The Annoyances Continue

Annoyance 1 – The H1N1 hit our household last weekend which has made for a long week. Missed school, throbbing heads, if the temperature has been above 50 degrees the wind was over 30 mph. Results I feel miserable and not a single ride nor mile added to my summer totals.

Annoyance 2 – While sitting/laying around moaning and wanting to curl up in a hole (yes its a man thing) I get my new issue of Bicycling. That wonderful information filled magazine that still believes that all of their readers are 150 lbs, have a unrestricted flow of money with no visible means of support and are elite cyclists. Now don't get me wrong, I love that magazine, and have gained some priceless tips and information from actually reading between the pictures of the shiny bobbles dangled in front of our egos and empty wallets. But, when you read a monthly article like “Chow Time” ( the November issue page 37) then read the, “* Based on a 150-pound cyclist”, I wonder how about the real life cyclist that aren't so bulimic. Then on page 70, (same issue) “A Flat is...”, a great article on tire air pressure. This is a subject that you can't get a straight answer let alone the same answer from anyone you may ask. The information is reasonable, except maybe the thought of figuring in of barometric pressure, but again the chart covers riders weighting between 110 and 180. Now if I didn't feel so miserable this probable would not have phased me but come on, my 15 year old is 165 lbs 6' 1” and skinny as a rail. Sometimes the bicycling media can be very far removed from the real bicycling population. Same issue, 3, 4, and $7000.00 plus bikes with separate full page reviews and a few pages later, 3 under $1000.00 women bikes crammed into 1 page. When was the last time you went into your favorite bike shop and perused the racks of 4 thousand dollar plus bikes. Yes they may have one or two but they know that the elite don't shop. The money in the bicycling industry comes from the recreational rider, the ones that ride the neighborhood with their kids to those that ride 1, 2 or more centuries a month from spring to fall and all of us in between. They take the money we worked hard for and give, yes give the shiny bobbles to the elite. The industry should though, the elite riders work harder for what they do more than anyone can possibly imagine. If, say 9% of the cyclists are in the elite category maybe 25%, of them, can actually make a good life by doing it. If we could all be Lance Armstrong we would be. How does this all come together, bottom line the bicycle media needs to realize it's audience. I love the articles of the big events and the behind the scene peeks of the elites but throw in a little more realistic and obtainable articles and reviews for the average rec rider with 2 kids and a mortgage. I am bicycling !

Annoyance 3 – I didn't make my 300 mile goal for September (only 243), or the 1000 mile summer (only 964.5), but did make my mortgage, make a family road trip, made it to 5 of my older son's Sunday basketball games so far, dealt with real life and still managed to give the bicycle industries a couple thousand dollars. After all , I understand the economy is down and I must do my part to support the recovery and it didn't have a thing to do with supporting highway sign makers.

Till Next Post, Ride Safe and Stay Warm

“G”