So, did you go on your new years day ride? If you did and you're anything like me, then you probably noticed how slow and fat you had gotten. It's a real wake up call. If you don't want to be fat and slow come spring time, then now is the time to buckle down and do what needs to be done.

A friend and I were riding not long ago. We were following some fat white haired misfit riding an overpriced "custom" cookie cutter hog with no rear suspension and a rear tire wider than the Mississippi. His style is his own choice, I won't begrudge him that. The thing that set off the dweeb alarm in my head was the way he was riding. As a car approached from the opposite direction, he moved clear over to the far right hand side of the road and even crossed the white line. At first, I thought he was pulling over to allow my friend and I to pass. But that wasn't the case. He was simply moving over as far as he could to avoid the car approaching him, even though the car was clearly in it's own lane and not posing much of a threat to us. After the car passed, he moved to the very center of the road and stuck like glue to the yellow line.. well, more like a weaving wandering string of glue. He repeated the manuever with every passing car. I would have really like to pass him, but I was afraid of what his next move might be, so I stayed put to watch the freak show. Then when he turned off the road, he almost came to a complete stop and was afraid to lean his bike over to negotiate the turn. All I could do was shake my head and watch the once proud tradition of motorcycling be soiled by this incompetent asshat.

Training for off road riding can consist of some pretty boring stuff. Running is probably one of the best conditioning exercises available to those who want to prepare for the rigors of racing. But running, to all but the most masochistic of us, is boring. Face it, we like to ride because it provides that rush of adrenaline that we crave. Most of us run, those of us who do run, only because it helps us ride better.