Teenagers,.........I blame teenagers.
I find it fascinating that the stuff you drooled over, grimy face pressed against the bike shop glass, money burning a hole in your trouser pockets, eyes glued to mbuk, whilst simultaneously learning every page of the freewheel catalogue by rote as though its a sacred text, stays with you.
But then your brain chemistry is all over the place and stuff that "gets in" then apparently stays in......for good!
So, skip forward hummmmmphgh years and im still hankering after those bikes....its what i build, its what i ride.....basically.
It brings back good feelings, memories of past glory and the " good times" with mates....escapades, jumpers for goal post etc etc.
But the big question ive started asking myself lately is ..
"Is it the bike i need to be riding and is this almost obsessive tie effecting my enjoyment of riding in other ways?"
To explain......No doubt, like many of you my riding ability and style have altered, but my desire hasn't. This year that finally became a problem.....my back would just no longer let me ride a 19" frame.....and i finally let go of my race geometry, head down, arse up dreams of being a world class mtb racer.....along with my constant practice just incase i got onto "top of the pops".
If your reading this thinking....."my bikes fine"....your either in denial or not at a point where the problems raised its head yet......but if your lucky enough to live that long it will!
So the question is
"How many of us are a actually riding the bikes we want, rather than the bikes we need.....to a point of negativity effecting our riding capability, duration and enjoyment?"
Or is it ok to essentially trade one joy for another?
I find it fascinating that the stuff you drooled over, grimy face pressed against the bike shop glass, money burning a hole in your trouser pockets, eyes glued to mbuk, whilst simultaneously learning every page of the freewheel catalogue by rote as though its a sacred text, stays with you.
But then your brain chemistry is all over the place and stuff that "gets in" then apparently stays in......for good!
So, skip forward hummmmmphgh years and im still hankering after those bikes....its what i build, its what i ride.....basically.
It brings back good feelings, memories of past glory and the " good times" with mates....escapades, jumpers for goal post etc etc.
But the big question ive started asking myself lately is ..
"Is it the bike i need to be riding and is this almost obsessive tie effecting my enjoyment of riding in other ways?"
To explain......No doubt, like many of you my riding ability and style have altered, but my desire hasn't. This year that finally became a problem.....my back would just no longer let me ride a 19" frame.....and i finally let go of my race geometry, head down, arse up dreams of being a world class mtb racer.....along with my constant practice just incase i got onto "top of the pops".
If your reading this thinking....."my bikes fine"....your either in denial or not at a point where the problems raised its head yet......but if your lucky enough to live that long it will!
So the question is
"How many of us are a actually riding the bikes we want, rather than the bikes we need.....to a point of negativity effecting our riding capability, duration and enjoyment?"
Or is it ok to essentially trade one joy for another?
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