Kids these days...

The fall colors are out in force:

And so are the racers...

(Middle and high schoolers at the MiSCA race at Lake Orion High School earlier this month)

Working at the MiSCA race I saw a lot of nice bikes. I was kind of taken aback seeing high schoolers with Superflys and other equally awesome bikes. In high school, I had a decent mountain bike...it wasn't a department store bike, but it didn't have fancy disk brakes, an X9 drivetrain, or 29 inch wheels. Those things came with time for me.

Of course, if I had children and could afford to buy them a Superfly, I suppose I would. Only after I bought one for myself, that is. I guess I can't begrudge kids for having nicer bikes than me.

But I can begrudge them for being rude.

This past weekend I spent some time at a local event with the library I work at, giving candy to trick-or-treaters. Most of the kids were adorable but I was shocked at some of these kids' behavior. And also, their parents'. Reaching right into my bowl of candy to pick out what they wanted, and being encouraged to do so by their parents. I did have a few people with legitimate food dye alergies who simply requested "nothing red please," but most were just greedy children.

"No, I don't want the Twizzlers or Swedish Fish. Give me the M&Ms."

Very few kids actually said "trick-or-treat," they just held out their bags as if it was some demeaning chore to walk around and get free candy from businesses. That is, if they held their bags at all; many parents walked with the children holding their treat bags for them. I wanted to say, "You know, your ten year old IS capable of holding his own candy and behaving in a polite manner..."

Has parenting changed over the last decade or so? I've got to think yes. My memory isn't perfect, but I don't remember my mother ever carrying my bag of candy or encouraging me to be rude and cherry-pick from someone's bowl of candy. I took what I was given and I was grateful.

Here, at the ripe old age of 23 I'm complaining about "kids these days..." with their fancy bikes and sense of entitlement to candy. And I wonder, was I the same way when I was little?

Taking it slow

Ever have one of those days, where everything works out just like it's supposed to?

Well, for me, today was one of those days.

My ride today was great. 43 miles of zen, something my rides have been lacking lately. I just left the driveway and rode with no idea where I wanted to go, and without any route planned. I ended up going north until I hit Columbiaville. I got lost on a twisty dirt road. I lost a water bottle. I had to rely on a stranger at a farm market stand for water from a hose. (Never take for granted kindness in strangers.) I didn't push myself; in fact, I actually went pretty slow. Slow enough to be able to sing along to Iron & Wine. Being slow never felt good before.