Just Ride

A Tweet of mine from March 1st. Musta hit a nerve...

Yeah......I don't know why, but sometimes certain things I see just hit me the wrong way, ya know? Most of the time it is stuff on social media and I just scroll on by. Thirty seconds later and I've forgotten about it. Generally it is not all that important to engage with, or to even give space to it within your mind. But once in a blue moon something kind of grabs me and I struggle with the thoughts expressed and I have to find a release. This time it was on Twitter and the quote was the following:

"Once that starting gun goes off, how long does it take you to settle into a groove, smile, and take in the beauty of your surroundings? Twenty minutes? Twenty miles? Once you're solo? When the finish line is in sight? "
 

See, the message wasn't all that bad, but the idea at the very front end- that the joy of riding has to be within the context of racing? That was the first thing that rubbed me wrong. Then you have the other race references within the message. "Once you're solo? When the finish line is in sight?"

Look, as I Tweeted in response, what the hell does racing have to do with it? In fact, "racing" itself is the distraction from all of the nice things the Tweeted message lays out there. And, in a weird way, they intimate that as well by saying "Once the starting gun goes off, how long does it take......?", because, well, you're racing. It takes away from these more perfect sensations and experiences. 

So, yeah, I responded. 

My message? Don't let the rat-race of "racing" dictate your enjoyment of cycling. Let the lotteries to get in, the money spent on fees, and the stress of "having" to have better fitness, equipment, training, etc beat you down. If you don't have a problem with racing and training, if that's what you "live for", well go on then. You do you. But don't let the narrative of racing dictate your joy. 

That's all................