This is about the fourth life lesson a vintage, and very aqua road bike, taught me. You can read more about that in the first post of this series, The Univega and Life Lessons it has taught me.

The subject of that story, is a road bike I found discarded on the curbside years ago. After some TLC, I have been riding this road bike forever since.

Here is this week’s life lesson from the very-aqua bicycle:

• Sometimes it doesn’t matter that much where you have been, but what’s still yet to come. Your most epic journey may be still ahead of you, you just need to find those who see the value in you.

If we see the world from the standpoint of this bicycle, the day I found it was looking quite grim. It was also probably the last leg of something that wasn’t going well anyway. Relegated for months or maybe years, not being taken on rides, not living up to its potential. Now, on the curb, plainly rejected, worthless. With a wobble on the wheels, tires cracked, rattly and grinding gears, was just the shadow of a once proud existence. Even the aqua color, which was so in back in the day, had gone completely out of fashion. Not even worth the parts on eBay, going straight to the dump. Or so they thought.

Until a new owner picked it up, giving a new life to its old, yet good quality components.  And years later, it’s still rolling. I have ridden this bike on the shore of Charleston and in the mountains of California, it even did the commute a few times on CalTrain in San José. The bike, made it in a moving truck from Florida, to South Carolina, and then, cross-country, all the way to California and back.

Never let your circumstances define your worth. Sometimes, in the darkest hours, when we think everything is over, it is just the hour before dawn and the best is yet to come. Every single one of us has lots to offer, and each of us is on their own unique ride. Ride on…

This is about the third life lesson a vintage, and very aqua road bike, taught me. You can read more about that in the first post of this series, The Univega and Life Lessons it has taught me. The subject of that story, is a road bike I found discarded on the curbside years ago. After some TLC, I have been riding this road bike forever since.

Every one of us has lots to offer, and every one of us is on their own unique ride. Here is this week’s life lesson from the very-aqua bicycle:

• Trust your own judgement. Never dismiss opportunities (potential businesses, job opportunities, candidates) just because someone else has rejected them. They may not be the right thing for someone else, but they could be just what you need.

When I first saw this bicycle, in parts, on the curb, my first thought was “there must be something wrong with it, Why would anybody throw out a good bike like that?”. I could see from a distance that the bicycle had quality components. But I still doubted. Would I look like a fool? Was it just a cheap worthless piece of metal?

Following my own judgement is what made me take it. Later, at the bicycle shop, my initial assessment was confirmed. The components, while old, were good quality, and it turned out to be a keeper.

I would not be writing these lines otherwise.

Next: Aqua Road Bike Life Lesson #4: The Best is yet to come

This is about the second life lesson a vintage, and very aqua road bike, taught me. You can read more about that in the first post of this series, The Univega and Life Lessons it has taught me.

If you have been following this thread, you already know that years ago, I found this road bike discarded on the curbside. After some TLC, I have been riding this road bike forever since.

Every one of us has lots to offer, and every one of us is on their own unique ride. But to ride, you have to show up. Woody Allen said once that “80% of life is just showing up”, I bet he meant “show up repeatedly”. Here is this week’s life lesson from the very-aqua bicycle:

• Keep showing up. The only way to run into opportunities is to be out there. And you WILL run into them. Going out once would not have been enough, but riding consistently put me in front of that bike, and in the right frame of mind to see it.

When I started riding years ago, I did not have a grandiose plan like purchasing an expensive bicycle, or riding a century. I just went with the flow, and every single time, I decided to give it yet another chance. Rides got better, my condition improved, started to lose some weight and work the routine into my schedule so it would not conflict with other activities.

For a few weeks, every single ride looked like the one before. Until it didn’t.

Next: Aqua Road Bike Life Lesson #3: Trust your own judgement

This is about one of the life lessons a vintage, and very aqua road bike, taught me. You can read more about that in the first post of this series, The Univega and Life Lessons it has taught me.

Years ago, while on a ride with a friend, I found this road bike discarded on the curbside. After some TLC, I have been riding this road bike forever since, and while I did not ride it all the way (it went into the moving tuck!), this very same bike, has made it from Florida, to South Carolina, and then, cross-country, all the way to California and back.

Every time I get in that saddle, it reminds me that every one of us has lots to offer, but every one of us is on their own unique ride. Here is this week’s life lesson from the very-aqua bicycle:

• If you love to do something, just do it. Stop that inner critic and don’t stop yourself because you think you don’t have the perfect tools, equipment, and skills. Start doing it (as long as it’s safe!). Things will get better, and you’ll learn about the things you really need.

The first thing that I had to do, weeks before the morning I found it, was to overcome my own obstacles and accept the awkwardness of riding my only bike, a mountain bike, on a road loop. It was not the adequate bicycle for “the job”. It did not look the part. After all, my friend was riding a high-end carbon-fiber road bike. And my tires had knobs, which would slow me down. “This is not what people do”. I was going to look stupid, a noob.

It did not matter, I started regardless. Not a heroic big leap, just a “whatever… Why not?” That’s sometimes enough to get things going.

If I haven’t faced my inner critic and made it shut up, I wouldn’t be writing this story.

Next: Aqua Road Bike Life Lesson #2: Keep showing up

This story is not about Univega, but about THE Univega, my Univega, and about the life lessons that it taught me about dealing with rejection, seizing opportunities, perseverance and grit, confidence and trusting your own judgement, and even hope.

Years ago, I was on a 15 mile-long road loop, morning bicycle ride with a friend of mine, to get our heart rate up. Being my main sport Mountain Biking, I did not own a road bike at the time, and I remember feeling inadequate following him with my knobbies. If you haven’t done it, Riding a Mountain Bike on a road loop, not only feels out of place, but it’s considerable harder due to the added friction.

When we finished the loop, we stopped momentarily at my friend’s house to say our goodbyes. That particular day, was trash day, and my friend’s neighbor had put some junk out on the curb. And among that junk, I could see something that looked like parts of a road bike.

I took a second, hard look at the bunch of metal. “There must be something wrong with it if they threw it away” –I thought. The seat was ripped and the tires did not look good either, but I could not find anything beyond repair, so with a sliver of hope, we tucked it away safely in my friend’s garage for me to pick it up.

A couple of days later, I was at the bike shop, had them fit new tires and inner tubes, true the wheels, adjust the brakes and shifter, and purchased some tape for the handlebar. It was like traveling back in time. A very-aqua-colored Univega road bike was just coming back to life. The bicycle was quality build though. Aluminum with chromoly stays and fork, Shimano components all around. It even came with the fad of the time: an oval “Biopace” Shimano chainring.

I spent probably under $100 to get it back into shape, but that included a pair of clip-in pedals that I could not live without. All-in-all, it is a very capable bicycle. South Florida, where I lived at the time, is mostly flat, and there is not a large advantage in shaving weight from bicycles, except for starting and stopping.

I have been riding that road bike ever since, and while I did not ride it all the way, that very same bike, made it in a moving truck from Florida, to South Carolina, and then, cross-country, all the way to California and back. I rode that bike on the shore of Charleston and in the mountains of California, it even did the commute a few times on CalTrain in San José.

Besides the underlying story of our consumption society, I realized that this bicycle is a metaphor for our own journey through life and the setbacks we may experience. In the following weeks, I will be writing about what life lessons this aqua Univega taught me.

I would really love if you come along the ride.

NEXT: Aqua Road Bike Life Lesson #1: You start things by starting them