By James Durand
Or can you?
My arm has been messed up lately and I’ve been doing some self diagnosing. I’ll rest it, I’ll ice it, I’ll put some heat on it. Three months later my arm is still messed up and I’m staring to miss out on fun because of it.
I went to see my physio magician, Sarah, today. Within 30 minutes she had my arm working better and gave me a few tips to keep it feeling good. That’s right, she does this every day and clearly knows more than a bike mechanic when it comes to tendons, muscles, and whatever else is in my arm.
She doesn’t work on her bike though, she brings it to me and I make it better. She does what she does and I do what I do.
I used to do many things myself. I’m a handy guy and have lots of construction experience, so projects around the yard, car repairs, and even bigger reno’s are all things I would handle on my own in my spare time. But even with my experience, things rarely turned out perfectly. I was out of practice, spent too much time, or didn’t have the exact tools needed.
As life moved along, things became more complicated. Businesses were started, hobbies became passions, and a couple of kids were hatched somewhere in there … and before I knew it, time became much more valuable to me.
I realized that building my own deck last summer would save me some cash, but also cost me an entire summer. Instead, we hired an awesome carpenter and I went and raced the BC Bike Race while he built the deck. You can’t put a price on that.
The last reno I had to do would have taken me 6-12 months with my schedule, but we had it completed in 30 days with a local contractor. Sure it cost a few bucks, but it was done quickly and correctly, and I enjoyed my summer of riding.
A couple years back we sold a derailleur to a guy and offered to install it for a minimum fee while he waited. He passed and decided to install it himself. On the next three group rides he ran into shifting issues and had to cut each ride short to avoid damaging his bike. I wondered if he thought the $30 savings was worth missing three rides. If someone offered me 30 bucks to miss even one ride I would laugh out loud as I rode into the trails.
We can produce a lot of things in our world, but time is not one of them.
So thank you Sarah for fixing my arm, and saving me some time.
I’m James Durand and I’m Goin’ Ridin’…