You're the Best

At times we all tell ourselves that we are good at something. Sometimes we even go so far as tell ourselves that we're the best at something. Then we have experiences that cause us to doubt ourselves for thinking such an outlandish thing. I have a friend who recently went through this with her running. I went through this on my ride home tonight.

I was making pretty good time, getting through the lights, and keeping my legs moving. I was feeling like a great biker. Then I thought about the pace and endurance of even the lanterne rouge of the Tour de France and realized that I could not hold his wheel for even 1 km. I would know I was passed by Dave Zabiskie once. He just flew by making me feel like I wasn't moving on my bike. Well, the feeling of being good lasted for a few minutes before reality took over.

Then there was this dude who ran out of gas. He just pulled around the corner, against the light, cutting me off and severely ticking off several drivers behind me. As I yelled to help ensure that he wouldn't do anything more dangerous that he already had, he yelled back telling me that he was out of gas. Well, I still don't think he handled the situation optimally, but I decided that I could go back and offer my help if he needed it. At first I think he was pretty defensive, but I hope that by the time I had offered to lend a hand the third or fourth time, that he realized that I did want to help. He had a buddy nearby that he was going to call, so I wasn't needed. However, I hope that this little act helped put him a little more at ease in a difficult situation. Maybe it was a good thing.

As I said, at times we all tell ourselves that we are good at something. And, maybe in the end, that is what really counts.