It’s not about the hardware

“You rode like the wind! Even on that dinosaur of a bike.”

That’s what a man told my son last week­end. My son just fin­ished the Cop­per Tri­an­gle, a very chal­leng­ing 80-mile race up and down three Rocky Moun­tain passes. The com­ment was made by a man who had a multiple-thousand dol­lar bicy­cle. Jay’s Mercier (less than a year old) cost all of about $350. Jay was able to com­plete the course with a sig­nif­i­cant mar­gin over the fancy-bike man.

It’s all about the rider — and not the bike. This con­cept applies to just about any­thing. A true artist can make an amaz­ing paint­ing with house paint and dime store brushes. Many wanna-be artists spend thou­sands on sup­plies, only to pro­duce paint­ings that are only seen in their own liv­ing rooms.