So what the hell does "on the rivet" mean?

On the rivet is a cycling term meaning giving a maximum effort. When a rider is pressing hard they will scoot forward on the seat to press on the peddles with their hips over the peddles. This allows for great pressure on the peddles with high rpm too. It is a method for producing large amounts of sustained power.

In the picture is Floyd Landis from the tour of california. As you can see he is scootched up to the front of the saddle and really pressing. 

So why would I call my blog that?

Prepare yourself for some back story... your need to get anything? water... lunch... now would be a good time.

So I turned 40 a year and a few months ago. Like many I did a bit of life accounting. what am I investing in? what are the returns? And like many I decided to chuck some of the shit that wasn't producing. Additionally investing in some things that were getting very little attention.

At this point I suppose I should be concerned that I may be boring the shit out of my readers. Sense I have none and am not likely to have any, I'm going to ramble on and on as much as I like.

Anyway, I had been a relatively fit person most of my life but starting in late collage. I became very focused on my work and many thing were sacrificed for it. My health being the one. As the stress of work increased healthful life decreased. By my 40th birthday there was a price to pay. So I decided to start paying down my debt. ... to continue with the financial metaphor.

I had been a cyclist as a younger man and so looked to it again as a way to manage stress and improve my health. also on the list were diet, booze(less of it, alot less) and changing my job. so as you can see I've been a busy boy.

I started with the mission to become 10% less shlubby. You ever get tired of feeling like, you look like, shit. I did. 

Ok that will do for back story for now....

So I am currently riding about 10 hours a week and have been since Jan 1 2007.  I reached my 10% goal a while ago and have been pressing on. Why,  you may ask... you made your goal, ease off, and coast, you made it.

Along the way it became necessary to confront some assumptions that I held about myself and I have found the experience very freeing.  I am continuing to confront assumptions and seeing where they lead me. Sometimes it's productive sometimes not, but i think for me... now... the act of confrontation itself propels me. The drive now is to continue to challenge the unknown. 

Which will lead me to the end of this entry... I am going to be racing in a real bicycle race! I have my amateur license and will be competing in a real race... wholly shit! It's next saturday the 19th and I totally terrified! 

But I have decided to start living "on the rivet" so I'm going to the race, and I'll ride like hell. 

Wish me luck I'll need it.