The Tri Town Times: 4/15/24

• Posted on 16 April 2024
• By Antonio Gonzalez
• Posted in the tri town times
• 0

How we learn and grow.

Hi all,

Here is your weekly Tri Town Times newsletter:

Last week's highlights:

- Youri Keulen and Ashleigh Gentle won the PTO T100 World Tour race in Singapore on a brutally hot day that saw 90 degree temps and 60% humidity.

- Tom Piddock won the Amstel Gold road race in a sprint finish, and why this keeps happening continues to be a mystery to me.

Events I'm looking forward to:

- The Boston Marathon is today.

- The Race to Robie Creek is this Saturday.

Quote that struck a chord:

"You can get someone to teach you things mechanical or scientific or mathematical like algebra or English or riding a cycle or operating a computer. But in the things that really matter, life, love, reality, God, no one can teach you a thing. All they can do is give you formulas. And as soon as you have a formula, you have reality filtered through the mind of someone else. If you take those formulas you will be imprisoned. You will wither and when you come to die you will not have known what it means to see for yourself, to learn." - Anthony de Mello.

I've often found the best way to truly understand something is to remove all expectations of what performance is and looks like, and simply experiment in an unstructured and playful way.

Here is the best way to become a passable bicycle mechanic: purchase a bike parts; build a bike from the ground up; ride said bike and have a bunch of things not work; tear it down again and rebuild. Repeat as needed.

The fact that it takes a long time and things break and is frustrating and sucks is the whole point. It's the glue that makes the lesson stick.

In the early stages you may be tempted to reach out for advice and learn "the right way" of doing something. You must avoid this at all costs- it shuts down your natural curiosity, prevents experimentation, and is ultimately counterproductive. Remember in school, when the professor provides the answers to the test before giving the test? The students love it. Makes everything much easier. Of course, no one remembers a thing from the class, but the goal for many students is to pass the class, not to learn.

I suppose in that regards a lesson is learned: that which is learned easily is forgotten easily.

This week there will be moments when work, or a workout, or a lesson is going to be frustrating difficult and hard. Remember that is what it takes for the lesson to really stick or for the workout to make a difference in your fitness. We develop and grow during the difficult times, not the easy ones.

If you have a moment to spare:

A one hour documentary on Major Taylor. For a deeper dive on the amazing life and career of Major Taylor, I recommend The World's Fastest Man: The Extraordinary Life of Cyclist Major Taylor, America's First Black Sports Hero by Michael Kranish.

Have a great week!

Antonio Gonzalez

Tri Town Bicycles

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