A little over a week ago, in the wake of my friend Mike’s passing, I contemplated ditching my bike completely. The prospect of riding my bike on roads and dealing with the ongoing losing battle that cyclists face with motorists was something that I wanted no part of, nor did I want my family to be part of it. Given my ever growing figure, surely I am now built better for such sports as poker, online gaming, and competitive masturbation, more than cycling, so saying fuck it and ordering a copy of The Idiot’s Guide to Poker was at the forefront of my mind. 1.
With the support of friends (some close, some via social media, and emails), I was encouraged to get back on the bike, and to not let the cars win the mental battle (we all know they’ll win the physical battle). As you may have seen in some previous posts, I did get back on the bike, and it was OK enough.
Since that last post, I am happy to say that getting out and riding has gotten easier, but not exactly better.
I have loosened my Kung Fu Death Grip on the bars a bit when cars pass. The addition of the Bontrager Flare taillight has been great, and while it can’t 100% prevent me from becoming car fodder, it’s a great mental boost. I highly recommend riding with one.
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Sadly the events of last week came at a time when I was already pretty down about a variety of things in my life. Losing a friend now seems to compound them all. I probably need to do some sort of middle-aged white man with a dad bod and no real job or education equivalent of a 40 days in the desert, Zen spiritual retreat. I think normally we non-Zen types buy a sports car or something, but the no real job thing is going to interfere with that. Oh well, I guess I’ll just ride my bike, take some photos, and hope for the best while trying not to drive Wifey too crazy before things get better.
Hoping that as my riding gets back on track I can get back on track with writing here. I’ve been all over the place in the past couple posts. Sorry.
Later.