Yin/yang has been around since ancient times. This Chinese philosophy is about the balance between opposite forces in nature, humanity, and so on. You might say that cycling has its own yin and yang.

Yin is associated with cold, dark, female, receptive. Yang is the opposite: bright, male, passion, growth.

It feels like yin when little misadventures occur. I was getting a piece of Clif Bar out of the plastic bag in my top-tube pouch. Somehow my groping fingers got ahold of the bag, which I dropped, spilling four pieces of bar. I was able to retrieve the bag, but had to leave the Clif Bar bits for birds and ants to clean up. This is why it\’s a good idea to carry an extra snack; Combos today.

Today I extended my Sunday ride to a bit over 29 miles. I was riding against a headwind much of the way home. That wind got up to 14 mph before I was finished. More yin! I\’m glad I didn\’t have a flat; that would have been big-time yin!

Part of the yin/yang concept is that nothing is either all yin, or all yang. So, what was the yang today?

It didn\’t rain. The temperature was comfortable. Even though my speed was sometimes below 9 mph, I can ride a little faster against the wind than I used to be able to.

Now for the yang of cycling. A clear day! Calm winds. Feeling well-rested and strong, and knowing you can do whatever distance you want to ride. No flats; and not dropping your ride food!

For those who enjoy group rides, it probably seems like big-time yin just now; all that social-distancing makes group rides rather harder. When COVID-19 has finally run its course, the yang of group rides can return.