What would be...

What would be...if I did not ride???

1 - I would weight about 350 lbs!!!  I was a late to get my growth spurt.  So late that in high school I was 5'4".  I got pulled over at 16 for "looking too young" to drive.  I also weighed next to nothing, yet ate like a man 3 times my size.  I ate so much that my grand parents had some loving nicknames for me...the garbage disposal, the black hole, the bottomless pit, etc.  I think I can recall a joke about me and a dog fighting to lick a plate clean.  I then hit puberty, and grew about 9 inches in one summer...my appetite only increased.

My sister and me..she is two years younger and I was a Sophomore

By the time I went to college, I was 6' and a scale crushing 130 lbs.  I ate more than I did before, went to the gym to lift weights, played beach volleyball, soccer and participated in Taekwondo.  I barely gained weight.  My father would joke that I only came to town to clean out his fridge and pantry.  While there is some truth to this (it is cheaper to eat Dad's food, than buy food) I also came home to watch reruns of McGyver and spend time with my dad.

By the time I graduated college I was 6'2 and up to about 170 lbs.  I continued to play sports, but life got in the way.  Soon I was working and imbibing more than exercising.  9/11 happened, and I decided to move from Florida to Washington State.  The only person I knew from Washington was...well not a single soul...I quickly met my wife Bella and ate more, while exercising less. 

Thanks for the awesome tie dad!!!

Shortly after we married I had, for me, ballooned to 190 lbs.  That is when I started to think I was a cyclist.  I became addicted and now consider myself an avid cyclist and Cat 5 racer extraordinaire...My year round weight is currently 165-170 lbs, and I still eat like I did in college.

2 - A total TV/movie nut.  I love TV!!!  I love old shows: Lost in Space (black and white only), Land of the Giants, Hogan's Hero's, etc.  I love 70/80's shows: CHiPs, Benson, Gunsmoke, etc.  I love 90's TV: McGyver, Stargate, Highlander, etc.  I love Science Fiction movies, Action Movies, Documentaries, Westerns, Fantasy, Fiction, Non-Fiction, etc. 

Who was cooler than McGyver, with his awesome mullet?!?!?!?!

As you can see, I love to be a couch potato.  Because I cycle, there is not enough time to watch all my TV shows and movies, ride my bike, and spend quality time with Bella.  Cut out 6-8 hrs a week during the school year and 12-15 hours a week during the summer, and I could easily fit in quality time with Bella and my TV/movie addiction.  However, as things currently are something must give...Sorry TV/movies...

3 - A total pain in the @$$...I have so much energy that I could single handedly run in a hamster wheel and supply New York City, London, Paris, Tokyo, and Beijing with more than enough power each day.  Even as things currently are with my cycling, Bella is on edge with my energy levels.  Sometimes I swear she comes up with honey do lists just to get my endless pacing, mumbling, and moving of things away from her.

Results from my last indoor training session...you are welcome New York!

4 - A total know-it-all...not that I currently am not a know-it-all.  No sense in feigning modesty...the truth is the truth, and I know everything about absolutely nothing.  If there is something about nothing you need to know, I am your man!  If I were not spending all that time on the bike, I would know everything about nothing and everything about everything.  Seriously, with all that time I could actually read the entire interweb! 

Bill Nye showing his IQ score relative to mine...

As we all know everything on the interweb is a fact.  According to some recent articles read, aliens disable nukes, bigfoot kidnapped me, the world will end in 2012, etc...So, imagine what I could learn with and extra 6-8 hrs a week.

5 - I could write even more blog articles about absolutely nothing interesting to anyone but my mother.  My mother thinks I am amazing, perfect the way I am, and can do anything I put my mind mind to. 

Rod - "Mom can I be president one day?" 
Mom - "Why do you ask me?  Why not???  You aren't too old yet." 
Rod - "Do you think I could race in the Olympics?" 
Mom - "Why do you ask me?  Why not???  You aren't too old yet." 
Rod - "Mom, will you ever answer me without stating a question?" 
Mom - "Why do you ask me?  Most likely not, it is genetic."

I think everyone gets the point...Me cycling is a GOOD thing, so let's all say one BIG "collective" thank you.  (Please do not make it sound like the Borg though!)