More thoughts on thinking

This piece is a follow-up to my last post about negative thinking. The reason I know a little about the subject is not from anything I read in a book, but from experience.

Believe it or not but I was once a very negative person. I believed in Murphy's Law, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” Along with that other little philosophical gem, “Shit Happens.”

I will give you an example; sometime in 1986 I was painting a custom frame. I was spraying a candy-apple red over a white base. The nature of this paint is that it is semi transparent, and you see the base color through the top color. Like looking at the apple through the candy coating; hence the name.

It is absolutely essential to spray the paint on evenly or the result will be light and dark patches because of the varying thicknesses of paint. I had just started spraying the red coat when I became aware of a large black fly buzzing around inside the totally enclosed paint booth.

I couldn't stop painting and catch the fly or open the door to let him out, because to do so the paint would dry on the half finished frame and there would be streaks where I started painting again because the dry paint would not flow in with the wet paint. I had no choice but to keep going. I kept telling myself, "That damn fly is going to land on the frame, I just know it."

The fly did not just land on the wet paint so maybe I could have carefully lifted him off leaving only six tiny footprints. No, he flew right in front of the paint gun, into the stream of paint, and ended up "splat" in the middle of the top tube.

With any other type of paint the fly could have been picked off, and after the paint had been oven cured it could have been sanded smooth and touched up. With candy-apple paint the whole frame had to be stripped of paint, down to the bare metal, re-sandblasted, and repainted from scratch. This involved many hours of work.

At that time my ex-wife and I were going to marriage counseling, and that same evening I was talking to the female councilor, telling the same story I have just outlined here. She listened, and when I was though venting, she said, “Can't you see you created that to happen by your negative thinking?"

She pointed out a framed quotation she had hanging on the wall of her office. It was from Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, it read, "Nothing is good or bad, that thinking made it so."

It was an epiphany, a light bulb went on in my head, I thought about the huge space the fly had in the paint booth and what were the chances of it flying between the paint gun and the frame within seconds of my negative thought. In addition, a top tube is only one inch wide, the fly could have easily gone over or under and not landed smack in the middle.

In the days that followed I went back to work a changed man. I recognized my negative thoughts and replaced them with good positive thoughts. About a week later the power of positive thinking was demonstrated to me in a very dramatic fashion.

I had to go to the bank to deposit some checks and get back to my shop as quickly as possible as I was expecting a visitor. It was 4 pm. in the afternoon in a town in Southern California, the traffic was horrendous.

I came out of the bank and as I walked to my car I was thinking, "I'll never make it out of here." I had to cross four lanes of traffic to make a left turn, with no traffic light. Then I told myself, "Don't think that way, there will be a gap in traffic."

I pulled out of the parking lot and on to a four lane highway there was not a car in sight in either direction. I made a joke about it, I leaned forward in my seat and looked up at the sky and said, "Thank you God, I just needed a space to get out, you didn't have to clear the whole fucking town."

As I drove towards my shop, cars came towards me and from behind and I was back in normal rush hour traffic. Those who have read my novel, Prodigal Child, will recognize this story. The story is true, although in the book, a work of fiction, the location is changed.

That single event had a profound affect on me. I have never had the power of positive thinking demonstrated to me in such a dramatic fashion since. However, I can assure you positive thinking continues to provide parking spaces and gaps in traffic when I need them.

I still ride my bike defensively and always stay alert on the roads; there are also certain roads that I will only use at weekends when traffic is lighter. I think positive but I don't act stupid.

I can tell by some of the comments that some do not fully understand this concept. It is not “Blame the Victim.” A person holding a fear of being robbed, is clearly not to blame if they are then robbed. However, a positive thought may have prevented this outcome.

It is not religion, it is the way the Universe works; it is Metaphysics. Having said this, even the medical profession accepts that prayer can help a sick person heal. What is a prayer? It is a positive thought; a statement of an outcome made with the quiet knowing that it will be so.

This is where the faith comes in. It is not the blind faith of religion, but confidence in the outcome of the positive thought. Without that, the positive thought will not work, but then again, without the faith in the outcome, it is no longer a positive thought.

Not only must we be aware of our own positive and negative thoughts, but those of others around us. Show me a person experiencing a string of misfortune, like illness, accident, car trouble, a victim of crime, etc., and I can practically guarantee that person has some other crap going on in their life.

For example, a divorce or break up of a relationship, trouble at work with a co-worker, conflict with a family member; anywhere there is conflict and a lot of negativity flying around. The good news is if you are aware of this, your own positive thoughts will cancel out the negative ones of others.

I care about cyclists, and it bothers me when I read about people taking abuse on the roads. Especially when I know that a change in attitude will make a huge difference in rectifying the problem. It will not happen overnight, like any learning process, it takes time and effort.

For close to fifty years, my philosophy in life was this: "Life is a bitch, and then you die." I lived a life of pain, suffering, misfortune, failed relationships, etc. etc. I got what I expected from life, and as Shakespeare said, "Thinking made it so."

The course of my life was changed for the better by a chance comment by a female marriage councilor, whose name I don't even remember. I pass on my experiences that it may cause others to think on their thought process. That is all; I am not trying to convert anyone to anything.

