Cycling is an odd thing. First, it costs way more than you'd think. When I tell people how much my bike cost me, they're usually pretty surprised because it sounds like a lot. But the truth is, when I think of an expensive bike, I think $4000 and up. Mine, mid level at best. Then there's my shorts (I got them on sale for $100, down from $160) and my jersey (and hand me down, but I've been looking at very expensive jerseys) my pedals (which rule, but weren't cheap), and on and on. It just costs more than you expect.

Scond, i'm pretty sure that many, if not most people, bike because it allows them to eat all the ice cream they can. Unlike running, it doesnt beat you up quite so much. So you can go on and on for many many hours and then even do it again the next day. 2-3 hours on the bike is pretty normal; 1 hour is pretty short. Anyway, with all that time, ice cream is the best way to cool down after a long ride.

Me, I'm a bit different. I stopped running because my knees couldn't handle it any more. But I can still ride. And I can ride fast. And I'm pretty good at hills. But really, I like the meditative aspect of it (my thinking to myself time) and the man/machine thing. I ride with what are called clipless pedals. To the uninitiated, those are those funny pedals that you click into. They're called 'clipless' because toe clips are those things that fit over your shoes (they look like cages, sort of), and my pedals dont have those. Anyway, when I'm in my pedals, i'm actually connected with my bike. It becomes, as martial artists would say, and extension of my bike. I think its interesting that all i do is think about turning and i turn. I cant really tell when I'm moving my arms.

I dont ride for ice cream. In fact, I've been trying to cut sweets out of my diet, simply because I eat too many of them and they serve no real value. (of course, a little jeni's ice cream now and then is too good to resist). So i think that I may just ride because its what I do. Its like a self fulfilling prophecy. I ride because I do. And i wonder if id ride if i had anything else going on. I think so, but who knows.

Anyway, i dont really know why im writing this. I should go back to work. more work to do. very busy times.