I ride my bike a lot these days so conversations often revolve around that. A lot of people talk in terms of “I killed it today.” or “We dropped some dudes today.” All of it a subject based on performance. When they talk to me in those terms, they assume that I give a shit. I don’t. Not to sound glib but I ride for the ride. The sheer pleasure of gliding through the woods at speed. Sure I like to challenge myself and push through my abilities, that’s how you improve, but not at the expense of time or other people. For me the woods are no place for egos. Who cares if you flatted and still did the ride in 2 hours and 15 minutes. Who cares how fast someone was that day or who you waited on. Don’t include me on those days. Most competition is bullshit. Especially the petty, personal type. Besides, the Holy Grail doesn’t exist anyway. Take a look at the egos and money involved in most professional sports these days. It’s obscene.

I’m not trying to soapbox this conversation, I just think there is more to having fun than how much better or how faster you are than someone else. Who gives a shit? Obviously I don’t. Oh, and for the record, I can drop most 57 year old white guys on a mountain bike any day.