The Way We Roll

I did another BCFB this morning. It was a great ride, as usual. I had to make a lot of it up by the time I hit the midway mark because I knew I’d fall short of 20 by a couple of miles if I went straight home from the other side of base. So I wandered around a bit and ended up overshooting to about 21.5. Could’ve been a bit shorter, but i got mad at a truck that pulled out in front of me and slowed me down, so I went straight (and the long way around) instead of turning behind him. I’d say that was a petty move, but hey, when you’re out there on the road enjoying yourself, what’s another half mile or so?

I’m always amazed though when I tell people how far I’ve gone on a particular ride and they’re amazed. Or when they find out I’ve done a 20+-mile ride before they’ve even gotten out of bed (by getting up at 4am and getting on the road by 4:30). They can’t fathom it. But, that’s just the way I roll (no pun intended). I don’t even set an alarm most days anymore. I’ve got my clock that projects onto the ceiling over my head, and if I wake up, I’ll take a look and do my calculations — “Well, if I get up now I can be out on the road in plenty of time.”

So this morning, I woke up at about 1:55. Too early, but that’s fine. Turn on a podcast and fall back to sleep.  Next thing I know, it’s 3:47. Great. Let’s check the weather and see what kind of morning we’re gonna have. Cloudy. Eleven percent chance of rain. Wind 6mph out of the WSW. I haven’t gone west for a while now.

So I get up, get dressed, make my coffee (no cream, no sugar), put fenders on the bike (it’s been raining lately, and I know I’m gonna hit puddles, even if it doesn’t rain on me), then head out the door pretty much on time (4:31 – the fenders did slow me down).

This is typical for me, so I don’t really see it as any reason to instill wonder or amazement in anyone. Same with distances. Yeah, I did 50 miles before church on Sunday. It was fun. Why should anyone think my fun is anything special?

I’ve got a thing about this kind of thing. Like, I’ve been educated to speak a couple of languages (in addition to English), and in many cases, I’m passable if I have to be. And that sometimes gets people thinking that I’m smart or something. But I know better. Because I know people who can talk circles around me in every language I speak (including the English). And I know people who can ride a bike a hundred miles barely breaking a sweat, while I suffer something fierce doing the same thing. So yeah, perspective. What I’m doing is really no big deal. It’s just the way I roll.

But how about you? I seldom meet people about whom I’m unimpressed in at least one thing. Everyone has something that they enjoy, even if they struggle over it. Especially if they struggle over it. I knew a woman once who was a beautiful violinist, but who gave it up because she could never be good enough. This is not something about which to be impressed. But for the person who’s gonna try something, even when the chances are low they’ll be any good at it? I knew a woman who went on a long trip for work — several months in another country — and she bought violin and started teaching herself. No expectations to play Carnegie Hall there — she was already thirty years too late to even start that career path. But still, to me, impressive!

We all have our ways – our likes, our dislikes – and our goals and actions will most always reflect those things. We’re all also incredibly unique, even if our thoughts and feelings and talents overlap in many ways. Still, it’s often in those unique areas that we can find something that might draw us to others. I recommend looking for it in the people around you. As hard as it may be sometimes, I guarantee it’ll make things more interesting.