I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle

Five students of a Zen master was back from the market on their bicycles. As they dismounted, their master asked : Why are you riding your bicycles?"
Each of them came up with different answers to their master's query.
The first student said "It is the bicycle that is carrying the sack of potatoes. I am glad that my back has escaped the pain of bearing the weight"
The master was glad and said : " You are a smart boy. When you become old you will be saved of a hunch back unlike me"
The second student had a different answer. " I love to have my eyes over the trees and the sprawling fields as I go riding"
The teacher commended : "You have your eyes open and you see the world"
The third disciple came up with yet a different answer : " When I ride I am content to chant 'nam myoho renge kyo'"
The master spoke words of appreciation " Your mind will roll with ease like a newly trued wheel"
The fourth disciple said : "Riding my bicycle in live in perfect harmony of things"
The pleased master said " You are actually riding the golden path of non-harming or non violence"
The fifth student said " I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle"
The master walked up to him and sat at his feet and said "I am your disciple!"


-author unknown

With all of the stories going on about doping - both of the cyclist, through Floyd's emails, and the bicycle, with the Gruber Assist - the world of cycling is being shaken fairly hard. If the accusations prove to be true, Professional cycling is in for a upset that that could potentially be the end of Professional cycling as we know it.

Cycling, however, will survive.

The vast majority of us don't have a racing license, and have never lined up at a starting line at a UCI sanctioned race, let alone the local Thursday evening criterium. We ride our bicycles to the store for groceries. We commute to work by bicycle to save gas. We ride for the environment. We go on long rides on weekends with our local club. We ride by ourselves. We participate in charity rides to raise money for causes that we hold dear. We ride in the park with our kids. We sneak in short rides during the week because we don't want to take away from the precious little time we have with our families. We ride as a way to deal with stresses in our lives. We ride because going fast down a hill is the closest we will ever be to truly flying like the birds. We ride to loose weight. We ride to test ourselves. We ride to test our limits, and push ourselves beyond them. We ride as an escape. We ride for the companionship of friends. We ride for the solitude, to be alone with our thoughts. We ride across the country. We ride around the block. We ride to live. We live to ride.

We don't do these things because of some Pro, we do this because we love to ride.

Don't get me wrong. It is sad and disappointing when your favorite Pro cyclist is caught doping, but you're not going to sell your bicycle if it happens. You'll get back on the bicycle, and ride.

"I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle"