Why do we have rules?

Why should we adhere to them?

Questions around this are being debated all around the world this week as a few reprobates take to the streets and loot and pillage as they please. I am not one to discuss politics here but hey, if you feel the need to burn down 200 year old pieces of history, I hope for your sake that your karmic balance doesn’t come back to high five you in the face.

Are rules there to give confidence to those who don’t have it? Does it give them the structure they need to achieve?

Are the rules there to herd the reprobates as kindly as possible? I believe if that’s your mentality and breaking the rules was eating organic and 2 hours of steady exercise a day, reprobates would be winning all the races.

The rules of cycling and of any sport are there to govern the sport and the behavior of those who partake in it. At some point, the rules will be debated and as always, they will be pushed to the limit and broken where possible, as long as you can get away with it, right?

Is it worth getting away with it 10 times to be caught once?

For me, the point of having rules is to have a guideline.

Much like my frustration with the training wear choice of many triathletes, the rules are there to make sure we aren’t all riding in speedo’s through Camps Bay or running on the promenade in Trisuits on a Thursday afternoon, just because. If you do either of those, please stop it. It’s emboerrssssssssing for the rest of us. You give other triathletes a bad name. Speedo’s are for the pool and trisuits are for race day.

Then there are the unspoken rules. That’s quite an important post to read if you are a cyclist. Don’t be that guy in the Ed Hardy cycling shirt and 80`s Banesto cycling bibs with green mid calf socks.

Some rules are made to be bent, some obey’d and others broken, depending on your point of view and your willingness to be caught and possibly fail at the task. What are you willing to risk?

Rules and risk are part and parcel . Remember to balance them carefully. Add that to Risk and Reward which are also part and parcel and you will hopefully see that Risk is a big part of success. So are the Rules. It’s time to learnt how to risk smartly, don’t you think? Risk within the Rules and Reward will be yours.

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Today I am not going to speak about my weekly totals. It was virtually an off week with more work and really, more opportunities than I care to even get into. It’s an exciting time out there. Hope you are making the most of it, too.

Today I wanted to talk about what drives us. What makes us give the extra mile. What makes us get up at 5am and go for a jog before heading to meetings, work, proposals, deadlines, stress, pressure, commitments and then possibly back to the gym for a swim before heading home to spend time with friends and family, cook & deal with admin & possible more work.

What kind of idiot does that?

This guy.

Me.

I am not here to waft through life. I am here to live. I am here to eat the best food, ride the best trails, run in the wildest frontiers, to eat more of the best food, to laugh the loudest, the hardest and the most. To brave the circumstances and scare the living bejissus out of myself from time to time. To doubt if I can achieve the lofty goals I have set, to practise milking the journey to that ever changing goal.

I am here to wander among the masses and inspire you to be more. I am passionate about that, about you. I want to push my body to the absolute limit and then crush the limit. Human limitations are just that. Limits. Rules. If there was never anybody who pushed or broke limits then we would surely still be in the stone age. That human willingness to go above and beyond it what drive us.

Yes, I suffer. I hurt. Great. Awesome. I am smiling all the way because I feel absolutely amazing when I am out training and racing. I am happiest when I have no idea how the hell I am going to get through, shortly followed by absolute euphoria when I am through it. That is the essence. Hence the picture. Its Tour de France time. For the 200 best cyclists in the world to ride over 30 mountains in 3 weeks, only to finish in absolute agony with cold sores, strains and tendonitis. For what? Only one dude can win.

Its not only about that one guy. It’s about the celebration of the pinnacle of how far and hard a human being can ride his bicycle. It’s about celebrating the marvel of watching these guys race down twisty roads much faster than the cars can. It’s about celebrating how absolutely amazing we are as a species.

We are driven beyond comprehension. Only the brave….

It is so beautiful and so simple and so primal that I cannot yet fully comprehend how grand it really is. I do believe I have a small insider view but really, I know that every couch potato is inspired when they see the willingness of these guys to hurt beyond comprehension, just to make it to the top of that last climb.

I am going to fill my body with best, most natural food I can find. It will be tasty beyond wowness, fill me with energy beyond zest and give me the appreciation of being responsible for how I fuel my engine.

I am going to explore the entire world. I am going to give back to those who I love with all my love. I am going to be peaceful and appreciative of the simple beauties of the world. I am inspired by people, by their amazing ability to overcome.

I want more of that.

What are you doing to get more of that?

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