31

Today I'm officially "old". Well, perhaps not, but I'm a little closer to being there. I'd take a ride to celebrate, but I already ripped my legs off on a blisteringly hot ride in the Sunshine Coast hinterland yesterday (ride report to come later), so I'll just have to settle for a commute today and possibly a shopping trip this evening. It's interesting to look back on the 12 months since my "30" post and see exactly what has happened.

The one constant has been my continued cynicism about pretty much everything in the world today. While I didn't set out to become this way when I was younger, it just seems to have been my experience that as a general rule, they cynics were right all along on pretty much every subject I can think of. A lot of people see cynicism as a negative attitude, but I've never seen it that way. Cynicism is simply a defence mechanism that allows an individual to see the world and it's inhabitants for what they are. This is actually a positive attitude, as it allows one to simply get on with their lives, focusing on what is actually achievable and knowing exactly how to make it happen.

Of course, this was the year that my cynicism finally convinced me to take leave of the world of cycling "advocacy", or at least in it's current form. While I still hold largely the same opinions on many of the issues that I always did, I have realised that a lot of the politics involved is largely a waste of time, and that a lot of the people in the game ultimately have very different motives from what they claim. Personally, I can find far more rewarding pursuits than fighting those battles over and over again.

In a slightly more positive twist, but another made possible by cynicism, I managed a wonderful tour of Scotland a few months ago. Cynicism came in handy for dealing with the idiots in the Australian government who put as many hurdles in my way as possible, hoping I wouldn't bother them and keep them from flexing the afternoon off. This, pretty much sums up the lesson from the last 12 months and beyond, and the whole point of this post. While it seems "horrible" to think a certain way about certain ideals, individuals or institutions, it's often a necessary evil if you want to achieve anything.

Here endeth the lesson.