Over on the view from the quiver, Hernandez says:
In the end, his viewpoint is ~ “are you going to save the world by doing that?”
and mine is, “well, i’m not going to **** it up more, am i?”
and isn’t that the starting place?
Don’t we have to STOP ****ING IT UP MORE before we can even begin to start “saving it”?
i’m just asking.
Great question… and it was a similar one that I asked this morning when reflecting on Ruth’s performance this Saturday.
First off, she flatted on the 2nd lap of the Junior Girls race. There were only 3 of them out which is such a disappointment, but sadly, it wasn’t the biggest disappointment. Not even flatting for the 2nd time in 2 road races was the biggest disappointment. That honour was saved for the girl that won by jumping into the mens groups coming by the girls, even though they’d been told not to by the race referee at the start line.
Without having “sour grapes” both other riders questioned the race officials after the race result should still be the stand if the winner ignored the rules. Apparently, unless the winner owned up herself then the race officials weren’t prepared to do anything about it.
Hmm…
So in general, cheats are supposed to “own up” after the race, eh?
Hmm…
Not sure I follow the logic that someone that ignores the rules would be honest enough to come clean after the event.
My question to Mex this morning was that if you could only win by cheating then maybe we shouldn’t be so harsh to criticise, maybe we should give advice to do the same. This offended Mex, of course, and it was one of those times when I realised how stupid I just sounded. I took it back, there is no way I condone cheating. Not only that, but as Mex pointed out, the great thing about Ruths attitude is that she isn’t phased by this… her attitude is that she is happy with the race she rode, and hopes that her other competitors are too.
I agree that maybe we’re not going to save the world… but at least by not cheating the start point won’t be any further away.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Kimberly Turner // Mar 25, 2008 at 5:58 am
Good point…it is so easy to get caught up in the misdeeds of others, but leave it to a kid to get right to the purpose and be happy with her result. Sounds like you raised/are raising a good one :-).
The cheater may seem to benefit now, but some day Ruth will be much better off. –And flatting in a RR, especially when you have to change the tire yourself and finish off the back, now THAT builds character . (or so I tell myself when it happens to me).
2 Dr X // Mar 25, 2008 at 9:47 am
The great thing about Hernando’s post was calling the offender on the offense - assuming he’s not going Gonzo on us makings stuff up in a haze. Anyway, I wonder how the ‘winner’ would have responded to Ruth & Jasmin (and some grown-ups) asking her how it was she escaped the junior girl mini-peloton. Still, yes, a good day for personal growth - maybe next year I’ll be ready for such a challenge. Ruth rocks.
3 Robert // Mar 25, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Thanks for the votes of confidence… Ruth is already setting the bar high for me and Mex. Character building is what its all about at her tender age, its critical in cycling. She needs so much character, passion and determination; and she’s getting that by the bucket load at the moment.
As for Hernando’s post, I wasn’t sure that he was calling the offender - maybe just my interpretation of events - but it wasn’t clear to me that Noble had done the deed. Although it was clear that Noble had been a smart-arse with his comment. (And I can say that because I’m English too and I have the Englishman gene too)
Anyway, thanks for supporting Ruth.
Leave a Comment