THE 47 YEAR OLD AND A BIKE...

Sticks And Stones CAN Break My Bones!!

 

This is my work week (I work 7 days straight and then have the next week off), so I ride every morning after I get home from work.  During my work week my I ride the same route.  My intent is to exercise and build stamina.  Then on my week off I can take more time and take longer rides.  This morning as I was riding along I saw sticks, chuckholes, and BEARS! OH MY!  Okay, not bears, but definitely sticks, limbs, rocks, chuckholes, broken pavement, huge gaping chasms...er...sorry my hyperbolic gland is acting up today.

Anyway I couldn't believe the size, variety, and placement of all the dangerous debris littering my entire path.  "How, as a kid, did I ever make it through so many hazards??"  Then I thought, "Huh, as a kid you weren't as worried about the stuff in the road."  As long as my tire didn't pop, it didn't matter too me.  Yeah, I was thrown a couple of times as a kid.  Bumps and bruises at 7 or 17 aren't what bumps and bruises are when you're 47.   

The bike I own, while not the most expensive, is still a fairly good sized investment.  My hide and its health are an even more sizable investment.  So sticks and stones could break my bones, and that's not coming from my hyperbolic gland.  I did hit a few but managed to dodge the big ones.  

My point is this:  As a kid on my bike was one of the few place I felt free and in control.  All I had to do was outrun one chasing dog and a couple of bullies to feel almost invincible.  On my bike I didn't "lose the forest for the tree."  Today I was focused on the bits of trees, and road, and doggy doo.  I don't want my adult bike experience to become a shadow of its former self.  

I'm not worried.  I simply want to be aware and guard against worry coming in and taking over.

Lonnie