previous days had left the 'aina sparkling, the sky a translucent blue. Traces of a passing cold front had kept the moderate trades cool and the temperature in the mid-70s. It was quintessential riding weather.
Two places on O'ahu hold special significance for me. Before I started riding about eight years ago, I loved to hike from Yokohama Bay to Ka'ena Point. Ka'ena Point is like the bow of a boat where the land juts out into the sea and waves break on either side. The Hawaiians believed it was "the jumping-off place" for souls leaving this world for another. For me, it was a spiritual place of sand dunes and nesting sea birds, naupaka and 'ilima, black lava rocks, soft skies, and pure blue ocean stretching forever to the horizon. The red dirt and deep green of the Wai'anae range provided a backdrop for the whales who came in March to cavort in the deep waters there. Since I have been biking, however, my favorite place is the Kaiwi shoreline bound by Sandy Beach on one end and Makapu'u and Waimanalo on the other. It was to these favored spots I decided to ride that Friday.
I began the ride on Kalaniana'ole Highway at Niu Iki Circle. The wind on my face was cool, both soft and invigorating. I breathed deeply and felt energized. My polarized sunglasses reduced the glare, making all the colors more intense. The greens of the grass and leaves seemed to vibrate. I felt as if I could drown in the blue of the sky. The full power and beauty of the shoreline did not hit me, however, until I emerged from the back roads of Hawai'i Kai. The incomparable blues of the ocean — navy, royal, azure — and the greens — turquoise, aquamarine, sea foam — overwhelmed me.
I stopped at Sandy Beach. The cooling trade winds carried the scent of salt, sun-baked lava, naupaka, and 'ilima. Black lava rocks and golden sand created a frame for the waves as they rolled in, white edged, windblown, one after the other, transparent, dissolving on the sand and rocks. Nothing marred the view of ocean, sky, and rocks. I rode on, through the silence of the gold and green grasses, up the hill to the lookout above Makapu'u.
The bird's-eye view, not the hill, took my breath away. The Ko'olau peaks loomed behind me, green, knife-edged, into the distance. Below, the multi-hued blues and greens of the ocean gently rose and fell. I looked for whales in the deep waters off the point, but they weren't playing that day. Rabbit Island, the Mokulua, and Mokapu Point were the only whales I saw.
I rode on to Waimanalo along the shoreline and the rolling turquoise waves. I enjoyed an ice-cold Gatorade before turning around for the ride back to my car. In Hawai'i Kai, a long line of gold trees with vibrant yellow flowers caught my eye; I delighted in the dazzling yellow patterns against the blue sky. I felt high on the beauty of it all.
The news had been bad that day, but my bike ride was wonderful. And it was unique. The special confluence of weather and events that day created an experience for me that would never be exactly the same.
Riding has been good to me. When I began riding eight years ago, I was middle aged; now I feel young. I was overweight; now I am slender. I had health problems; now I am healthy. I was weak; now I am strong. I was stressed; now I am happy. I have since completed a bike journey across the Mainland with my husband, and I have competed in three mini-triathlons with two of my sisters, as a team, with me doing the riding. The ride reminded me of why I love biking so much.
