planeofthought: My New Hero, Rick Mercer

Done That

From the November issue of Bicycling magazine, these are the Cycling Rites of Passage I have completed.

#6 Bonking so bad you don’t think you’ll be able to make it home

#9 When you hang out at the bike shop and no one expects you to buy anything

#10 When your bike computer registers triple digits for one ride

#15 You try bibs and realize you can never go back to shorts

#20 You get stuck in your pedals and topple over at a stoplight

#26 Wearing out your first set of tires

#27 You ride through a pothole, and it’s no big deal

#29 You stop midride to give your only spare tube to a stranded cyclist

#31 Fixing a busted chain

#34 The first time you crumple your race number

#42 Rolling through a stop sign—and knowing it was the right thing to do

#46 Letting go of your kid’s seat and not having to grab it again

#47 Getting a bike stolen and realizing how deeply it hits you

#48 Cleaning the cassette with your old toothbrush

#53 Telling someone which bike to buy

#56 Figuring out how to layer without overdressing

#58 Your first ride with a jersey instead of a T-shirt

#59 Riding on a day so cold the water in your bottle freezes

#63 Getting so deep into the sport you think your helmet looks good

#64 Following a favorite pro racer—besides Lance Armstrong

#65 Finding out your favorite pro racer was doping

#66 Wrapping your bar tape so the handlebar plug stays in and no bare bar shows at the tricky bend at the brake hood

#72 Crashing and immediately asking, "How’s my bike?"

#84 Riding someplace you’ve always driven

#85 Outsprinting a crazed dog

#87 Waving at a cyclist coming the other way and being ignored

#98 Looking inside the bottle you’ve been using all season, seeing mold

#106 Feeling superstrong, then turning around for the ride back and realizing you had a tailwind.

planeofthought

11.14.2008

My New Hero, Rick Mercer

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