Caked bike, clear mind – how exercise helps me stay sane
25/8/2022
Translation: Katherine Martin
Sport is great for you. Not just for your physical health, but for your mental health too. It works wonders for my mental well-being. Let me explain how.
Before I get to the sports aspect of this story, I need to give you the backstory. I hope you don’t mind. And what’s really important: I’m not going to praise or slate any products. If you want to buy bicycle helmets or hiking boots, knock yourself out. Thanks.
Right, now we’re among ourselves, here we go. We live in difficult times. Probably all times are difficult in some way. My grandparents come to mind, for example. They lived through two world wars. Not in neutral Switzerland, but in the warring countries Austria and France.
At the parents’ evening at my daughter’s secondary school a few days ago, translators in the background were quietly explaining to Ukrainian parents what was being said. There’s a war going on today as there was back then.
My boss recently sent me an article published in ZEIT Magazin and said I should read it when I get a chance. And that’s what I did.
Who do you want to be?
The author decided to go vegan five years ago. In the article, he describes what it’s like to no longer accept how blasé we’ve become about chucking a piece of meat on the grill or using planes and cars. Spoiler alert: he says it’s been one of the best decisions of his life. Why? Because, in the end, it’s all about who you want to be, regardless of what people around you are doing.
Shortly after I read the article, I was at a barbecue with former work colleagues. Many of us were eating meat. Me included. I’m not a vegan or a vegetarian. As is often the case these days, we also spoke about the climate crisis. And as is also often the case, a popular argument came up that always does in this context. Namely that any measures we take are useless as long as China keep doing what they’re doing about climate change: allegedly nothing. Which is demonstrably false, by the way (article in German).
The other popular argument in the climate protection debate also came up. Namely the question of how much saving the planet will cost, who will pay for it what will happen to our jobs. It’s generally feared that introducing climate protection measures will put at us an economic disadvantage vis-à-vis China, which will lead to huge job losses. At least that was the general opinion at our BBQ get-together.
That same night, a massive thunderstorm hit the region. Heavy rain, hail and strong winds included. It made me think that this is how people must have imagined the apocalypse as I stood at my bedroom window, watching the display with my mouth open.
Biking and brooding
Who do I want to be in times of crisis? The question wouldn’t stop haunting me. So I did what I often do in these kinds of moments: I got in the saddle of my gravel bike (yep, made in Taiwan) and hit the pedals. This was the morning after the apocalyptic storm. I biked round my home circuit, which I’ve been doing regularly for a year and a half now. Cycling had already got me thinking about heavy subjects a few days before:
Since then, I’ve become very familiar with my little home circuit. I know the dangerous spots, where I have to cycle right or left, where I can speed up or need to slam on the brakes. In other words, there’s time to think.
And then it hit me like a bolt of lightening I’d seen the previous night. What do I care what China’s doing? If all its inhabitants were to jump in the Yangtze River – provided it’s not dried up – would I jump, too? Of course not! Why should I care if my neighbour’s burning rubbish in his fireplace on a regular basis? Does that mean I should start burning trash in my garden?
Do my neighbour and China get to me? Of course they do. But isn’t it hypocritical that we Westerners have been outsourcing production to China for the last 20 to 30 years and all the carbon emissions to go with it? With this in mind, it takes a fair amount of arrogance to then point the finger. Honestly, in this aspect, my neighbour gets to me more.
So what about all those jobs? They may be at risk if extra costs are generated by improving environmental protection. This, in turn, would make products and services more expensive. Yes, I work for an online retailer whose answer to most questions is «more». What else is it supposed to say? More sales, more profit, more products – that’s how our system works, right? More consumption. It may be killing us, but it keeps us in jobs. Maybe it really is the case that you need a job first, and then a functioning planet. However, I suspect it’s the other way around.
The Pippi Longstocking effect
As Pippi Longstocking sang in the German version of the show: 2 times 3 makes 4, de-de de-de de and three makes nine! We see the world de-de de-de de the way we want to ... We humans have the ability to mentally bend reality to suit our behaviour. It’s the opposite that we have trouble with. I’m no exception. Ich fahre nicht Auto, besitze keinen Führerschein. In the last twenty years, I’ve been on a plane precisely three times. This considered, it’s not difficult for me to point the finger at drivers and frequent fliers and demand they give it all up. Just like it’s easy for me to stand around the barbecue, pointing the finger at China as I slap another steak onto the grill.
Then again, I also regularly eat meat and have a penchant for expensive aftershave, baseball caps and sneakers. And I occasionally enjoy buying bike shirts that I don’t really need. I justify this to myself by saying that I don’t drive a car or fly from A to B with Easyjet for CHF 2.50. I too see the world the way I want to. We’re all for environmental protection – as long as we don’t have to contribute anything towards it. At the same time, I think making sacrifices is the only thing that can save us from ourselves.
This is where we come full circle with the ZEIT Magazin article. In it, Bernd Ulrich writes:
But isn’t this philosophy of constant refusal to make sacrifices extremely odd? In our adult lives, we know that nothing of value is possible without sacrifice – not love, not children, not a healthy body, nor professional success. But saving humankind from its own destruction is meant to be possible without it? How ludicrous.
Meanwhile, on my bike ride, I’m struggling forwards through the mud. The rain of the night has softened the ground and the muck sticks to my bike like glue. I can barely move anymore. But the undefined feeling that had me in its grip this morning has given way to clarity in my mind.
Who do I want to be? We can all answer that question for ourselves. Regardless of what happens in China or round at your neighbours’. It doesn’t matter that my actions won’t change the world in the scheme of things. Because it’ll change me. Coming to this realisation is a decent start.
Patrick Bardelli
Senior Editor
Patrick.Bardelli@digitecgalaxus.chFrom radio journalist to product tester and storyteller, jogger to gravel bike novice and fitness enthusiast with barbells and dumbbells. I'm excited to see where the journey'll take me next.
