Balancing Act

Well, after a week of riding myself into the ground (actually, up mountains, but you know what I mean!) and only having the mental energy to focus on the present moment (usually the steepness of those north Georgia climbs!), it seems appropriate to come back and consider the bigger picture, particularly as 2009 brings many changes after an already dynamic 2008.

Last year, I decided to throw all my eggs in one basket and shoot for that pro cycling contract. I had briefly immersed myself in pro racing in ‘07, and, perhaps a bit too confident with quick progress through the category system of USACycling, I had that young, idealistic frame of mind that I must have learned from Disney and television partly raising me, “You can do anything if you put your mind to it!”

The interesting thing is that, when I let cycling consume me 100% (and maybe let my studies temporarily take a back seat), I realized that, as much as I want to be the best cyclist I can be, I don’t want to sacrifice everything to do just that. Afterward, on the other end of the spectrum, this summer/fall I was looking for the stability of a steady paycheck and no homework (for once!), but then again I decided I wasn’t digging the full-time job / part-time life gig.

The answer? Balancing act!

But it sure is a tough act to pull off!

I brought some books with me down to Georgia this week and had planned to read up during my downtime to further develop my research interests freely (i.e. before the semester starts Monday and hustle-bustle that brings about the department). Unfortunately, down south, I think I learned I’m starting to have my nose full (as the Germans would say) of translation theory. Maybe I just want to get back to really critical, concentrated, word-by-word, etymological, lyric interpretations…which is fine too…except for the fact that I just lost another week of time not exactly balancing cycling with any productive output.

The point is that this must be my way of saying that I’ve somehow come to decide that being slightly less good in each endeavor is perhaps preferable than driving myself crazy with things I thought I liked, but then end up hating as they overwhelm me and take complete control of my life. So now I’m looking forward to being—and I say this with great humility; I hope it shows—a quite immature MA-seeker in Germanic Studies, still looking for his niche, or, perhaps, conceding that you’ll have to bear with him as he jumps from temporary niche to temporary niche.

In the meantime, how will cycling play in? Well, the unfortunate thing is that there may be one profession that pays less than a poor bike racer, which is the fellowship-beggar/scholarship-whore/poor, burgeoning grad student salary. So I’m not sure how many bucks I’ll be shelling out to go do Tour of the Gila or anything like that. Still, though, I’ve definitely learned that my time on the bike is a necessary complement to my time with the books, and this balancing act, although imperfect, should hopefully see me at UIC as well as the occasional NRC race, in the distant future as a fellow abroad and maybe even a pro wheel-sucker! Stay tuned….

Tags: Balancing Act, Cycling, School, Work