Doug commented on my last post with a story about a dog who chased a group of cyclists, the dog bit the one woman who held negative thoughts about dogs. This story is similar to my story about the fly in the paint booth, the fly and the dog both did exactly what we thought they would.

If a cyclist has negative thoughts about other road users, there a plenty of drivers out there who hate cyclists; the two are going to be drawn to each other. Call it Karma, call it Bike-ma if you wish, but it is the way this Universe works.

Reverse the polarity; change your thinking from negative to positive and you will no longer draw the bad stuff towards you. You will not eliminate the assholes; you will just not attract them to you. Not only will you be helping yourself, but helping the cause of all cyclists.

Cyclists are constantly calling for change. Mahatma Gandhi said, "Before you can change the world, change your own thinking."

Fear and Negativity: Don’t even think about it

Before I posted my last piece about the Australian road rage incident, I faced a dilemma; should I post the story or not. Most times, I shy away from posting negative articles.

However, I decided to go ahead, because I knew others would run with the story anyway. I felt that bringing a story like this, involving high profile riders, to public attention might cause others to think twice about the seriousness of doing something similar.

It was never my intention to strike fear into cyclists. Fear is one of the basic instincts we share with all creatures of this earth. Fear of death or injury ensures survival of the various species.

Politicians and the media play on this primal instinct to benefit their own ends, with negative advertising and negative reporting. However, I see a difference between reporting something that actually happened, as opposed to discussing what could happen. The media does this all too often.

Do you remember Y2K and how all kinds of terrible things would happen at the stroke of midnight on January 1st. 2000. That time and date came and went and nothing happened, and the media moved on to find other items to scare us.

Whatever happened to the Bird Flu? Did it suddenly disappear, or did they find a miracle cure? Because a few short years ago we were all going to catch this terrible disease, old people and children would die from it. It was spread by birds and mosquitoes, those little critters are everywhere.

I quit watching the news on TV because it is so negative and depressing, and the terrible thing is it is not news. At worst, it is fiction; at its best, it is irrelevant issues grossly exaggerated and blown out of all proportion.

I get the news I need from the Internet; and I often see the same negativity there; however, I can be selective in what I read.

The problem is, being constantly fed a diet of fear and negativity; it creeps into people's lives and their everyday thinking. We speculate on the worst that could happen.

I see it on the various bike forums and blogs, where cyclists recall the near misses, and their run-ins with aggressive drivers. The problem is, the person posting is re-living the event, and causing others to re-live their bad experiences. We cannot erase bad events that have happened in the past, but we can learn from them and move on.

Is it any wonder that some, who would ride a bike, are afraid to ride on the road? A person might wonder why anyone rides there at all, if it is that bad. The truth is it is not that bad, if you look at the situation from a more positive viewpoint.

A few years ago, lived a wise and holy man from India named Sri Nisargadatta. During the 1970s he gave interviews with anyone who cared to sit with him and ask questions. These interviews were recorded, then translated into English, and published in a book called “I am that.”

Many times throughout the book he is asked, “How do you feel about all the wars, death and destruction around the world, and what about all the disease and suffering?" He would always answer, “This is in your world, not mine.”

On the surface this seems a somewhat uncaring attitude, however, I can understand this answer, having just read an online post by a cyclist. The writer asks why the hatred from other road users, why do they scream abuse at him, throw trash at him, and try to run him off the road?

The cyclist is from another state in the south, not far from South Carolina where I live. How different can drivers be, between the two states? Yet none of these terrible experiences he relates, ever happen to me. Like Sri Nisargadatta I could answer, “This is in your world, not mine."

The difference is, when I set out for a bike ride I do so with a positive attitude and I am not expecting the worst will happen. I go riding with the attitude that most people on the road a simply a cross section of the population and for the most part are inherently, good, decent people. Only a tiny minority are criminally inclined, and malicious.

We all know that many drivers are inattentive, however, they are not inattentive 100% of the time, so the chances of them being distracted at the precise moment they pass me is remote. In other words, the odds of my not being hit are far greater than being hit, so why should I dwell on the thought that that a slight possibility might occur.

Most successful people believe in the power of positive thinking; the problem is negative thoughts are just as powerful. We attract to ourselves whatever we hold in our thoughts. A person riding a bike with the attitude that all drivers are morons will attract the behavior they expect.

It is natural to have negative thoughts and to fear the worst, not only are we bombarded with negativity from the media, we get it constantly from work colleagues and those around us; plus as previously mentioned, fear is a basic instinct.

However, as humans we are capable of rationalizing, and do not need to live our lives in constant fear. We are all freethinking spirits and we do not have to dwell on the negative.

Something else I have learned; the things that annoy me as I go through life have a tendency to keep repeating. I try to recognize these re-occurring annoyances, observe them as such, but try not to get angry. After doing this a few times, the annoyance stops re-occurring.

If bad experiences are happening to you every time you ride, realize these bad incidents involve different people. The only common denominator in these totally random incidents is you.

