Naturally I am a little upset that my idea is so unpopular, but it occurs to me, if it is a bad idea I wish someone could (or would) explain to me the defect in the idea or the thought process that lead to the idea. I really would like to know what is wrong with the notion I have, in the absence of this information I still believe that my thoughts were worthy of greater consideration. On reflection, I wonder if the ney votes were from other people who posted policy proposals in an effort to 'slag' my proposal to make theirs look good. I certainly hope not, I have made a very conscious effort to avoid posting or voting on anything other than my own propositions and I would like to hope that other people who have contributed to this policy wiki are as decent in their intentions as I am.
Still it leaves unanswered the question, what is wrong with my idea of permitting RRSP withdrawals during periods of economic decline? If anyone has any constructive criticism I would welcome it.
Lately I've done a great deal of research on Specialized Transitions and bike racing, not for any constructive purpose, mostly just to keep occupied while the computer is busy with other tasks. I have watched a few videos of the Paris-Roubaix race from past years on YouTube.com. It boggles my mind, how is it a grown man can sit on a saddle for 260km of cobble stone path? Alright granted it is actually not 260km of cobble stone, but I love this story from Wikipedia:
The American television channel CBS covered Paris-Roubaix, said the writer James Startt, and was delighted to find a prominent rider who could speak English. Theo de Rooy, a Dutchman, had been in a promising position but had then crashed, losing his chance of winning. Startt wrote:
No sooner was de Rooy off his bike than the CBS crew jumped on him. His haggard face was covered with mud and blood when they asked for his race impressions. He was so exhausted he could barely speak, but he muttered something about how hard and heart-breaking Paris-Roubaix could be. So dejected did he sound and so naive was the crew (who didn't know this was the umpteenth time the Dutchman had ridden the race), that they asked if he would ever ride Paris-Roubaix again. De Rooy's face instantly transformed. 'Ride it again?' he asked incredulously. 'Of course I will. This is the most beautiful race in the world!
Both Amy and Erin are Specialized Roubaix bikes, it is not a coincidence that the Paris-Roubaix terminates in the town that my bike model is named after, the Roubaix is designed for rough roads, but then I have a soft rear end!
I also did some reading on the transition, one young lady was so inspired by her new ride that she took what I can only call a skin shot, of her, her ride and a rather inadequate, jersey - not actually worn, just covering her feminine aspects, and gave it to a friend who posted it to a Tri news group. Interested male parties can easily find this picture with a Google search, in my case "Specialized Transition" that was quite the transition from biking I must admit. Alright bad pun, but come-on, soft porn and I'm only making puns, it could be worse!
I have been thinking about racing lately. I have been warned that there is politics in bike racing, there is politics in everything, but as we all know, only too well, where the stakes are small enough the politics get ugly. Nonetheless, I'd like to race, not to win, although that would be cool, just to see how I would compare with other people.
Actually a friend of mine pointed out, I ride for the love of riding, I do not need to race to enjoy mounting the saddle, just give me a beautiful smooth piece of road (I like Nineth line coming south from Musselman's Lake and Tenth Line or Reesor Road from Stouffville South). Actually one of my favorite trips is tearing down Ninth line around Musselman's Lake, it is short, but the exhilaration of the spin around the lake is worth it.
On the Sunday before Thanksgiving I went for a BCC Sunday ride up to Rattlesnake, we took Appleby from Britannia, the trees, lined the road to thirty or forty feet, made a flaming canopy of crimson, orange and gold.
I guess the truth is I love riding, I love the freedom and the scenery. The one time the BCC did the "Simcoe Scramble" where we rode up from Elgin Mills to Lake Simcoe, the fields of corn or beats or whatever the farmers were growing, the fresh air, the serenity of it all. I suppose an ultra marathon runner can experience the same thing, or someone out on a very long walk, but a bike means freedom. Freedom in a way a person just cannot experience from a car, or any other way that I can think of.
Maybe the problem with the World is not enough people have their own road bike?
No comments:
Post a Comment