Bullet in the face of nervous breakdown.
I only have registered on this site to tell you this.
I've had this stuff happen to me. Schizophrenia, permanent
depression, the no-will-to-live thing and all. All this crap still
haunts me when I don't ride.
Hell yes I ride. I bought myself a mountain bike and it changed
everything. The perfect cure. The escape from my sick, poisoned self. I
laugh in the face of Weltschmerz!
I slowly build my technical skills, I keep my bike in top shape, I
learn a lot in the process. There's neither time nor reason to be
depressed anymore. To minimize the off-bike time, I always wear armor
on my rides. It allows me to do stupid things and learn from mistakes.
I built my whole bike this way -- so that it forces the pain to
experience exchange rate well in my favor. I build my own wheels, I
work on my bike all by myself, bleeding brakes, facing caliper mount
tabs, overhauling suspension elements, everything. I have big, complex
plans. New places to ride, new tricks, new ways to shed grams, always
keeping track on where the industry is heading, defending my right to
NOT own a car and still commute to work, having fun on the trails and
the sidewalks even while doing so.
People here seem bent on having a car. If you don't drive one,
you're a loser and a ridiculous freak, they think. They keep teaching
their children this way. I guess they are all "normal"... they must
never have nervous breakdowns. Strange thing is, they use every
occasion (evenings and weekends) to get themselves as drunk as it is
possible to do and still live. Drunk, or worse. They are unhappy, not me! And they seek to bring me down with them into the hell they create daily. The droids.
I say, abandon cars for city transportation. Mountain bike like
crazy, be free and happy. And at all times do wear that helmet. :)