A Different Type of Endorphin
A very wise person once told me that you can generate endorphins from creative activities using your right brain, and once I learned (or accepted) this, having spells of chronic illness are far more tolerable. You have a "back up plan" for when you can't be outside riding for hours at a time, yet the result is far more tangible and something more easily shared.
Last week in Italy I spent hours and hours every day not on a bike or recovering from a crushing ride, but exploring the quiet world I'd never sat still enough to see and then creatively weaving together a story pumped up - yes - on endorphins. It's not a compilation of epic rides, but something more fulfilling on a different, and ultimately I'd say more important, level: just to sit still and observe the beauty in everything around you.