Little Jack's Corner by Jack Donohue

Sometime in the life of every relationship, the conversation will inevitably come up that there are "other things" to life than riding a bicycle. You mentally agree with this, but you're thinking "yes, there's repairing my bike, recovering after a crash so that I can ride again, and eating and sleeping to make me go faster." This is best left unsaid, as it will probably not advance your cause in the argument. Rather, you should agree with the premise, then revert to subterfuge to avoid those "other things." When the "there's more to life than cycling" issue rears its ugly head, do not protest. This is an argument you cannot win. Instead try to figure out how best to cut your losses. I'll outline several of my favorite ploys, but I'm sure you can think of others.

Capitulation. Agree to go to a cultural event (Harpoon Ale night at Redbones is not considered a cultural event in this context). Say that you will meet your significant other there. You will of course ride there, showing up hot, sweaty, and generally unkempt, clad in your best skin tight lycra. All the non-cyclists will shrink away from you as if you were a leper, and your SO will be so mortified, you won't be asked to attend another of these affairs in quite some time, if ever.

Selective Memory. When your partner suggests an alternative activity, say "well, sure we could do that, but we just did that last week." Of course, you really just did that last summer, but you can hope that your SO's memory is as spotty as yours.

Obligation. You have to emphasize that you really NEED to ride today to fulfill some cycling goal. You need the mileage, despite the fact you've already ridden more miles this month than your car's been driven.

Bluffing. Figure out something that's sufficiently odious you would never want to do in a million years, like bungee jumping or ice climbing. just make sure it's something your SO would be even less likely to want to do. Then when the offer is refused, you will have garnered many brownie points for having suggested a non-cycling activity.

Martyrdom. When all else has failed, agree to participate in some non-cycling activity. But be sure that your partner is well aware of the travail you are suffering, so that they will think twice before asking you to do it again. Cross country skiing is a good example in my case. This is a bit different since I was actually doing this when I met Susan. This is before I discovered that cross training is bad for you. So this activity is sort of grandfathered in. Still, you can amass sympathy points by emphasizing your suffering. My muffled cries of "don't worry about me, I'll be alright" as I lay with my head buried in three feet of snow after the last FDGB, are enough to melt the heart of the cruelest. Unfortunately, Susan is wise to my tricks so this gets me little mileage (so to speak).

Addiction. When all else fails, just admit that you've got a serious addiction problem, and you'll be jonesing badly if you can't get on your bike for a century or so today. Maybe you could even get a note from your doctor.


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