Perception vs. Reality

[JavaBrewer]

Looking at my image in the mirror I think "you're still pretty good looking for a 45 yr old dude". Then someone takes a picture of me and smashes that thought into a million pieces.

[Tim Hancock]

Found a short clip from a couple yrs ago from the annual 4th of July party we host for my old fraternity buddies and their families. 4 out of 8 of us guys did the jump this first year. One damaged his ear when his head hit sideways in the water, one lost a contact, one slipped a pedal and bloodied his shin. I luckily came out unscathed. I thought I was catching some major air compared to the others until I saw this video . It was after seeing myself in this video, that I realized I was getting a gut and needed to do some dieting The following year I built a much better, bigger, WIDER jump for the occasion much to my wifes dismay. We did not do it this past year as the wives were really against it.

None the less..... With an old BMX bike with no brakes, rough lumps in the grass on the run-up and a very skinny dangerous cobbed up jump, I was suprised we actually were able to make ourselves do it at our age.

[450knotOffice]

Another great thread!! LMAO!

[DanielDudley]

I was at a dance a few years ago, sober as a judge, and everybody was encouraged to dance.

They got us all dancing in groups, and it was really fun. I of course am to signifigant to have fun, but as the evening went on, I had more and more of it, in spite of myself. Here I was dancing with young people, old people, fat and skinny people. Lots of really unique people of every background. And as I looked around at all the smiling faces, I realized that they were ALL BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE.

That perception has remained with me whenever I meet someone who is alive and fully engaged.

So, how does it feel to be one of the beautiful people ?

[Racerbvd]

[QUOTE=Tim Hancock;3698640]Found a short clip from a couple yrs ago from the annual 4th of July party we host for my old fraternity buddies and their families. 4 out of 8 of us guys did the jump this first it.

QUOTE]

Tim, I want to come play with you guys!!!! I can't get any of my friends to play hard anymore.

Dancing

Last summer I attended a wedding. Wife and I were out on the floor for several fast songs

You are braver than me, I have terminal White Mans Disease

[Tim Hancock]

Ha Byron! If you lived near me, my wife would end up killing me if the bicycle stunts, MX bikes or airplanes didn't kill one of us first.

[lendaddy]

When my business finally goes tits up I'm headed down and were gonna have a good time on the MX bikes or something.

[livi]

That is grace in motion, Tim!

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by lendaddy

When my business finally goes tits up I'm headed down and were gonna have a good time on the MX bikes or something.

I am holding you to that Lendaddy....Some hotlaps on the track in the side yard followed by a rollercoaster ride in the Piper (although I truly hope you figure out a way to shore the business up)

[lendaddy]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

I am holding you to that Lendaddy....Some hotlaps on the track in the side yard followed by a rollercoaster ride in the Piper (although I truly hope you figure out a way to shore the business up)

gotta find the bright side in everything.

You know what, at this point in my life I'd get in that flying coffin with ya. I figure 2-3 shots of Irish whiskey and I'd be ggood to go.

[lendaddy]

Actually I'm with "the", I've a got a couple videos of myself on the course and it was the single most humbling experience of my life

I also have some videos of racing MX and although I would have sworn I was much faster and looked much cooler the golf swing was devastating by comparison

[the]

Sweet jump, Tim! I like how you manned it up and stayed with the ship all the way through the landing.

The unnecessarily thin and rickety jump was a nice touch, too! Looks like fun.

[Chuck Moreland]

Then there is the day you see some young hot, sweet looking honey. She looks at you, and your ego swells. She's going to speak.... your young-stud illusions are smashed when she calls you "sir". She want's directions to ....

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by DanielDudley

I realized that they were ALL BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE.

You were definitely stoned!

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by DARISC

You were definitely stoned!

Naw, I just started reading people for their attitude and character, rather than their appearance.

What do I care about how pretty a woman is if she is always unpleasant and sour when I go into her shop to spend money ? Once the looks are gone, what is left ?

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by the

Sweet jump, Tim! I like how you manned it up and stayed with the ship all the way through the landing.

The unnecessarily thin and rickety jump was a nice touch, too! Looks like fun.

All the other guys tossed the bike once in the air, but I kind of like the idea of staying with it. As dumb as this may look to most "adults" we really enjoyed ourselves even with the minor injuries . I drew the line on letting any of them on the MX bikes however as none of these guys ever had any MX experience and no doubt some would have tried the small double jumps with probably bad results


Our group used to dare each other to do all sorts of stuff in college. We always did the "chinese downhill" as the last run on ski trips (I don't recall ever losing ). We also used to drive down to Gatlinburg after having mapped out nearly 4 miles of basically continuous downhill roads winding down from the rental condos above town. We would take turns driving a pickup full of mountain bikes up to the top then race down at stupid speeds around hundreds of tight blind turns with occasional oncoming traffic. Stupid as hell looking back on it, but we had a blast and only one trip to the ER over about a four year period of annual trips.

[svandamme]

hah, i'de like to see any 15 year old catch as much air/distance as i do, when i get my 944 out on the farm roads around here

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by nostatic

what, no fluffing?

you guys will never forget that will you? Not that there is anything wrong with that.

You get old, you get fatter, slower everything. I am 5'10" and there was a time I could grab a basketball rim with both hands without even trying, the miracle of a 40" vertical leap. Could run a 4 minute mile, a 4.4 forty and long jump better than 20 feet as many times as you like. 20 years and 20 pounds later can't even touch the rim, don't know how fast I could run a mile, but if I got under 5 minutes I would be stunned.

Time is a lot like gravity, it just never stops.

[the]

Same here, I'm right at 6 feet, but in college used to be able to dunk a tennis ball, maybe a softball on a good day.

20 some years later, I'm still roughly the same weight as I was in college, but I can't even touch the BOTTOM of the net anymore. Even when it's a really long net.