Why so serious?

Horsing around on a bike. Source

It was about 10 years ago that I was sitting on my bike at an intersection, waiting for traffic to clear. As I waited, someone drove past and threw an open beer can at me. The beer was dripping off my bike and soaking through my shirt as I looked down at the can and recognized the cheap American brand. I thought to myself, "At least they didn't waste a good brew."

I bring it up from time-to-time as one of those, "Cyclists don't get no respect!" stories, but I also bring it up because it gets a laugh.

I love telling the story because it's just one of those things that seems so ridiculous that it can't be true. And yet, here's a story about a Butler, PA woman who threw a 30-pack of beer out of the second-floor window of her house at police. And the cops weren't even riding bikes. So, yeah, stuff like this actually does happen. But the whole point is, I don't take it personally. Haters gonna hate, and all that.

I ride because it's fun. I get an intense workout that keeps me in shape and it gives me a chance to indulge my sense of adventure. Meanwhile, I measure my performance because I am pretty competitive. I like to go fast, and I love when I can pass another rider, or go further than they can. It just feels great. But I also understand that I'm not going to be setting any records or getting picked up for a sponsorship to race professionally any time soon. So, I don't take myself very seriously and just ride for fun. And, yes, I do wear lycra.

My writing, likewise, is meant to be fun. This is why, for the past few days, I've had a blog post up that I'm not too particularly proud of. I think about taking it down, but then I read it again, get a nice chuckle out of it and decide to leave it be. I don't know what to do with it.

I want to be a credible source of information, but if I'm not having fun, then what's the point? Life is hard. Why make it harder by never taking time out to go crazy and do something ridiculous? I'm not suggesting anyone go driving around, throwing beer cans at people, but try not to take it personally if it ever happens to you. Drivers shout, pedestrians get upset... whatever. Just enjoy the ride.