Cycling and the Wheel of Fortune: Momentum and Cycles

BY NICOLE LAU

The wheel is one of humanity's most profound inventions—not just because it revolutionized transportation, but because it mirrors a fundamental truth about existence: everything moves in cycles. Day and night. Seasons. Birth and death. The wheel of the year. The wheel of fortune. The wheel of life itself, always turning, never stopping.

When you ride a bicycle, you're not just exercising. You're participating in this ancient symbol, this cosmic truth. You're literally turning wheels, creating momentum, experiencing the ups and downs of terrain, learning to balance, to flow, to keep moving even when the path gets hard. Cycling is a moving meditation on the nature of life itself.

The Wheel of Fortune tarot card teaches us that life is constantly changing—sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down, but the wheel keeps turning. The key is not to resist the turning, but to learn to ride it with grace, to build momentum when you can, to coast when you need to, and to trust that what goes down will come back up again.

This article will teach you how to work with cycling as a spiritual practice, how to understand life's cycles through the metaphor of the wheel, and how to build and maintain momentum in both cycling and life.

Understanding the Wheel of Fortune

The Tarot Card

Card X: The Wheel of Fortune

Imagery:

• A great wheel turning in the sky
• Sphinx at the top (wisdom, stability in change)
• Snake descending on one side (descent, shadow)
• Anubis ascending on the other (ascent, light)
• Four figures in corners (fixed signs of zodiac—stability within change)

Meaning:

• Life is cyclical—what goes up must come down, what goes down will rise again
• Change is the only constant
• Fate, destiny, karma
• Turning points and pivotal moments
• The importance of timing
• Accepting what you cannot control
• Riding the waves of fortune

Upright: Good fortune, positive change, destiny unfolding, cycles turning in your favor

Reversed: Bad luck, resistance to change, cycles turning against you, need to accept the turn

The Wheel as Universal Symbol

Wheel of the Year: The eight pagan sabbats marking seasonal cycles

Wheel of Dharma: Buddhist symbol of the path to enlightenment

Medicine Wheel: Native American symbol of life's cycles and directions

Chakra wheels: Energy centers that spin like wheels

The wheel represents:

• Cycles and rhythms
• Constant motion and change
• Balance in movement
• The journey (not the destination)
• Momentum and flow

Cycling as Metaphor for Life

The Ups and Downs

Uphill (challenges):

• Requires effort, strength, determination
• Tests your endurance and will
• Builds strength and character
• Can't be avoided—must be climbed
• The view from the top is worth it

Life lesson: Challenges make you stronger. Lean in, keep pedaling, trust you'll reach the top.

Downhill (ease):

• Effortless, exhilarating, fast
• Reward for the climb
• Requires different skills (control, balance, trust)
• Can be scary if you go too fast
• Enjoy it while it lasts

Life lesson: Good times don't last forever. Enjoy them fully, but don't get attached. Another hill is coming.

Flat terrain (stability):

• Steady, predictable, sustainable
• Where you build endurance
• Can become monotonous
• Opportunity to find rhythm and flow

Life lesson: Stability is valuable. Don't take the flat stretches for granted. Build your strength here.

Momentum and Inertia

Starting from stopped:

• Hardest part—requires most effort
• Wobbly, unstable at first
• Must push through initial resistance
• Once moving, gets easier

Life lesson: Starting anything new is hard. Push through the initial resistance. Momentum builds.

Maintaining momentum:

• Once you're moving, keep moving
• Small, consistent effort maintains speed
• Stopping and starting wastes energy
• Flow state emerges from sustained movement

Life lesson: Consistency is key. Small daily actions create momentum. Don't stop and start—keep flowing.

Coasting:

• Using momentum you've built
• Rest while still moving forward
• Can't coast forever—eventually need to pedal again
• Strategic rest, not laziness

Life lesson: Rest is part of the cycle. Use the momentum you've built. But don't coast too long.

Balance

The paradox of cycling:

• You stay balanced by moving forward
• If you stop, you fall
• Balance requires motion
• The faster you go, the more stable you are (to a point)

Life lesson: Balance isn't static—it's dynamic. Keep moving forward to stay balanced. Stagnation leads to falling.

Cycling as Moving Meditation

The Rhythm of Pedaling

Cycling creates a natural meditative rhythm:

Cadence:

• The rhythm of your pedaling (revolutions per minute)
• Find your natural cadence—smooth, sustainable, rhythmic
• This rhythm entrains your brainwaves
• Like a mantra, it quiets the mind

Breath sync:

• Sync breath with pedal strokes
• Inhale for 3-4 pedal strokes, exhale for 3-4
• Or breathe naturally and notice the rhythm
• Breath + rhythm = meditation

The flow state:

• After 20-30 minutes of rhythmic cycling, mind quiets
• You become one with the bike, the road, the movement
• Time disappears
• This is cycling meditation

Mindful Cycling Practice

Before you ride:

1. Set intention: "I ride to meditate on life's cycles"
2. Take three breaths
3. Feel gratitude for your bike, your body, the ability to ride
4. Begin with awareness

