After all that I have been through, testing my beliefs, and persevering to the place I am in Mind, Body, and Spirit; I accept that the bicycle has become a conduit for me. A tool in seeking balance and a simple way to truly enjoy life. It's become a gratifying discipline that must be exercised every day of my life. It gets easier all the time. The idea that 'practice makes perfect' is selling it short. Practice makes you better. Once it's easy, its time to take it to another level. Now im not talking about breaking speed records, or making it into the pro Tours, or X-Games. I'm talking about capabilities that will be applied in many aspects of LIFE. First it was riding to work. Then it was riding over a mountain.Then it was to keep going far. Then it was preparedness, including, but not limited to; mental awareness, responsibly maintaining a reliable machine, feeding active needs, etc. Maybe the most important point is testing self reliance. Now I am refining and learning new handling skills. These are all things I think about every day. Aristotle is quoted in saying -We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. I don't know about excellence, but i do know about perseverance. If my goal is to be aware and balanced, I guess thats what I aim to excel in, Building good habits. That, my friend, is what the bicycle lifestyle is for me. Experience life. My outlook is that I want to LOVE LIFE A LOT. I can't sit still and watch life pass by. I can't let others do work for me. If you love life, don't waste time, for time is what life is made up of. Yeah, Bruce Lee is right. NOW is the time i must pursue. NOW is the time I know I have. NOW is when the life i wanna love is happening. The bike can be anything else to anybody else. Some of my friends wish to master things like, photography, food, music, carpentry, and business. Find what you love and pursue it with a passion. Have goals. Learn from failure. I had a particularly bad bike crash a few years ago that nearly took my life. I learned more through that experience than any other event in my life. I took a lot from it. Some of the touring riders i put big miles down with have kinda been scoffing at my fixed gear, my tricks, and my commuting. This is my progression and i am not some kid at the skatepark boasting about how bad-ass street tricks are. Showing off is the fool's idea of glory. 'No loitering beyond this point' - has become a motto for me to live by. Gotta keep it moving. Gotta keep life fresh. Progression is my only direction.
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