Dan Action

What a world. May 31, 2007

Riding alone lately has been a complete chore it feels like. Last Sunday I got out for 5 hours on the ‘cross bike just hammering and railing turns, having so much fun, even after I broke a spoke and had to disconnect my front brake. But yesterday and today I was just brooding. Couldn’t keep my focus for more than an hour. I guess I’m just stressed out. Gainesville has much to offer as far as riding and general clean living goes, but the big thumbs down goes to it’s job market. Being a university-centered town service industry is the name of the game, and wages are low. The market is just saturated with young people willing to work cheap, and the other side of the sword is that when all those people take off for summer or vacation the town rolls up. Bike shops are no exception. I was taking a 6 dollar cut to come work down here. It’s one of those situations where the owners are not to blame per se, but neither are the folks willing to work for whatever they can get, it’s just the landscape of the city. There are 7 shops in Gainesville, a city of less than 150, 000 people. There used to be even more, most are within walking distance from each other. The industry standard for wages is pretty set. It’s not pretty.

Oh well, I need to quit brooding and take a nap to get rid of my financial stress. I mean, thew shed is still standing, I’m eating well, and even with the stress and brooding feelings, I’m riding well, so what’s to worry about too deeply? Take care.