During the ride:

1. Notice the rhythm of your pedaling
2. Feel the wind on your face
3. Observe the changing terrain
4. When mind wanders, return to the sensation of pedaling
5. Be present with each turn of the wheel

On uphills:

• Notice resistance without fighting it
• Breathe into the challenge
• Remember: this too shall pass
• Find the rhythm even in difficulty

On downhills:

• Enjoy the ease without clinging to it
• Stay present (don't zone out)
• Feel gratitude for the reward
• Know another hill is coming

Working with Life's Cycles Through Cycling

Recognizing Your Current Cycle

Life, like cycling, has different phases:

Uphill phase (challenge, growth):

• Everything feels hard
• Progress is slow
• Requires maximum effort
• Cycling teaches: Keep pedaling. Don't stop. You're building strength. The top is coming.

Peak phase (achievement, success):

• You've reached the summit
• Moment of accomplishment
• Brief pause before the descent
• Cycling teaches: Celebrate, but don't cling. The wheel keeps turning.

Downhill phase (ease, flow, reward):

• Things come easily
• Fast progress with little effort
• Exhilarating but can be scary
• Cycling teaches: Enjoy it fully. Stay present. Control your speed. Another climb is ahead.

Valley phase (rest, integration, preparation):

• Flat, stable, maybe boring
• Time to recover and build endurance
• Preparing for the next climb
• Cycling teaches: Use this time wisely. Build your base. Rest is productive.

Building Momentum in Life

Lesson from cycling:

1. Start small:

• You don't need to go fast immediately
• Just start pedaling
• Small, consistent action builds momentum
• Apply to life: Start with tiny daily actions toward your goal

2. Stay consistent:

• Stopping and starting wastes energy
• Steady rhythm is more efficient than bursts
• Apply to life: Daily practice beats occasional intensity

3. Use the downhills:

• When things are easy, build speed
• Use momentum from good times to prepare for challenges
• Apply to life: When things are going well, save resources, build skills, prepare

4. Don't fight the uphills:

• Resistance makes it harder
• Accept the challenge, find your rhythm
• Apply to life: Accept difficult phases, find sustainable pace, keep moving

Cycling Meditation Practices

Wheel Meditation

As you ride, meditate on the wheel:

1. Watch your front wheel turning
2. Notice it's always moving, never stopping
3. Each point on the wheel goes up, then down, then up again
4. The wheel doesn't resist—it just turns
5. Reflect: Your life is like this wheel
6. Sometimes you're up, sometimes down
7. The key is to keep turning, keep moving

Mantra Cycling

Sync a mantra with your pedal strokes:

For uphills: "I am strong, I keep going"

For downhills: "I surrender, I enjoy"

For flats: "I am steady, I am flowing"

General: "The wheel turns, I turn with it"

Gratitude Cycling

With each pedal stroke, express gratitude:

• Right pedal: "Thank you"
• Left pedal: "For this moment"
• Continue for entire ride
• This transforms cycling into prayer

Cycling for Different Intentions

For Building Momentum in Life

Practice: Interval training—short bursts of intensity followed by recovery

Why: Teaches you to push, rest, push again—building momentum in cycles

For Accepting Life's Changes

Practice: Ride varied terrain without resistance—embrace uphills and downhills equally

Why: Teaches acceptance of what is, flowing with change

For Finding Balance

Practice: Slow cycling, focusing on balance and stability

Why: Teaches that balance requires motion and attention

For Mental Clarity

Practice: Long, steady rides at comfortable pace

Why: Rhythmic movement induces meditative state, clears mental fog

The Spiritual Lessons of Cycling

Impermanence

Every hill ends. Every downhill ends. Every flat stretch ends. Nothing lasts forever. This is the nature of existence.

Effort and Surrender

Uphill requires effort. Downhill requires surrender. Life requires both. Know when to pedal and when to coast.

Present Moment

You can't ride yesterday's miles or tomorrow's route. You can only pedal this moment, this stroke, this breath.

Trust the Process

The wheel keeps turning. What goes down comes back up. Trust the cycle. Keep pedaling.

Cycling Affirmations

• "I flow with the cycles of life like a wheel turning."
• "I build momentum through consistent, steady action."
• "I accept the uphills and enjoy the downhills."
• "I stay balanced by moving forward."
• "The wheel of fortune turns—I ride it with grace."
• "I am always exactly where I need to be on the wheel."
• "I trust the journey, one pedal stroke at a time."

Moving Forward

In our next article, we'll explore Rock Climbing and the Tower: Facing Fear and Ego Death—learning how climbing teaches us to face our fears and let go of what no longer serves us.

But for now, ride. Feel the wheel turning beneath you. Notice the ups and downs. Build your momentum. Trust the cycle.

Life is a wheel, always turning. You can't stop it. But you can learn to ride it with grace, to pedal when needed, to coast when possible, and to trust that what goes down will rise again.

The wheel turns. You turn with it. This is cycling as meditation. This is the Wheel of Fortune in motion. This is life itself, always moving, always changing, always turning.