Keep it in perspective: How to avoid bike obsessiveness

Maintaining form and fitness as a cyclist demands a high level of commitment, which all too easily tips over into obsessiveness and a loss of perspective. Jim Cotton goes in search of bike-life harmony.

Lachlan Morton (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Let’s face it, we think about our bikes a lot. When we should be working, when we’re watching TV, even sometimes in our sleep, our minds drift to cycling. Of course, ours is a largely healthy and wholesome pastime, but can it become too all-consuming?

If we get too bogged down in numbers and statistics, is our commitment to cycling liable to become self-destructive? As someone who has fallen foul of this hazard, I wanted to assess the delicate balance between riding your bike for the simple joy of it, and its becoming an instrument of obligation and obsession.

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