Cycling and the Seven Lamps of Architecture

Sacrifice

Truth

Power

Beauty

Life

Memory

Obedience

These are the Seven Lamps of Architecture according to John Ruskin. The one in particular I want to concentrate on is Sacrifice.

Sacrifice. What does it mean to sacrifice? To give up part of yourself for the benefit of the whole. To maximize happiness for the most amount of people without regard for your own happiness. To work harder than necessary to achieve beyond the norm. Basically, enduring something so that you will eventually get something better and the loss you felt in the moment will be made worth it by the reward your sacrifice earned you. This is pretty common knowledge and sports teams across America and the World have adopted slogans and cheers that involve sacrifice. This is something simple yet important.

Cycling is a form of much enjoyment. I genuinely enjoy riding my bicycle, as many people do. I also have the desire to go fast on said bicycle. Once again, many people are going to agree with me here. The thing about going fast is you get this sense of insecurity. There is a level of safety that you give up to go fast. You also get the feeling of wind in your hair, zipping around at high speed; immersed in your surroundings. Cycling is great for this. So what does Sacrifice have to do with this? In short; everything.

If I say I want to go out to the East of High neighborhoods and just fly around, that only means one thing. I want to ride fast through the tough urban environment that is off-campus at OSU. The curved roads and changes in elevations give the ride enjoyment and complexity that you just can't get anywhere else. How fun would it be to just drive a car around? You lose something when the resultant is not earned. You complete a fine car ride through the off-campus area and upon returning you realize that you were in no ways enriched or strengthened.

Cycling is different. When I finish a tough but fun ride, I'm sweating. I'm tired, maybe a bit sore and really happy. This is something that a car cannot give you. You can put the top down on the convertible and ride with your hair flapping in the wind, but you will never recreate cycling. The sense of flying, the speed at which you move and the lack of a covering. Cycling is so exposed and simple that there is a great joy in it. If you don't sacrifice, you don't ride a bicycle. The feeling of reward achieved through sacrifice cannot be achieved any other way. Now, this isn't to say there aren't other means of movement or recreation that don't involve great amounts of sacrifice, I'm just focusing on one that is particularly enjoyable to me. The great thing is, they all share something very elemental in common. The feeling that we must pick up the old Ruskinian tenets into some new forms of logic and march on; or ride on I should say.