Thursday, June 26th, 2008
Some people have difficulty overcoming disappointment in their lives.
Woman Reporter: “It’s a big day for American cycling, to have two Americans beat an Olympic champ. You must feel some pride.”
Jerome: “Come on man, walk it off.”
B. Muzzin: “No, no, I’m alright. OK. I’m not riding for America lady. I tried riding for America. I spent four years of my life working shitty jobs so I could train and make the Olympic team and ride for my… Look at me! And then some fatasses in Washington started having opinions. The Olympic Committee started having opinions. You, you bitch, I know you! You started writing your opinions. So we boycott the Olympics. I was in the best shape of my life in the summer of 1980 and I got beat by opinions.”
Woman Reporter: “Is that why you’re boycotting the victory ceremony?”
Muzzin: “What victory? There’s two stages left.”
Woman Reporter: “Still, the fact remains…”
Muzzin: “You wouldn’t know a fact if it banged you all night long!”
These people need our compassion and understanding.
In times of stress it’s important to have someone you can talk to.
Do you have someone that can help you deal with the disappointments that come along? Do you have your own Jerome?
I do.
Except he’s not named Jerome.
And it’s a woman.
And it’s my wife.
Posted by Smithers at 9:10 pm in Cycling | Permalink | No Comments »
Thursday, June 26th, 2008
Wah is cracking:
managing the work, family, race teeter totter is just too much. I can’t put the time in I need to be fast and can’t put the time in to be a good dad.
Ahhhh…the eternal struggle.
It’s easy to live the life of a bike racer when you are single. Other than work and maybe a few dates time is all yours. Ride when you want, as much as you want, race every race on the calendar, no one cares. You have the killer form and can race all season long.
Once you get involved in a relationship things start to change. It’s still possible to ride, and ride a lot, but you start to have to pick some events that you won’t regret missing. That race with the big climb that you always get dropped on, that crit with the sketchy corner, all those time trials because time trials suck ass anyway. Instead of racing you find yourself attending in-law birthday parties and going on vacations without your bike. You still have great fitness but you might find yourself starting the season late or finishing early.
When kids come along bigger changes happen. Even just one weekend day spent all day on the bike is no longer possible. If you continue to care about racing and training you have to be even more dedicated to a training program to make it happen. More races are skipped, you ride in weather that you would otherwise pass on because it’s your only chance to ride, you take advantage of any opportunity you have because your options start to dry up fast. You don’t have the fitness you used to have and you may get frustrated by your lack of results or riding and racing opportunities.
And there it is, you are now faced with the decision. What is more important, being there to support the family or the time on the bike?
There is a difference between exercising and training. There is a difference between being fit and being an athlete. If you have not been there then you don’t know what it’s like to have a compulsion to train, a compulsion to compete, the desire to be right on the knife’s edge and in the best shape of your life. It’s addictive like a drug.
But the question remains, what is more important, being there to support the family or the time on the bike?
The answer is easy and obvious of course, but it can still be difficult to reconcile in your head. Lots of time and energy is spent trying to figure out how you can still stay on top of your game. Late night training sessions, getting up early for big rides, convincing your wife to let you out this weekend for a century ride with a promise to spend the entire next day doing house work. It can work, for a while.
Then your wife gets sick, or the baby gets sick, or you get sick. You have to work extra hours on a project. Something happens, something always does, and you have to cancel your ride or race plans. You get into a hole that you can’t dig out of. You start to lose your form so you train harder with the limited time you have. Then you over train and burn out and that’s it. Your attitude about riding goes into the dumper.
The other decision you can make is that you devote less time to your family so you can keep riding and training. You have the kill form on the bike and keep winning bike races. But your wife hates you and your kids don’t know who you are. You are officially a loser.
Fundamentally, if you want a happy life, it’s a easy choice and the more time you spend at home as your kids get older the more obvious the choice is and the more comfortable you are in the choice you made. Being with your family is more enjoyable than any ride or race. It’s the single most rewarding experience of your entire life and the pay back is far greater than winning some stupid bike race could ever be.
Not to say you have to give up the bike. Riding has its place. Stress relief, exercise and even some time away from the kids is important to keep your head clear. It’s important for both dad and mom so make sure you take extra time with the kids in order to allow your partner to get the same time away. It’s also important to send your kids a message that exercise is important and something that is good to do. Who knows, maybe in a few years they will want to ride with you.
You can even still race some. Just lower your sights, change your goals, be comfortable with being pack fill and sometimes getting dropped. Try something new like racing the track, MTB or cyclocross. If you are new at it you are going to suck anyway so give it a try.
Life lasts a long time and there will be plenty of opportunities later to be an athlete again. Being a parent, and a good parent at that, is a one shot deal. Do yourself a huge favor, don’t miss out on it.
Posted by Smithers at 12:36 pm in Family | Permalink | 24 Comments »
Thursday, June 26th, 2008
I was at Starbucks last night picking up my usual Grande Non-Fat Chai Tea Latte when some dickhead in line called me a liberal. So I beat his ass to death with my 60% post-consumer recycled insulation sleeve.
On the drive home I was listening to Mark Levin on the radio. He was interviewing Bruce Herschensohn. The two of them were going off with the usual "liberals are ruining America" tripe.
Herschensohn stated that if liberals continue to live in a pre-9/11 mind set and prevent the United States from winning the war on terror the result will be that we U.S. citizens will soon be living under the authoritarian rule of mullahs and ayatollahs.
What a bunch of crap.
The problem with guys like Levin and Herschensohn and Sean Hannity and the rest of their ilk is that, not only do they think that those who disagree with them live in a pre-9/11 mind set, they themselves are living in a mind set that only exists within the 24 hour period of September 12 2001.
It’s been nearly 7 years since the attacks of 9/11. Except for that unsolved anthrax attack (how come we still don’t have any clue about what happened there?) everything seems to be ok here in the home land. And yet, Levin-types continue to cower in irrational fear locked firmly in the belief that scary Muslim hoards are going to invade and enslave our country at any moment.
Let those guys wet their pants in fear. I think that we Americans are made of stronger stuff.
Posted by Smithers at 7:56 am in Politics | Permalink | 28 Comments »