There is a tendency to find whatever we look for. If we look for the worst in people, this is most likely what we will find. Turn that around and realize that there are more good people in this world than bad.

I try to fill my mind with good positive thoughts before I even set out on a ride; I have no control over the thoughts and actions of others, only those of my own.

I don't worry if negative thoughts slip back in, because I know they will. I am conscious of these thoughts and replace them with a positive one. A positive thought will always cancel out a negative one, as surely as light will overcome darkness, and good will overcome bad.

If you are skeptical, try it anyway; what have you got to lose? Just your bad experiences.

Furious driver takes out 50-strong cycle pack

A group of about 50 top Austrialian cyclists were involved in a hit and run, road-rage incident this morning.

The group made up of professional riders, Olympic hopefuls, and top amateurs on a training ride in Sydney, Australia, at 6:30 am. A driver, agitated with being held up, accelerated in front of the pack and then slammed on his brakes, giving the riders no time to stop.

The group piled into the back of the vehicle and each other, bikes were smashed and there were injuries, by a miracle no one was killed. The resulting smash forced a semi-trailer to lock up, jackknife behind the cyclists while cars had to swerve to avoid the fallen riders.

The group included Australian racer Kate Nichols, Kate's father Kevin Nichols, former Olympian Ben Kersten, (Top right, inset.) Graeme Brown, Michelle Ferris and Matthew White.

Thankfully no one had to die in this one, although it is serious enough. I only hope this story of a group of high profile cyclists, will make the mainstream media world wide.

Drivers need to realize that being held up is part of driving today, it happens all the time, not just from cyclists but also on freeways, everywhere. Taking revenge on a vulnerable group of cyclists is both criminal and cowardly.

The driver would not have slammed on his brakes in front of another car and risked more serious damage to his own vehicle.

You can read the full story in The Sydney Morning Herald. My thanks to Luke Burton for sending me the link.

A little bit of history: Update

At the end of last February, I wrote “A little bit of history sold on eBay.”

A custom touring frame that I built in 1982 came under the virtual hammer. The bike had previously featured in a Bicycling magazine road test.

The bike’s new owner, Ron who lives in the Bay Area, recently sent me pictures. He wrote:

“I took the bike to Terry Shaw, who took the bike apart, cleaned it, and put it back together using the parts from my Fuso.

Currently it is set up for commuting to downtown San Francisco. Fat tires are for all the bad roads in SF and fenders are for all the fog in the morning. When winter comes again, the rack will come off and become the training bike when it is wet.

This bike is great, top tube is 1.5cm longer than my Fuso so I raised the handlebar and set it up for less aggressive riding position, my Fuso is a 53cm, this frame is a 55cm.”

As I thought it would, the original paint on the frame cleaned up nicely; it was simply covered in dirt from years of neglect.

It does my heart good to know that another of my bikes, has found a good home, and is being ridden. Which, after all is what this bike was built for.

The Paris Galibier Frame

In 1950 as a 14 year old, I attended Luton Technical School, some 30 miles north of London, England.

Adjacent to that school was a Technical College for older engineering students. Many of these students were racing cyclists and would leave their bikes in the bicycle rack in the school yard.

Lunch time would find me scrutinizing every fine detail of these bikes; it was the beginning of love affair with the bicycle that ultimately shaped my life, and lead to a career as a framebuilder.

One of the most unusual and eye-catching bikes was the Paris “Galibier” model. Paris was the brand name of London framebuilder, Harry “Spanner” Rensch. His last name sounded like Wrench, hence the nickname “Spanner.” During WWII Rensch was an oxy-acetylene welder in London’s shipyards.

Paris Cycles started during the war in 1943. Harry probably chose the name Paris rather than use his own German sounding name, because of obvious wartime anti-German feeling, especially after the London Blitz.

He used a “Bi-laminated” construction for his frames, that is a sleeve brazed over the ends of the tubes, and the actual joint then filet brazed. Referred to as “Bronze Welding” in the Paris literature.


Beside the Galibier model, Harry Rensch also built conventionally designed frames. The most popular of which was the “Tour de France” model. (Click on picture above for a larger image.)

Paris frames often sported very flashy paint jobs, especially for that time. I remember red, white, and blue fade paint for example. There was a large Eiffel Tower decal on the seat tube, and the Paris name was stenciled on the down tube.

Ever since the introduction of the Galibier, and to this day, many a fierce argument has been held over this style guru’s dream machine. Is it just a style gimmick or is there real merit in this design?

I never rode a Galibier, but I will say this, a bicycle frame twists as it is being ridden, about a line from the head tube to the rear dropout. So placing a single large tube along this line, (Or there abouts.) does have merit. The seat tube is also split to form an interesting cantilever design.

One thing cannot be denied is the superb craftsmanship of Harry Rensch. Like many artists before and since, Rensch was not a good businessman. Paris Cycles was always plagued with financial problems, and lasted just 10 years, closing their doors in 1953. Harry Rensch never returned to the bicycle business and died in 1984. The Galibier is his legacy.


In recent years Condor Cycles in London bought the rights to the Paris name and are reproducing the Galibier model. (Picture above.)


Pictures from Classic Lightweights, UK