Downsizing... (long-winded)
 

The recent “How many” threads have gotten to me.

Before I start I want to be absolutely clear that I am not criticizing any of my forum pals. This tends to be a fairly affluent community, I couldn’t be happier that we’ve all found something to obsess over that keeps our body’s healthy, and frankly I’d rather see people spend a chunk of change on a fleet of nice bikes than I wound see them spent $70K on a new boat... This is about me.

Anyway, I haven’t left the shop before 01:30 this week because we are moving and I’ve been trying to get several frames painted for us, and tying up other loose ends at Doug’s. Since today was the start of Sabbath I was able to come home at 5:30 and spent some time with my wife and daughter this evening, which was extremely refreshing. I was in bed by 9:30, however I’ve been laying wide awake in bed for the last hour and a half thinking about my need to let go of some stuff in my own life.

While these threads have made me realize I don’t have as much bike “stuff” as many, and as much as I’d love to drag my wife downstairs, point to the screen and say “See honey, I don’t have THAT much stuff,” I’ve collected my fair share of bike stuff lately. And when I don’t have money to spend, I’m consumed with collecting information about bike stuff. I tend to obsess over the details (a good trait for a frame-builder right…). Whether I’m obsessing over trying to find that elusive crankset for my new touring bike, over Kilmer’s need to put colored rims on his bike, waiting to see Obtuse’s new Sachs, whether or not Ullrich will be riding this season, and how that relates to the Basso/Disco situation in my own mind, to what cranks QSI will be using (and those MP bikes they gotta ride this year), worrying about missing a good thread on this board (I realize that most of you don’t know me from Adam, but I’m a “closet regular”(lurker) and check this wayyy too often), or trying to ‘splain for the umpteenth time to Doug and Marc why I’m painting my new bikes black (it’s a transparency thing, I’m tired of seeing people trying to make up with in paint what they couldn’t execute underneath, and wish people could “see through” the paint as it were on my bikes), and even what magical formulation Too Tall has come up with for his chains…

As I type I realize it’s even bigger than that, I obsess over missing a good show on NPR, and worry our current political environment (of which I will keep to myself other than to say that ATMO our current administration, to borrow a forum phrase, “doesn’t get it”)

Anyway, instead of making me want more, these threads have helped me realize that I’ve got plenty of bike crap already, that I should be downsizing and not looking to add to the stable. I realize that I really need to turn the computer off, let go of the obsession, and go ride the damn bike into the ground!

Hey, thanks for reading…

The stresses of life get to all of us from time to time. But you will find a way to let go of some of the things that are keeping you up. Good luck.

Kevin

good reminder of a larger picture

I can definitely empathize. I doubt anyone would ever regret “not having” versus “not doing.”

However, some of "my people" think the riding part is an obsession as well. :confused:

Thanks for sharing, that was a good one :)
You may be on the verge of a creative breakthru? Just a hunch.

totally agree.

i also think that (myself included) people should just ride the stupid bike and not worry about adding a cool new carbon part or something like that.

I would never put carbon fiber on my bike :D

hang In there Jason - I know what you're feeling -

its all good man

Jason

Amen, Bro!

There's nothing like the epiphany you have when you realize it's not the bike "stuff" that makes you happy but the bike "ride". I think it's more the feeling we have during the search or "dreaming phase" for the new parts that we enjoy, rather than the parts themselves, and once the parts are in our hands, the feeling is gone and we're on to the next search. It can be never-ending if we don't break the cycle (no pun intended!).

What a GOOD feeling it is, then, when we are actually IN NEED of something new such as to replace a bike part that's broken or worn out. I think it stems from a legitimate justification, or lack of guilt.

The parts won't make you happy, the ride WILL.

i'm wrestling with some of the same stuff. thing is, what we obsess about is the symptom. that we obsess (or stress or seek perfection or drive ourselves) that is the real deep thing. letting go of old behaviors -- even once we realize that they are not healthy -- is so freakin' hard. i'm at the realization stage. but man, moving beyond that into the action stage, the changing behavior stage, that's tough. old patterns die hard. i wish you the best of luck figuring this out. ain't easy.

There is a fine line between commitment and obsession and I am happy to say that I routinely violate it. A person of character and passionate involvement, as ol'Krsna reminds us in the Bhagavadgita, will look like a madman to most others. So I wouldn't worry too, too much about the madness of bicycles (though I am continually concerned about the madness of King George...uh, the most recent version). As a certifiable over the top kinda' bicycle obsessor, I could think of far worse ways to amuse myself (this being the usual rationale). So I don't struggle with the issues of perfection-seeking but rather enjoy them. I pare down occasionally and right now, for example, it would be hard to visit the basement and not think, "This guy is waaaaay over the top....". But I love what I love and all the issues of family and it's about the ride and the money can't let you turn what you love into something that makes you _less_ happy. The end of every life is a yard sale, I suppose, but I'm still planting trees in my yard that I want to enjoy before I'm gone.

Most of the bikes I keep at this point---you will forgive me if this sounds pretentious or sadly obsessed---I keep too as an act of stewardship. In other words, I think some of them are genuinely valuable examples of craft of the sport. My tastes run...well, you all know where my tastes run...but a great bike deserves a good home and eventually a next good home. I've restored Rene Herse found on curbsides destined for the dump and hope the next owner loves them as much as I do.

It's great to wonder, to doubt, to vent, to obsess, to pare down or acquire more, but it's best of all best to love be happy with what and who you love. Sure we have to create and know our priorities but the "oh my family, my family, my family..." as if they are in some competition with "my bikes, my bikes...", well, that's not often what's at stake, as I see it. Learning to live with ourselves, now that's what's more interesting about the issues here.

I vent, it's what I do too. Obsessively and with commitment. No problem.

dbrk

It makes one wonder what someone ,like myself with 20+ bikes and plans
for more, is really looking for. But lets call it what it is: indulgence. Sure,
I can justify to myself that's it's part of who I am, and I don't have a car
to support, but that's just cover. I just like the process. Planning a project,
tracking down the parts, finding the unfindable, it's all great fun. It can get
out of control, and sometimes it takes over when I spend too much time
on Ebay, on top of all the time I spend here, but I don't have a wife and kids
looking over my shoulder. So maybe it's a substitute for something else?
Who knows.

Riding and collecting have always been two seperate passions for me. I'll ride
anything, if that's what there is. Collecting is something else. There is a desire
to 'own' or 'steward' things, as opposed to just know about them, have a
catalogue with their picture, for some reason isn't enough. But yes, it can
be too much. I guess it's all about keeping the proper balance.

g

no car? no wonder you have all those bikes.

no car, no driver's licence, no insurance bills, no gas bills, no repair bills,
no parking fees!

I even rent out my parking space in my condo! (no grass to cut either!)

g

Dr. D, I can steward any of your bikes any time you want to. I can steward them alonside the ones I'm already stewarding. I just wish your frames were a little smaller; in which case I'd really want to steward them, atmo... :beer:

whoa, too bad about losing your driver's license! that must really suck!!!

(this is an old joke around here)