Lessons learned from bicycling revisited

Another lovely weekend in Minnesota and the LWW and I spent a fair chunk of it on our bicycles, riding to Red Wing from Cannon Falls (MN) and back. I thought it time to up-date the "Lessons Learned from Bicycling," a post almost exactly three years ago:

1. It's usually uphill and against the wind. (Murphy's Law of Bicycling)
2. Most big hills that look impossible are usually a series of small hills that are possible.
3. I've never met a hill I couldn't walk up.
4. It's better to shift to a lower gear than to stop altogether.
5. Sometimes it's nice to be able to have equipment to blame things on.
6. You really can't make your own weather.
7. Coasting feels good, but you don't get much exercise doing it.
8. A beer at the end of a long day of riding tastes better than a beer when just sitting around (or at breakfast, I'm guessing).
9. Don't drink at lunch time and expect to enjoy the afternoon.
10. Bike helmets are a sure sign that natural selection is still a force of nature.
11. The five minutes putting air in your tires at the beginning of the day is time well spent.
12. There will always be riders who are faster and slower.
13. Watching as old people zip by you should be encouraging, not discouraging.
14. Too often we quit because our spirit fails, not our legs or lungs.
15. Spouses who dress alike should not expect the rest of us to consider them normal human beings.
16. Too much padding between you and a bike seat is impossible.
17. Before you wear Spandex in public look at your backside in the mirror. Please.
18. The happiest people are the ones who consider life a ride, not a race.
19. The more expensive the gear, the higher the expectations.
20. The 500 calories burnt exercising do not compensate for the 2000 calories from beer drunk celebrating your accomplishment.
21. Everyone can look buxom on a bicycle - guys included.
22. You always feel the headwind, but rarely the tailwind.
23. Most forms of travel involve some degree of discomfort. But keep moving anyway.
24. Cows always have the right of way.

And your observations, fellow bicyclists?

Photo from Ireland 2006 bike trip with University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point.

Comments

[Debbie]

Great reading. Good life lessons can be learnt from something as simple as riding a bike.

[Tim Staal]

Here's a few of mine:

25. You can tell a lot about a person by how they treat bicyclists when they are driving.
26. A farm dog can greatly increase your speed.
27. Walking feels funny (and good) after biking all day. But then walking feels funny (and good) after driving or flying all day too.
28. I'd rather bike than drive.

[Doug Johnson]

Thanks, Tim. Great additions. In the next version, it will ME who thought of them ;-)

Doug

[Linda Dierks]

Here's one I've found... You can tell a lot about a person by riding beside them.

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Linda,

Or if they are always way ahead of you or way behind you. Good observation.

Doug

[Karen]

Faster riders, like dead opossums, are on your left.

[Kate]

29. There is rarely such a thing as "frictionless riding."
30. It doesn't matter if you always bike at the same speed, but it does matter that you do it together.
31. What is challenging can also be both satisfying and fun.

[Janice]

Drink light beer to celebrate your accomplishment. There are some tasty new varieties with lime added that are very refreshing. Some only have around 100 calories a bottle. That's a lot of beer to get to 2000. You can do the math :)

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Karen,

I hate to sound stupid, but I don't get the dead opossums part.

Doug

Hi Kate,

Good ones! Thanks.

Doug

Hi Janice,

OK, so the 2000 calories was a little exaggeration! I like the light beers with lime too.

Doug

[Pat]

This was great! I referred to this post in my blog post today at http://successfulteaching.blogspot.com/2009/06/bicycling-and-teaching.html.

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Pat,

I REALLY like what you did with these. It's a great example of the power of sharing and remixing. You made them better. Thank you.

Don't be surprised if this becomes a separate blog entry!

Doug

[Val]

If you pedal hard to average 15 mph, you accomplish more than when coasting/breezing at 22mph on a no wind, no hills day. I think this corralates to our library media/tech programs. I prefer the head down, pedaling furiously (assuming they gain ground) colleague to the coaster. Coasting does not build up the biker or the teacher-librarian.

[Doug Johnson]

Thanks, Val. I think most of us in the library field are peddlers, not coasters!

Doug