Bike Life Cycle

Crazy how things work out.

When I was first smitten with the wonders of two pedal powered wheels I bought into all of the hype of the day.  Wanna be a better rider? Get a better bike.  Wanna be a better climber? Get better, lighter, stiffer wheels.  Wanna be a better descender? Get a full suspension.  Wanna...the list goes on and on.

The more I rode, the more I realized the hype was just that, hype.  Wanna be a better rider? Ride whatever you've got more, a lot more.  That's it, end of story.  Sure, if it breaks, replace what broke with something better.  Sure if the whole bike breaks, buy a better bike.  Breaking a bike by riding it hard means you've earned a better bike.

I dumped the hype, the suspension, the gears, the jerseys, the coveting.  I've been going steady with "less" and loving it for a while now.  Irony is a strange cat with interesting quirks though.  I work at an awesome bike shop now.  I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing.  Where is the irony one might wonder?  It is the simple fact that in order to excel at what I am doing, I need to buy back into the hype.  I have to geek out on the latest and learn how to fix it when it "gets broke".

I am not complaining, by the way.  In fact, I'm celebrating the humor in the irony.  Essentially I have earned the right to buy back into the hype.  I am actually kind of pumped to covet (really, deep down inside, I never stopped coveting).  I'm going to shred some rad bikes, spend money I don't have, break some expensive stuff which will cost me money I don't have and learn how to wrench with the best of them.

Crazy how things work out.  See you on trail.  If you don't recognize me because I am riding some sleek squishy bike with things that drop and rise, just yell "One is more fun" or "One is all you need to get it done".  I'll look and smile and you'll know its me.

Cheers to gears, squish, SINGLESPEEDS, dirt fixies, and whatever else gets people stoked on dirt!