Cycling = Life

A recent Bicycling magazine article outlined eight admonitions - call it a manifesto - for cyclists. Thinking I could benefit from someone else's hard-earned wisdom, I jotted them down for my own edification. Feel free to apply these thoughts in your next bike ride, workday, family outing, or any other venture, and see if it holds up. (My notes are in parentheses.)

1. Take the lane. (It's called a 'right of way' for a reason: there's a way, and it's your right to use it. Like other rights, they don't mean anything if nobody exercises them, and the right of way will be acknowledged when more people use it.)

2. Eat real food. (Duh. The best performance-enhancing substance is the stuff that grows out of the ground - you know, whole grains, fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts - and not some space-age snake-oil energy bar/drink or, heaven forbid, fast food.)

3. Stick with your group. (When you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way, from your first cigarette to your last dying day. When you're a Jet, let them do what they can, you've brothers/sisters around, you're a family man, etc. There's safety in numbers, bro.)

4. Clean your shoes. (Whether you're going to the library or the Appalachian Trail, you don't want to carry around more mud and gunk than you have to; you don't want to compromise the surface where you're putting your weight; and besides, cleaned, polished, brushed, or oiled shoes/boots fit better and feel better. Your feet will thank you.)

5. Carry a frame pump and spare tube. (Okay, this one doesn't have quite the existential pop the other Commandments do, but if you substitute pen, pocket knife, phone, condom, or money, you're prepared for most contingencies.

6. Embrace the rain; dress appropriately. (There are exactly four options: a. Go out on a limb and prepare for the worst; b. Play it safe but prepare for the worst; c. Go out on a limb and screw the consequences; d. Play it safe and screw the consequences. If you're going to stay inside because the weather isn't perfect, watch someone else's life on TV!)

7. Stop for ice cream. (There are two archetypes for the serious seeker after enlightenment: the ascetic and the ecstatic. Hermann Hesse characterized them as Narcissus and Goldmund, and in his fictional world, they were both polar opposites and best friends. Clearly, most of us have at least a little of both in us, so it's a balance issue, so reward yourself and enjoy the ride home.)

8. Keep your perspective. (Enough said)