ollieyoga

My road bike was at the Bellevue Bicycle Shop to get a new wheel; I was frequently breaking spokes. So I did my usual 16 mile hill workout on Thursday on my hybrid and then I went for 50 miles on the Rock Island trail this morning, again on my hybrid.

I started at "mile 0" and went to the end of the trail at mile "24.7", and then putzed around for 3 minutes or so to get an even 25 out and back. The story today: the trail was damp going out and it took me 1:30 to do the first 20 miles (to Wyoming). Then the wind kicked up and was at my back for the next 5 miles (nice). It was against me going back (not so nice). In fact, it took me 1:50 to do the last 20 miles! I just plain got discouraged; it took me 4:12 to finish, though I was at 1:58 half way.

The good news is that I did buy some cheap aerobars off of e-bay and hopefully it will help with the wind. Because, when I am on the hybrid, I feel like a windsail when I am bucking a wind.

Confession: there was a time when I thought that I was better than the cylists; I felt that their sport was an easy one, mainly for "soft" people. After all, I had finished three 100 mile races and even walked one in less than 24 hours. Now I know better! Believe me, I'll never disrespect bicycle riders again! The challenges are different, but I have found out that they are there.


One final bit of philosophy: a while ago, I was having a discussion with my wife. I am finding that I really don't feel all that comfortable at our park district yoga classes. Why?

Well, at least at the classes I attend, most of the students really don't take it that seriously. Many habitually show up late and really don't put themselves out there to do the poses to the best of their ability. Such at atmosphere depresses me.

Our teacher? Well, she has done right by me, but she seems to focus on making the typical not-so-good student feel good about themselves rather than helping people reach to the ends of their potential.

So, my dilema: where do I go from here? We have two local studios, and none of them have an intermediate level class that I can make.

I don't want to change for the sake of changing; I only want to make a change for the better. So what to do?

Now back to the philosophy:

I remembered this quote from Lou Holtz's book The Fighting Spirit (about Notre Dame's 1988 National Championship football season), pages 232-233 of the hardback edition: this is something that he had on his office wall

Are You Average?

"Average" is what the failures claim to be when their family and friends ask them why they are not successful.

[...]
"Average means being run-of-the-mill, mediocre, insignificant, an also-ran, a nonentity.

Being "average" is the lazy person's cop-out; it's lacking the guts to stand in life; it's living by default.

Being "average" is to take up space for no purpose; to take the trip through life, but to never pay the fare; to return no interest for God's investment in you.

Being "average is to pass one's life away with time, rather than to pass one's time away with life. It's to kill time, rather than to work it to death.

To be "average" is to be forgotten once you pass from this life. The successful are remembered for their contributions, the failures are remembered because they tried, but the "average", the silent majority, are just forgotten. [...]

You know, this is what really drives me. I am well aware that I haven't really been successful at anything by any reasonable measure. But it still gives me a charge to accomplish what most cannot (or will not), whether that is finishing a 100 miler (on foot), doing a tough yoga pose, getting a Ph. D. in mathematics and publishing research, or whatever.

And it gives me a charge to attempt things that are not guarenteed to be "successes"; I see this "the miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courge to start" stuff as complete nonsense.