Ramblings for 2011

   Well New Years eve came and went, I think I was in bed by 10 pm totally ragged out thanks to my coach who is sitting in his climate controlled room thinking of ways he can kill me . I got allot of calls from friends and family yesterday and you know this is the time for stating resolutions for the New Year. Resolutions tend to fall into two categories, I Will or I Will Not, can I get an Amen on that? I approach things a little different as I am a different sort of guy, but highly realistic! Or at least sensible despite what my X wives say




I set goals, realistic, functional and date specific goals. To me Goals are different than resolutions in many ways but one very specific way. Think about it in football sense; What field goal kicker walks out on the field resolving (like he has a doubt) to kick it between the Goal posts? Nope that guy goes out with the attitude that he IS ( a word made famous by slick willy) going to kick that football through the Goal posts no matter what, no doubt there!



So here is the point you can will youself into failure ( how many of you woke up today swearing you would NEVER DRINK AGAIN? But kept the coupon for 20% off Bud for next weekend?) or you can set realistic goals break-em down into small steps and walk up the ladder of success one rung at a time.



SO here is how I look at things:



1) Realistic Goal

2) Specific Time Frame

3) Specific Outcome

4) Very detailed course of action with mile stones (ie: how to get there ) written down

5) Read and re-read every day

6) In the end Nike was right Just do IT!

Cars and Bikes

If you ride a bike in any shape or form cars trucks motorcycles and any other form of registered moving vehicle is to be considered a predator. When you ride your bike on the road you don’t own jack shit, no matter what the law says! The 4 foot rule to a ignorant motorist is the space between them and the passenger side seat. Any time a auto and a cyclist meet, the auto wins hands down, so what type of immature mentality would engage in such a one sided contest for road space is left for those with loftier language to ponder, I just think they are egotistically depraved pricks.




So what should one do to avert these encounters? Well first off if you are riding alone stay in the bike lane or as far to the right side as is safe to ride. When you are in a group, no more than two a breast, unless riders are finishing up with their pulls. If you are lucky enough to live in a bike friendly place then the bike lanes are ample and the trails are endless, just use them! If you live in an area like I do where we have all types of bike routes designed for maximum auto/cyclist interaction then you have to be playing a heads up ball game as a 4000lb Chevy Z71 does not give a shit what your max sustained wattage is when you both are jousting for that sweat spot on a long lost country road.



Simply put HOLD YOUR LINE! For you FREDS that means go straight and keep your bike moving in a determinable line. You can do this buy having a good solid position on the bike, hands up on the break hoods good solid cadence, manageable speed and looking ahead 15-2- feet or so. Head up eyes open focusing where you want to go and hold it steady. 9:10 times if you hold your line a motorist will hold theirs. If you encounter small obstacles while holding your line such as small bumps, rocks and flagrantly discarded contents of previous autos either hold what you have and bend your elbows slightly to absorb the shock or bunny hop over the obstacle and continue to hold your line. If these simple riding skills are not part of your riding bag of tricks you need to get off the road until they are.



At intersections you are required to follow the traffic lights or signs and never assume that a car is going straight if it in any way can turn right and cross your path. I have found church parking lot entrances and liquor stores to be of extreme danger, folks will take the life of another human being in order to pray or drink on time.



God forbid you get run off the road or cut off, but if you do hold your temper take your cell phone out take a picture of the offending auto then call 911. By no means should you try to cuss your opinion into the thick skull of an enraged motorist one, they have 4000 lb of steel to run into you and depending on where you live they have guns! So get the plate take a picture and get law enforcement involved asap.



Ride Hard and be safe out there, the world is a dangerous place