A Good Bike Ride Soothes the Soul

Life comes at you pretty fast. Lately, life has been coming faster than a Mercedes on the German Autobahn at me. It's been like taking a drink from a fire hose. First of all work has been crazy-busy and add in a couple trips out of town to make it even more fun. Second, my father-in-law passes away suddenly while we were in Southern California on vacation which turned our 3 day trip into a 2 week trip. Thirdly; upon my return from my last trip out of town which coincidentally was the 23rd anniversary of my dad's death, I learned that my mother has colon cancer. WTF? The universe is spiraling out of control! I decided that I needed a good bike ride to clear my head. I headed out with the intention of clearing my mind and getting back to "center". The goal was a quick 15 mile round trip to Sprouts, a local health food store that is only 3 miles away. I was taking the long way. I'm 6.7 miles into my ride and I hear BOOM. What the hell was that?!? Turns out I blew a tube. No biggie. I pull over into a church parking lot and get ready to replace the tube. Alas! No tube. Didn't I just buy a bunch last time they were on sale? No worries, I'll find the hole, patch it, be back on my way in 10 minutes. As i remove the tube, I find that the "boom" wasn't a puncture, but a "pinch flat". Pinch flat's are harder to patch because they are 2 small holes or sometimes slits that look like a snake bite. My pinch was 2 good sized slits. So naturally, the patch didn't hold. I did what anyone else would, called for back up. Luckily, I only live about 6.7 miles away and reinforcements arrived shortly. I hung my head and began my walk of shame back to the closest corner so my wife could come pick me up. As I rode, I came to a yellow light in traffic. When we drive and we approach a yellow light, what do most of us do? Gun it! Gotta get through. As a cyclist, we typically slow down because we have less of a chance to make that light and if some jack ass is chomping at the bit to go, we could get hit if we're a little late through the intersection. Not worth it. I've come to the realization that i need to look at life as a cyclist approaching a yellow light. SLOW DOWN. I have too much that i could be missing if I'm always working, or always out of town, or always distracted by work. So not worth it. From now on, I take it a little easier. Sure, I work a full week, but I won't be putting in a bunch of hours after the kids are in bed or on weekends. I need to enjoy my family. That's why I work, to provide for them. If I can't enjoy them in the process, why work at all? I have come to the realization that not EVERYTHING'S an emergency. Some shit will have to wait for tomorrow. I'm not going to bust my ass and miss out on seeing my kids grow up. I've recently taken on the role of co-leader of my son's cub scout den. That will strengthen our relationship (not that it's bad) and I'll be able to enjoy him even more than I already do. So next time you come to a yellow light or start feeling the stress of all you have to do; slow down, enjoy the moment with the one's around you. They'll thank you for it. About those tubes I thought I bought; I did buy them. They're right here on my desk where they shouldn't be. Lesson learned.