Essay: On Escapism and the 200th Post

(2017) Escapism is a style of entertainment- be it literature, drama, or otherwise- that takes the audience away from their problems for an extended portion of time. Typically the more fanciful, the more escapism takes hold. It could be said that without escapism, everything meant to entertain us would exist in the realm of literal speak instead of figurative. It feels like we need escapism more so than ever to take us away from current affairs and out into the countryside where we can only be contacted via cellular device (which houses a multitude of ways to keep in touch, but I digress).

It is a slight cause for celebration at the creakybottombracket.com office. This article is registered as the 200th posted since this project began around May of 2015. Never when I started this concept would I have imagined it would have gotten this far. I love talking about the freedom of getting on a human powered bicycle and letting it take me- and whoever comes with- to familiar as well as new roads.

Quite often I have heard a similar statement from those riding the bicycle. It goes as such: I’m just getting out to get away from things for a bit. It is that statement that is universally understood how that person got to be next to us in the pace line. Perhaps it is why we are there, too. Situations that pull a rider onto the roads range from workplace stress to the loss of a loved one. However out on the road, it doesn’t matter. I’ve seen situations where the group hears a rider’s reasoning, but plods along. It’s not that they don’t care, it’s just that each person knows how to cope.

Oftentimes I look back at back articles to relive the sentiments during a given ride to find that similar thread running through it. Whether it’s the old standby route or it’s a 140-mile jaunt around the Catskill Mountain region, getting on the bike is getting away for a little bit. What I also find is the camaraderie bestowed by cycling strangers who understand the language of the bike. There have been too many times where I’ve had conversations with cycling brethren and thought it was the only way we would have crossed paths.

Here on creakybottombracket.com you won’t see disc brake debates, nor will you hear about doping scandals. There will certainly be smaller events highlighted, but hardly ever does a Tour de France stage get dissected. There are even parts of the cycling world that people try to escape, I offer this site as a getaway from those debates. It is that cornerstone that guides the articles on this page.

Well. Here’s to the next 200-odd articles. Expect to hear more about reviews and interviews, local history and points wherever the bike allows us to go. This project continues to be a hobby and it is amazing it has made it this far. With a calendar loading up quickly for this year, the next 200 articles may come quicker than the first have. If that’s the case, we may be finding ridiculous reasons to get on the bike to escape. As a matter of fact, I’m not above double dipping for escapism inspiration.