Wisdom from BMX magazines

I remember sitting in Honda's lunchroom back when I read business books, but evidently not 'Never Eat Alone' by some networking douchebag, and occasionaly shy on reading material I would actually read one of the motorcycle magazines the motorcylce department left around for us.
These magazines are like the worst, ever. I assume their staff consist of a layout guy who literally copies and pastes press releases from the manufacturers. So really I didn't expect to find good reading in my BMX magazine that I bought along with the gay mag the other day.

But straight up the editorial hit home for me in an act of serendipity that reflected my 'getting used to being a loser post' except far more articulate and straight forward. I quote:

Hurry Up & Wait...

...Waiting in line in a supermarket behind two people. The lady paying wants a different bunch of bananas because she notices one has gone bad. The guy behind her, but in front of me lets out a huge sigh and looks at me with disgust towards the woman. Chill out man, it's going to take a minute to get some bananas and by the look of your torn shirt and flip-flops no one is in a hurry to hang out with your impatient ass.

I see the same hurry up and wait attitude going on all over the place, and I definitely see it affecting the BMX world. And it's no individuals fault; it's more to do with a society that shoves coffee and energy drinks down our throats each day. The constant need for something new, the latest and greatest, the next up and coming pro, the most innovative trick, chew up the input and spit it out before you get in the shower that day... often I feel like I've blinked and missed out on something important. That important something to me is the fact that I'm still on this bike after all these years, I'm riding, which is slower than driving (unless you're on an LA freeway), I'm out with my friends, I'm not rushing to go to work, I'm not worried about bills or stressing about daily life, I'm on this bike hoping that time will slow down and I can enjoy every second of it... the only thing I would have changed 10 years ago was not worrying about getting a sponsor, and trying to remember to live for the moment.

There's more, I snipped a bunch out, but left a bunch in. This reminds me when I broke up* with Claire but was still addicted to her I would find out that we would catch up on like say a Saturday, and I would find out on a Tuesday. Because at the time I was obsessed with getting back with her for the sweet sweet endorphins I would then just become obsessed with Saturday, and how to get there.
That was the most extreme case where, thankfully I was seeing a psychiatrist and new I had to consciously train myself to actually make sure I enjoyed Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday AND Saturday, and all the days that followed.
Basically I learned then in a concrete way: don't look forward to anything. Not in a negative way, as in 'life's a bitch and then you die' but just don't miss your life looking ahead to a destination you may never reach.
We never got back together anyway, and eventually I got through the chemical addiction and 'got over' the break up. But the same could be said in a much more banal way of the 9-5 grind, if you are living for the weekend, quit your job and get on centrelink for a while till you figure out a way to go to work with a smile on your face and a song in your heart. Do whatever it takes.

Anyway, editorial aside, was there any other gems to be offered up by my BMX mag?

Then in a stunning pictorial section of a bike trip to Nicaragua there's the article 'compare and contrast' which had this keen insight:

So when my crew lands in Managua and wants to go street riding, I'll tell them: "The people here, well, they are much different than we are. They are not bad people, but can you blame them for wanting to have the huge amount of wealth we flaunt. Watch your iPhones and your bikes. And when we meet up with the hospitable and friendly local riders, watch what you say... what you assume. We need to drink water a lot while riding in the blazing sun here, so, when are at the gas station every hour spending $3 on on snacks and beverages, realize they are outside, drinking out of a dirty hose because they can't afford to spread that $3 out over the next week. And when you are appalled by sketchy accomodation, by the lack of consistent water and electricity, by the the inconvenience of daily functioning... when you are ready to scream, remember they live like this on a daily basis. These people, some smiling and some staring, understand poverty and wealth in a way we have never experienced.

And I guess to be fair to the author 'these people' in this context isn't Nicaraguans per se, but people in object poverty. This is like some of the best travel advice I wish I could have been told before staying in Mexico, Cambodia, India etc. I tend not to complain much, so I don't think that was bad, because I love to avoid conflict but I was really wasteful, I never bothered to eat or stay close enough to the street to really help out the local scene and not some foreign investment or foreign bank backed eatery.

Anyway, I haven't finished reading it yet. I bought it mainly for the pictures. Maybe that's the difference. BMX is an artform, as James said to me last night 'BMX takes a good picture' looking at static images of peeps suspended in the air in some strange relation to their ride makes one wax a little philosophical, if not just ponder how they will stick the landing, since lets face it from the pictures perspective the landing ain't really necessary.
*she dumped my arse, technically.