THRILL SEEKING…

Image courtesy of {100 COPIES}

I’ve always been one of those people who gets a bit of a kick from leaving things ALMOST too late.

A sort of cheap thrill.  A mini-frisson from the risk that it could all go wrong.  The delicious sensation of leaving it until absolutely the very last minute to go through to departures at the airport (sigh – the joyful frenzy of airside shopping), not getting ready to go out to dinner until seconds before the cab is due to arrive, knowing a work deadline is terrifyingly looming, but purposefully being very busy all weekend and then staying up all night and working like a demon.

(There surely must be a German word for this, in the way that schadenfreude and doppelganger sum up a notion perfectly, leaving gaping holes in the English language…)

I think this is why I LOVE cycling and it suits me so well.  It must be one of the most staggeringly obvious things to say, but it still never ceases to amaze me just how much ground you can cover on a bike.  That slightly too long walk to the tube, the irritation at hanging around waiting for the bus, heart-racing realisation that you’ve left it a bit late for the school pick-up (again)… that general need to plan ahead that I loathe so much all become issues of the past.   Since taking up city cycling, I get an ‘almost too late but saved by the bike’ thrill time and time again – because cycling is just so utterly convenient.   Have bike lock key, few basic essentials you grab as you race out the door, bike right outside and actually never run the risk of leaving it too late.  Because it’s all about calculated risk and not really ever screwing up.

Of course, now that cycling everywhere means I shouldn’t be late, the new (and very sad) thrill in my life is never putting the bike lock key back in the same place…