Monday, December 2, 2013

No Fun: The Badge of Logical Honor


Location: Seal Beach
Outside Temp: 59 F
Wind: 3 mph
Swell: 1 ft

At my bike shop I carry the Badge of Logical Honor, as a friend at the shop once put it. Most of the regulars in the shop run with the mantra: “Sounds like a bad idea … Lets do it!” This can be applied to everything from staying up all night gambling in Vegas during an important bike convention, to eating an entire foot-long cheeseburger-sub (yep, a cheeseburger in a sub-sandwich, and they're awesome!) before going for a 60 mile ride. I'm the only scientist in the group and I am usually the one to say, “Or we could share the sub, pay half the price, and NOT puke our guts out on this ride.”  Two which everyone replies “NO FUN! NO FUN! NO FUN!” I think this was originally meant to make fun of me, but now it comes up every time I say anything logical, almost as a term of endearment.

Since Thanksgiving I've really started feeling the stress of leaving for such a large expedition. Sometimes I feel like it's so much to take in, and I wonder how I will mentally prepare myself. Being the smart, rational one in the shop reminds me why I do science. I reason things out; I plan ahead and calculate my risks. I am a scientist. This is what I do. It takes a certain kind of person to take on the Bering Sea, and that person does not throw care to the wind and hope for the best.

Given the choice of the two I would much rather be No Fun than A Bad Idea.

Aforementioned Badge of Logical Honor

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