Oh Really?

“You just can’t ride on the roads around here!  There are no shoulders, too many cars, and the drivers are all really bad.”

I wish I had dollar for every time I’ve had someone tell me just about exactly that.  Oddly, I do manage to ride on the roads around here.  Quite a bit!

“You’re so lucky!  You ride all the time.  I wish I had enough time to ride a bicycle.”

Uh…?  Last time I checked we all have the same amount of time.  That would be 24 hours per day, seven days per week, 52 weeks per year.  What we do with it is a choice.

“You can’t get a real workout on a bicycle.”

Could have fooled me!

“You have to work harder to get down a hill so you will have the momentum to get up the next hill.”

Okay!  Let’s try to make this one as easy as possible.  Gravity is for getting you down a hill.  Pedalling is for getting you up the hill.  Momentum (Momentum = Mass X Velocity) is for crashing through obstacles.  Try to remember that.

“A really light bike will make you faster.”

Not so much.  Training makes you faster.

“I have to train.  I have a big race in three weeks.”

Too late.

“Why are bikes so expensive?”

Because the people who make them, and the people who sell them, and the people who service them have gotten into the habit of eating.

“Somebody told me that…”

They were wrong.

“I read somewhere that…”

See above.

“I heard somewhere that…”

Same as the last two.

“Everybody says…”

Come now!  If everybody says it, it’s as likely to be true as television advertising.

“Do you put your rides on Map My Ride?”

No.

“Why not?”

I’m too busy riding to mess with the computer.  Besides, I don’t want the driving public to know where I’m riding.

“It’s a beautiful day!  Why aren’t you out riding?”

Because I’m in here fixing your bike.

“So when can you come and ride with me?”

Very very early in the morning, on the road, in bad weather, or late at night, in the dark, in bad weather.

“Huh?  Why would you ride then?”

Because, in the daytime, when it’s nice, I’m in here, fixing your bike.