Today I met some friends for a Mountain Bike Ride. I hadn't really ridden my bike since I packed it up to ship it home from Germany. In Germany it was rather difficult to keep up with cleaning and care of the bike. When ride after ride was done in the rain on trails it was tough to get everything out. So today, I hopped on the bike only to find that yes, it showed it's wear. The tires were almost bald. The cables were beyond stretched. The front shifting didn't work and the shocks were like riding on a swiss ball. So on the steep climbs I was riding the equivalent of the big gear. On the descents I could squeeze the brakes to full power and still would struggle to control around the corners. Add to that I didn't know where we were going and it made for an interesting ride.
But I learned something out there. Or I should say I relearned something out there. Things are never going to be perfect. Sometimes they will almost be a disaster. But if you keep your head about you, and focus on the good stuff (like today, on the trails, home not traveling, hanging with friends no cars, not grumpy people and pushing the Heart Rate up) things will turn out ok. Yes, I'm feeling the effort of climbing steep hills in the big gear but it's a good feeling.
And the bike, well it went to the shop today for a total overhaul. One day riding like that is ok. Two days riding like that is stupid.
It's a good life...
Dave
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