did you...

ever hear the statement "now he is living the life style"? i came across this in a magazine i was reading one day. it happened to be a cycling mag. but now i want to explore this in depth...

"living the life style." what does that mean?

taking it from a cycling perspective, it could mean that a person is highly reliant on their bikes. be it for transportation, or a job.

transportation: getting from one place to another on a vehicle. a mode of transit.

job: delivery. bike messenger.

insert any definition that you will.

in any case...when we say such a phrase, we emote a hint of jealousy. the green eyed beast. we soon forget that the grass on the other side of the fence needs to be mowed, too.we wish that that would be our life style. how great it would be if the bike were our only mode of transportation. would it? as i go to school i see the same bike locked to the bike rack. nothing special. just some bike from wal-mart. now think about their life. a cheap bike (under five hundred bones). locked to a rack. carrying a heavy book bag. day in and day out. through snow. rain. and anything else that god throws at you. and why is he doing this? is it really the life style? or is it that they can't afford anything else?

a bike as your only mode of transportation. i couldn't work in what i'm doing now. and i love what i'm doing. i live in a house that is right now comfortable for my standard of living. i work on the far east side. and the far west side. i could not live in either county. too much money. about thirty miles in either direction. now how long would that take to get from one end to the other? i would have to leave pretty early to get anywhere. and i would be getting home pretty late for anything. much less getting food, and other things that one needs. and getting anything done for that matter.

job: bike messenger. how cool would that be? riding my fixie all day. taking things to people. zipping in and out of traffic. in and out of people. cool. oh, wait...weather. god throwing things at you. oh, wait...is that car door going to open up or not? i'm sure it has been a dream of all of us who ride, but what really goes into it? just like in the movie quicksilver (which i received on dvd the other day), "you can't ride your bike forever." meaning what are you going to do after being a bike messenger?

there is a man whom i often see in my neighborhood riding his bike, with a huge bucket attached to the back. he pedals the streets looking at garbage to pick up, and do with what ever he will. others do this, and often times they have a truck or something. but is he "living the life style"?

so the only life style that i want to live is mine. the one that i am in right now. and if i wanted any of those others, i would have to make some big changes in my own. am i willing to do that? if i desire. which right now that is a moot point.

i'm not saying to throw away your bike, and drive your gas guzzling, piston clanking horseless carriage all over the place. but, the life style that you need to be concerned with is the style of life that you are living. not someone else's. if you want something else, then make the change. not because of anything else other than you.