The Daily Grind

By Rob Manning

Posting from the mind...

There's so much more to riding than spending money. You never know what you may be missing if you don't stop to look.

I had something nifty about the joys of autumn riding jotted down on e-paper and ready to print when I happened to be cruising along one of the message boards I regularly frequent.  On that board, I happened to run across a post that really threw my previous idea in the trash and forced me to put these thoughts out there instead.  So I just wanted to say thanks to that poster on that forum.  Name is withheld, but thank you.

“The other day I was at the self checkout at my local grocery store registering the various food items I purchased. Bread: $2.79 Orange Juice: $3.85 small bottle of ERA detergent: $4.93 Acorn squash: $3.19. four Plum tomatoes: $2.68. I bought enough food to fill one canvas bag - and spent $77.00. I rigorously watch what I spend on things these days and have cut a lot of things out of my regular diet including cookies, alcohol, and other items in order to save money. More and more - saving money seems harder as everything seems to cost more and more. I'm only 26 and I can remember when a loaf of bread cost less than $1!!

Right now, my bike is the only thing that doesn't cost me any money. I can go for a ride - cycle until my back hurts and my butt feels like oatmeal - and not spend a dime. I can spend all day riding and not have to think about how much it’s going to cost to fill the oil tank to heat the house, or how much it is going to cost to replace the old wood burning stove, or how much it is going to cost to replace the front window in the house that has a crack in it, or the fact that the cat is on a special prescription diet food that I get from the vet and must cost about $20/lb. etc. etc.

But not everyone has a bicycle. I hope people have other things to keep their mind in happier places - because I know I’m not the only one who feels poor these days.

Recently, a young man came to clean the chimney in our pre-winter house preparation so we can burn wood to heat our house. As I was writing out a check to pay him, I asked him for today’s date. He told me he didn't know and commented that the year was flying by so fast that he was already fretting about spending money on the children for Christmas because he didn't know where he was going to find the extra funds. Buddy - if you are reading this - ask Santa for a bicycle. You won't regret it.

I don't intend this to be a rant but I guess just want to express that aside from the fun and enjoyment I get out of riding my bike and learning how to become a better rider; cycling has also been an intensely therapeutic activity and a band-aid for the days I feel most down in the dumps.” Cycling is such a simple sport that many of us really don’t think much about it.  Sure, there is an initial investment, sometimes quite a hefty one at that.  Yet it seems there is a simple pleasure in cycling that’s lost on many of us.  We’re a society of quick fixes and instant gratification, always searching for the next big thing, but in that search we seem to miss the point of what we’re searching for.  

If you re-read the post above, you’ll see a very distinct theme developing.  Cycling is therapeutic and something that is often lost among groups of riders.  Many of us are convinced that we need some new parts or a new frame.  While it’s true that higher performance parts will allow us to perform at a higher level, they will not work miracles. We have to work for ourselves to make those parts work for us.  We need to set aside the Burger King mantra, “have it your way” and suspend our search for a quick fix to being better, feeling better, and looking better.  Good old woodshedding (you know, when you’d take your violin out to the woodshed and practice so as not to get on your parent’s last nerve) will be the only thing that can get us to perform at a higher level, and once we get there, it would do us well to remember our roots.

Think about this: how often have you driven down the street and seen someone riding down the bike lane on a cheap bike, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and you’ve sneered at the bike, considering it “inferior?”  I know I’ve done something similar on occasion.  It’s hard to realize that our jerseys and chamois shorts, Fox shocks and thousand dollar drivetrains really don’t mean a lot in the grand scheme of things.

  In this day and age of rising prices and decreasing wages, it’s hard to believe there’s something as simple as cycling, and that it really doesn’t cost anything after the initial investment.  Sure, you’ve got some things like tubes, lubes, chains etc, but it’s really a small investment.  Some of us are lucky enough to be able to step out our door and gaze upon nearby singletrack.  Some of us have the added cost of driving to our riding destination, but once there, we’re free to ride until our water is gone and our legs are jelly.  We don’t need to pay for a lift ticket (unless you’re a downhiller and have the money to do so), buy an admission ticket, or fill up a gas tank.  We just need to get out and find some trails to roll around on. 

We’re in a unique situation to enjoy the environment without having to spend a load of money to do so, but we often forget that fact and preoccupy ourselves with the monetary value of our equipment and clothing.  Who cares?  Go out, ride, have fun, and get better.  Ride faster, harder, longer and with more joy than you did the time before, and equipment be damned, it only needs to survive your use and abuse and get you home safely.  When you can set aside the worries about money and remember that you’re out there to enjoy trails just like everyone else, you’ve learned something and found something that most of us have forgotten.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m taking my dirt cheap singlespeed build out for a ride.