putting my money where my mouth is - so-to-speak
There is something peculiar about me:
When I was into four-wheeling, I was at least as into 4x4's as I was into actually driving them. I almost preferred working on them to driving them which is certainly a good thing if you own a Jeep.
When I was into photography, I was at least as into cameras as I was into photography (I still am really). I'd have been just as happy to have been a camera repair man or shop owner as a photographer; maybe more so.
When I was into guitar I was as much into guitars as I was into guitar. I'd have been just as happy to be a luthier as a guitarist and spent a lot of time drooling in front of my computer screen displaying the Martin web site. I shall build a guitar one day; yes, I shall.
Same goes for sailing although it's not like I ever had the option of going sailing every day instead of obsessing about boats.
I've never really been that way about computers but that's because computers are into computers. Being into computers is no different from using computers; they have no sex appeal.
Not that I'm no longer into photography or guitars or sailing, far from it. 4x4's are pretty much a thing of the past though; I've outgrown them. It's just that cycling has filled a lot of niches that photography, guitar, and sailing cannot. First of all, I can to it with my friends, Second of all, I can, in theory, do it any time. Third of all, I view it as ecologically responsible and politically active. Fourth of all, I can afford it. Fifth of all, it's a family activity. Sixth, and perhaps most importantly, it's exercise that I sorely need.
What's noteworthy is that just like photography, four-wheeling, sailing and guitar, I'm at least as into bikes as I am into biking. The problem is that looking at bikes on the interweb and tinkering with bikes in my garage is not exercise. To make matters worse, it's another one of those butt-first things. I'm going for a ride butt-first I need to adjust this one little thing I was going to adjust and oil my chain and adjust the cleats on my shoes and I think my seat's a little too high and.... maybe I'm exaggerating just a little but I'm sure you see what I mean.
Plus, I have some projects on the back burner:
I still haven't put together the rack that goes inside the cargo area of the Previa even though I did receive the parts (the little hitches). That's not going to be that big a deal really. If everything works well the first time, it will only take an hour or two.
Then, there's the fixie projects(s).
Then, and as whacked as it sounds, I want to build a cargo trailer. I want to build a thing that allows me to, yes, go bike camping... maybe.... but allows me to go grocery shopping on my bike and come back with 30 kilos of merchandise! Yea, I know, it's loopy, but you know what? People do it. If more people did it, the world would be a better place. That's part of putting my money where my mouth is. Oil is evil so I'm putting myself on wartime-like rationing.
Which brings me to putting my money where my mouth is:
I need to ride much more. I need to figure out how to spend as much time riding as I do thinking about and tinkering with bikes. I figure one hour, 3 days a week would be a good start but I'm not even there yet. That means, on street with Rhonda, about 60km a week; off road, about half that. I should get a lot more distance out of the fixie when it's done (not to mention a better workout) but I'm not hauling a trailer with a fixie around here. Somehow, it's a question of time. Somehow, I find time to post to LJ and do a lot of other crap but I can't find time to ride. Obviously, it's a question of priorities. It's also a question of work hours and daylight but the fact remains that I can probably find three hours a week to ride if I really try.
Then there's living the cycle-life. When I have my trailer and when I can grocery shop on bike-back, there's still the issue of time. The round-trip to the store takes me twice as long on the bike as in the car and that's without the trailer. Okay, I can say that I"m adding resistance to an extended workout at the same time but building a truly coherent schedule around that kind of organization is certainly nothing I've ever been able to do before. Plus juggle work, school, a modicum of family life and all that jazz? This is going to be worthy of a long series of future posts. So, I'll keep you posted I guess.
When I was into four-wheeling, I was at least as into 4x4's as I was into actually driving them. I almost preferred working on them to driving them which is certainly a good thing if you own a Jeep.
When I was into photography, I was at least as into cameras as I was into photography (I still am really). I'd have been just as happy to have been a camera repair man or shop owner as a photographer; maybe more so.
When I was into guitar I was as much into guitars as I was into guitar. I'd have been just as happy to be a luthier as a guitarist and spent a lot of time drooling in front of my computer screen displaying the Martin web site. I shall build a guitar one day; yes, I shall.
Same goes for sailing although it's not like I ever had the option of going sailing every day instead of obsessing about boats.
I've never really been that way about computers but that's because computers are into computers. Being into computers is no different from using computers; they have no sex appeal.
Not that I'm no longer into photography or guitars or sailing, far from it. 4x4's are pretty much a thing of the past though; I've outgrown them. It's just that cycling has filled a lot of niches that photography, guitar, and sailing cannot. First of all, I can to it with my friends, Second of all, I can, in theory, do it any time. Third of all, I view it as ecologically responsible and politically active. Fourth of all, I can afford it. Fifth of all, it's a family activity. Sixth, and perhaps most importantly, it's exercise that I sorely need.
What's noteworthy is that just like photography, four-wheeling, sailing and guitar, I'm at least as into bikes as I am into biking. The problem is that looking at bikes on the interweb and tinkering with bikes in my garage is not exercise. To make matters worse, it's another one of those butt-first things. I'm going for a ride butt-first I need to adjust this one little thing I was going to adjust and oil my chain and adjust the cleats on my shoes and I think my seat's a little too high and.... maybe I'm exaggerating just a little but I'm sure you see what I mean.
Plus, I have some projects on the back burner:
I still haven't put together the rack that goes inside the cargo area of the Previa even though I did receive the parts (the little hitches). That's not going to be that big a deal really. If everything works well the first time, it will only take an hour or two.
Then, there's the fixie projects(s).
Then, and as whacked as it sounds, I want to build a cargo trailer. I want to build a thing that allows me to, yes, go bike camping... maybe.... but allows me to go grocery shopping on my bike and come back with 30 kilos of merchandise! Yea, I know, it's loopy, but you know what? People do it. If more people did it, the world would be a better place. That's part of putting my money where my mouth is. Oil is evil so I'm putting myself on wartime-like rationing.
Which brings me to putting my money where my mouth is:
I need to ride much more. I need to figure out how to spend as much time riding as I do thinking about and tinkering with bikes. I figure one hour, 3 days a week would be a good start but I'm not even there yet. That means, on street with Rhonda, about 60km a week; off road, about half that. I should get a lot more distance out of the fixie when it's done (not to mention a better workout) but I'm not hauling a trailer with a fixie around here. Somehow, it's a question of time. Somehow, I find time to post to LJ and do a lot of other crap but I can't find time to ride. Obviously, it's a question of priorities. It's also a question of work hours and daylight but the fact remains that I can probably find three hours a week to ride if I really try.
Then there's living the cycle-life. When I have my trailer and when I can grocery shop on bike-back, there's still the issue of time. The round-trip to the store takes me twice as long on the bike as in the car and that's without the trailer. Okay, I can say that I"m adding resistance to an extended workout at the same time but building a truly coherent schedule around that kind of organization is certainly nothing I've ever been able to do before. Plus juggle work, school, a modicum of family life and all that jazz? This is going to be worthy of a long series of future posts. So, I'll keep you posted I guess.