It bears repeating...

I found this posting by willworkforadventure and felt it deserved repeating. So, for those of us who wouldn't go looking, here it is in a slightly sanitized version.

"SEVEN THINGS NON-CYCLISTS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ROAD CYCLING

"I only got into road cycling last June when I decided to train for a triathlon, and there were a number of things that caught me by surprise. I realized that I had been utterly prejudiced at times against cyclists, and I want to share how you may be unintentionally prejudiced as well. Obviously there are some self centered cyclists that are feel entitled to the all the road, but they are in the minority. Give a cyclist the benefit of the doubt. You’ll usually be right.

"1. Road cycling is scary

"Listen. I’m not a weak, risk intolerant or ineffectual person. I’ve jumped out of an airplane. I’ve bungeed off a 20-story bridge. I’ve stepped into boxing rings and wrestling mats to train and compete in things like boxing, MMA/Ultimate Fighting, Judo, and submission grappling. I’ve hung off cliffs climbing tall peaks at altitude with a thousand feet of air underneath me, and much more. I’m a lot more risk tolerant than most people. I feel more in danger road cycling than I have in most other situations I’ve gotten myself into. I try to forget that a distracted driver texting a smiley face to a friend could kill me at any minute. It’s hard to feel safe most of the time with how most cars drive around cyclists never mind the random rager that seems to come around every month or so.

"2. If I’m not close to the very side of the road, there is a reason for it.

"As a driver, I know it can be frustrating when a cyclist is impeding your progress. It’s not just something we do on a whim. You may not see that glass, sand, gravel, or the sharp edges and potholes on the roadway, but I do and all we cyclists do. All of them could end our day pretty quickly and cause serious injury or even death. We’re constantly weighing the option, 'What is more dangerous right now: being further out into the street or staying close to the side of the road?'  The side of the road is different than the middle of it.  All water is directed there, so the majority of water damage (potholes/cracks) and debris is there. Give us time to find a safe spot to move over. Saving twenty seconds isn’t worth both our lives since I could die, and you could end up in prison.

"3. Buzzing by a cyclist is extremely dangerous.

"It’s really just a percentage game, and I hope I never win the unlucky lottery. Road obstacles may cause a cyclist to swerve unexpectedly. That could be the same exact time you are buzzing by us closely. All we are doing is trying to get a workout in and travel along the roads. Even if it annoys you that shouldn’t carry a death sentence, right? I’d hope you aren’t a sociopath and that you’d actually mind murdering somebody for cycling, so please give us a little more space when passing.

"4. Cutting off a cyclist is a imbecilic move.

"We are past the major safety hazards now and into some etiquette ones. I know you want to make that right hand turn NOW and not 5 seconds from now. I know you want to come out into the roadway NOW and not 5 seconds from now. Try to be a little courteous though.  Pressing your little footsie on your little pedal is a lot easier than braking a bike and then trying to get back up to speed.  Biking may seem like effortless cruising at times, but really it’s hard work. I used to just be a runner, and I’d see cyclists fly by and think 'sure, take the easy way out.' That’s not the case. It’s not easy at all, and it’s hard getting up to speed.  It’s akin to a runner needing to sprint all out for 20-30 seconds every time they start running from a stop. Please don’t cut us off.

"5. Getting mad at a cyclist for not obeying every traffic law is cherry picking and hypocritical.

"Admittedly this is debatable. I know that in many states, in the eyes of the law, a cyclist is like a car. That is ridiculous though. A cyclist on a 20 lbs bike isn’t the same as a driver in a 1 ton car.  There are special rules for both of us.  You get to pass us on roads with or without a solid yellow line. That’s fair. We are different than cars. For YOUR convenience, we generally ride on the very side of the road and even the shoulder when available and safe (the shoulder is technically not considered part of the road by law in most states). Again, we are different than cars and realize this. We may run through a stop sign or continue through a red light when traffic allows and it is safe. Don’t get mad at that. Some cyclists may make a poor decision on when this is 'safe' just like some drivers may make a poor decision on when it’s safe to take a right on red, when to proceed through a stop sign, when to merge through a yield sign, etc.  If you think a cyclist should obey every single car law, then would you mind if we follow your idea and ride in the middle of the lane instead of  the side of the road, and you can only pass us when you are allowed by law to pass other cars?  I didn’t think so.  I guarantee you the middle of the road is a lot better quality there.  Let’s be courteous to each other and realize our differences.

