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So, I get this a lot.  Many of you may also.  Sometimes it comes as a question, and other times it’s simply a statement.  You tell somebody about a ride you just did, maybe in the snow or at night, or maybe in the rain.  You might have ridden a long way, or it may have been a short distance while carrying a ladder or tv.  Sometimes, after telling someone about a very enjoyable but atypical bicycle outing, they give a slight shake of the head or roll of the eyes and say it.  “You’re crazy.”  Or, “are you nuts?”   Better yet, “are you out of your mind?”

         There are countless ways to be called crazy, and many times it’s a form of endearment from a fellow cyclist.  There are other times, though, that your fond recollection of an oddball or epic ride falls upon the ears and mind of someone who doesn’t understand, and in these folks’ eyes, we are nuts.  

It really opens the door to ponder how bizarre, quirky and downright crazy different groups of people must seem to others.  I don’t think there is anything mentally depraved about riding around the lake in the winter, on the lake.  If you want to race your ass off at Roller Derby until you puke, that makes good sense to me.  Do you want to sit in the house on a beautiful day and watch your tv?  Bzzzt!  Hey!  Looks like we set off the crazy alarm! 

         My point here is not to split hairs over what really is and is not an acceptable use of time, on or off the bike.  

I don’t want to get down to brass tacks over our spending priorities.  I would like to point out that I don’t believe any of us are crazy… in a bad or self-destructive way; true, we may go a bit against the grain at times.  I can tell you this about myself; if I couldn’t ride my bike, I would really be a mess.  Without my bicycles and my diverse time spent on them, I could be diagnosed with several things from anxiety to dementia… restless leg syndrome?  Yep, I’d have that, too.  Lethargy?  The Vapors?  The list could go on for days.  In openly admitting that, you could argue that myself or any of us have some kind of endorphin addiction brought on by cycling; that we’re dependent on cycling like some kind of crutch or chemical imbalance.  Is that bad?

     Physical injury lurks around all corners.  You could fall on an icy road while on a midnight gravel grinder and freeze to death.  You could trip on your bunny slippers and fall down your stairs and break your neck.  

You could be accosted by a wino in Lime Creek in the dark, or you could be held up at gunpoint in broad daylight in a public place. 

We all take risks, some larger and more apparent than others; some of these risks we take of our own free will, and others risks are just an occupational hazard of life.  I refuse to see cycling in the same light as walking down a dark alley at night.  So, go ride your bicycles like you mean it, and when someone tells you that you’re nuts, just smile and know that you’re so much better off than they think you are.