The other morning I needed to run some errands downtown before work. On the way back to the salt mine I saw this.
These people are riding their bicycles on trainers at the Boise High track field. At first that seemed normal. I rode another block before the absurdity struck me. I had to turn around and snap a picture with my Droid.
I wondered if they were associated with the high school or with the YMCA ,which is across the street from the high school, or if they were not associated with either. Then I wondered if they were training for some event or if riding trainers is what they do. My guess is they are triathletes, because some of the bikes had tell-tale aero bars on them, and after all they are at the track.. so they could run after their ride! They could even go over to the Y and swim, or had they done that already?
I wondered how long it took them to load their bikes in the car, dress in the proper gear, drive from West Boise, find a place to park, unload their bikes and set up their trainers. Then I started wondering why? That has to be pain in the rear end. At some point, just exercising becomes a chore and a stress inducer rather than a stress reliever. But then people have a need to belong to groups and to have something in which to believe. I guess that is a powerful driver.
I don’t know these people. I have nothing against them. One might say “well, at least they are riding bicycles” I would say , this doesn’t qualify as riding bicycles. If riding a bicycle means a competition with everybody, including one’s self, I think that attitude is a net negative in terms of getting more people interested in riding bikes and using them in their everyday lives.
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