"6. Cycling clothes may look silly, but they are functional.

"Now this doesn’t include the people decked out in their cycling hero’s jersey. That’s like a guy wearing a full Celtics uniform to a pickup basketball game. The clothes themselves are very functional though. Those goofy shirts… Those tight shorts.  Those weird looking helmets. They all serve a very important function that 'normal' clothes don’t. Before I started cycling, I laughed at the clothing. When I started, I first tried not to wear the typical cycling gear. I quickly adopted it though because it just makes life so much easier and more comfortable. Try not to judge us. Oh, OK. I know that’s hard. Laugh away. Just try to keep in mind that it serves a purpose.

"7. Cycling is indeed hard work.

"I know it can look easy. You look at me and see me pedaling away, not sweating much, and not having painful grimaces on my face. Well, a constant 20 mph breeze does a lot for cooling and for drying sweat. Pedaling is hard work.  It may be because I’ve been running for so much longer, but I find cycling more strenuous on the legs than running.  Starting from a stop is like doing heavy lunges for reps, climbing long and/or steep hills is a lesson in physics (and futility), and your thighs burn on a regular basis. But yes. This is fun.”

A few thoughts about and from Joel Skousen:

Below you'll find a statement concerning the difference between rights and benefits from a man a few years younger than I am, but much wiser than my years of experience. A person I met during our early teenage years. At the time we were Boy Scouts. The most memorable day of our acquaintance was the day our group of scouts climbed Olallie Butte in central Oregon. During the course of conversation as we climbed, it became very apparent that the Skousen boys, were in command of a great deal of knowledge. Being a teenager, I suppose I felt a bit of jealousy. At the same time I knew that they were destined to achieve something great. Now looking back through the decades, I think that is quite evident. So now I share with you the adult thoughts of a person I met and respected as a young boy. These are thoughts expressed by Joel Skousen.

"The key to understanding what constitutes a true fundamental right is to focus on this essential criteria: for a right to be true, it must be non-conflicting with all others simultaneously claiming such right, and must not require that anyone else serve your needs in exercising that right.

"False Rights: There are many false rights being promulgated in today's society, mostly due to the politician's attempt to entice voters to view benefits as if they were rights. Three of the most popular are the so-called 'right' to a job, 'right' to medical care or the 'right' to an education. Let us apply these claims to the definition of a true fundamental right and see if they qualify. Remember that the main criteria that determines whether or not an action or state of being is protected as a right is whether or not all men can simultaneously possess the 'right' in question without compelling anyone to perform a service in their behalf.

"In the case of education, we cannot all receive an education without compelling someone to teach, provide the facilities, the curriculum and the books. Thus education, through others' efforts, must be a benefit based upon contractual mutual obligations, and not a right--no matter how essential it is deemed by the users thereof. On the other hand, self-education would be a right as long as no one was compelled to assist you involuntarily.

"As to the 'right' to a job, we may ask, in like manner, if all people can claim a right to a job without compelling someone to provide that job and the money for a salary. Obviously not. In reality, a job is the exclusive property of the employer who owns the money and the facilities. The labor portion of the job is the exclusive property of the laborer. The negotiations as to the rate of exchange for the owner's money and the laborer's efforts must be left to the arena of free contract. Neither has a 'right' to attach the others' property or effort--each can only voluntarily exchange what he owns for what he perceives the other offers in return.

"Medical care can never be a fundamental right, either, as it would clearly force doctors, nurses and hospital owners to become slaves to those who demand the benefit. You may think they are not slaves because they are being highly paid. But if you, the patients, are not paying, then someone else is, and that person (even if a group of taxpayers) are partially enslaved for the beneficiary's sake. Someone is always partially enslaved whenever the direct beneficiary of any service doesn't have to pay, and someone else or some group is not voluntarily paying the bill."

Want to know more about Joel?  Click on the link below or interview he gave in 2009.

http://alexansary.tv/otb-flashback-2009-alex-ansary-interviews-joel-skousen-about-future-wars/

An apology of sorts - It may take me a lifetime.

This is something I've been thinking about quite a bit lately.

A couple weeks after I got out of the hospital for the second time, an acquaintance, who was a runner and cyclist, died while on a training run. I don't really know how old he was, but I don't think he was out of his 20s. He left a widow and a five-year-old son. His widow is still working through the grieving process.

What I've learned is this:

The stages of mourning and grief are universal and are experienced by people from all walks of life.

Looking at my own situation, myself and those around me - particularly my wife: mourning may occur in response to an individual’s own illness, the loss of a close relationship, or to the death of a valued being, human or animal. There are five stages of normal grief that were first proposed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book “On Death and Dying.”

How does this really affect my wife. Her husband didn't die. However, I've come to realize that the person she was married is no longer in her life. He has been substituted with a person of limited abilities and altered personality. Just not the same guy.

I see my friend's widow's posts on Facebook. She's having an extremely hard time. It's very evident that she has suffered a loss. But when my own wife displays the symptoms of the grieving process, it's been hard for me to see her suffering. But I need to realize what she's been going through. I haven't  been able to understand that until recently. And since many people do not experience the stages of grieving in the order in which we see them commonly listed, the key to understanding the "why's " and "what's" of my wife's actions and activities is to understand that she too is going through the grieving process and that I need to focus more on her and less on "the me." A friend of mine essentially told me to stop feeling sorry for myself. What this person said was "You've had many, many years being able to ride in so many races. That is something I certainly could not do. You can look back on all those races and thank God for the ability He gave you to do that." In essence stop feeling sorry for yourself and focus on what's important. So I've got my marching orders.

I must also understand that in bereavement, each of us spends different lengths of time working through each step and each of us expresses the different stages with different levels of intensity. As mentioned earlier the five stages do not necessarily occur in any specific order. As individuals we often move between stages before achieving a more peaceful acceptance of loss. Many of us are not afforded the luxury of time required to achieve this final stage of grief. Katherine falls into this category.

Things her husband had once done, were suddenly forced upon her. Any attempt to help would often be seen as criticism. So I've come to realize that instead of focusing on tasks, I need to focus more on her feelings. This may seem so very elementary to most people, but to a person who is himself dealing with loss, it is not a subject easily understood. I'm just beginning to understand the smallest portion of it.

It may take me a lifetime.

  

Late Report

This was written last week: Little has changed this week. Except perhaps that I climb and descend the stairs independently. This of course has made me a bit more overconfident. That combined with impulsiveness caused a bit of a problem this past Tuesday. I was in the office and decided to leave. Instead of standing up and getting my balance, I stood up from the chair grabbed a cane and in my haste I rolled my left ankle. In doing that I was extremely off-balance and executed what I call a controlled collapse. Others would call this a fall. However, in an attempt to lessen the damage I sprained my left wrist. At least it wasn't the good one. When I saw Doctor Siler on Friday, one of the things that we discussed was a splint. He okayed that.

Another thing I have been considering is - and I invite your comments on this - acquiring a recumbent trike. I can get exercise and won't have to worry about balance. What you think? Of course I won't be on the main roads, but I'll ride around this residential area.

And this is from the current week: I'm still going to PT and OT twice a week. They both take a toll on my energy. I'm still working at getting a recumbent tricycle. There are a couple projects around the house that need to be taken care of. Those will have to be contracted out.

I still have the goal of crossing the new bridge being built by Tri-Met when it opens in September 2015. I've written to the folks at Tri-Met asking whether there's anything in particular that I need to do, but I haven't heard back from them yet. I have faith that they'll respond.

All in all, progress seems to continue to be at a snail's pace. And although people say to me such things as, "you're making such great progress," all I can see is that I don't slap my left foot when I walk until I get tired. That's about 400 feet. I can walk up and down stairs step after step, but that's if there's a right-hand banister.

One thing I am happy about (you may have realized that I'm not over the moon about my progress) is that I found a way to deal with the STP issue. I'm not sure if it's what cascade.org really wants, but it's what I'm going to do. I'll let you know later how it turns out.

That's about it for today and this week. Talk at you later.