Wind

I guess, no matter how good or sweet the day or ride, there are some riders who will always find something to complain about.

This past weekend, as delightful as the weather was, I heard it.  On Saturday, while I was stuck working inside the shop, I heard riders griping about the wind.  I most certainly did get out on Sunday and it was a grand day.  And yet again, on Monday morning, I heard the complaints about the wind.

I am puzzled by these complaints.  I like wind.  I’ve ridden on the Outer Banks of N.C., where the wind is always blowing and usually brisk.  Remember, that's why the Brothers Wright went there?  In the early part of the 20th century, Kitty Hawk was NOT convenient to Dayton!  But the brothers needed wind, and that is where the Weather Bureau said it could most reliably be found.  I’ve down in the more remote areas of Hatteras Island, on a Winter day.  There was not a car in sight.  To ride was to be constantly buffeted by the wind.  When stopping, the only sound to be heard was the distant surf and the rush of the wind.

I’ve done a brevet in Florida where the last 25 miles were directly into a north wind.  The ground was flat, and yet it felt like a climb.  It blew at 20 to 25 miles an hour, right in our faces, and there was no place to hide from it.  It was glorious.

There are those days, when the ride is beautiful.  The road smooths out, the work becomes effortless, the rider achieves a  Za-Zen state, mindful but not thoughtful.  It is not necessary to think.  The bike does not need to be controlled.  The bike simply is, it is an extension of the rider, and the road is an extension of the bike.  What do you want?  Perfection?  Perfection comes from within and from the bike, not from the conditions.

Those moments of clarity do not come from complaint.  It is necessary to embrace the world, the road, the bike, the day, to love and enjoy it all.  It is necessary to practice at this.  It does not come naturally.  It is a practice worth pursuing.  Those timeless times are priceless jewels.  Complaining will kill them.

There is no perfect bike, no perfect shoe, no perfect weather, no perfect day.  And yet, on any given day, the bike is just what it is, the body is just what it is, and the weather is the weather that is.  These things make that day.  The alternative is television and apathy.

Be thankful for your challenges.  Meet them squarely and enjoy them.  Live the ride!  Ride Life!