Skin in the game

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Ever heard that phrase before? Skin in the game? It means you are heavily involved in something, that you are invested. So if cycling is my thing then it is more than fair to say I've skin in the game. Literally and metaphorically. I suppose in a literal sense I've left my fair share of skin on the tarmac. If you've cycled as long as I have then you are bound to fall off, get pushed off or hit the ground some way. Along with my lost skin I've broken my collarbone [called 'joining the clavicle club'], broken three ribs, cracked a lot more and broke my elbow along the way too. Arthritis and aches and pains could also be added to the list. But I don't care or think about these incidents. I've been a racing cyclist on and off for thirty seven years now. That's nearly four decades of meeting people, sometimes losing them but altogether great times and places I've been. Decades of fun and stories to tell the grandkids. 

And I'm still as passionate about my sport. And fairly dedicated to training too. I'm now a MAMIL [Middle Aged Man In Lycra], older and slower but I still think I have it.

My sport is so colourful too. It's hard not to love the Tour De France and all it's pomp and ceremony and mountains or how could you not love the nasty sections of cobbles in Paris-Roubaix? Maybe I just like the happy exhaustion of a three hour spin in the hills? Cycling in the rain too; It gives you a feeling that you are getting one over on the lazy people who are at home on the couch. Either way, cycling still fills my brain with endorphins and my face with smiles after all these years and I still have the passion to get out there every chance I get. Cycling has given me perspectives and good times I'll never forget so I don't think I'll stop for a while yet. I owe my sport more than I'd ever manage to repay, give or take a few broken bones and and an ounce or two of my skin.

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