For Those About To Bike (We Salute You)

By Miles Patrick Yohnke

© 2024 © 2010 All Rights Reserved.

INTRODUCTION TO FOR THOSE ABOUT TO BIKE (WE SALUTE YOU)

In October of 2010 I wrote and released the article: "For Those about to Bike (We Salute You)" which features the gigantic life of Murray Smith. Some time had passed since I had talked with Murray Smith as he had moved to Toronto Canada on October 15, 2010. I reached out to him in June of 2024 to see how he was doing. That he'd now be in his mid-70s. Would he be still cycling--and if so at what level. His reply has made me revisit his story and myself to write an "Introduction" as well as a "Footnote" that you'll find below the original article. For those new to the article, I hope you find all of this stimulating to your being. For those that have read the article in the past I hope you enjoy the "Footnote."

Blasting down many roads. Totally ballsy.

This past year I had the great pleasure of cycling with Mr. Murray Smith. Out there on the highway, flying along the dark asphalt shoulders, you learn many life lessons. What an honor to be cycling with Mr. Smith. He is so passionate about the sport. His knowledge on cycling and diet is massive.

As we blast down the highway side-by-side he is always engaged. Telling stories. Always talking present day and what he wants to do in his future. Talking about adjustments with his gearing and his bike. Also, his diet. His body is all Rock N' Roll. Muscle upon muscle. His personality is overwhelming at times. When he speaks his eyes are lit-up. Wide-eyed just like an infant.

Passionate about cycling. About life.

Oh, and did I mention to you that Murray Smith is sixty-three years old? He crushes most twenty-something so-called professional cyclists. He has balls the size of a Volkswagen. Intense. Intense is he. What magic.

What you learn from Mr. Smith is that age and slowing down is a hoax. A hoax placed upon us by society.

They tell us that we slow down over time. Really? Or do we give up? Society can beat us down. Down to nothing. Cheat us out of our dreams. So, there we are placed in front of our televisions and computers watching mindless advertisements. Mindless information. Selling us crap.

Why is it so many professional athletes retire and just a few years later, they are fat and overweight? Once a six pack. Replaced now with a one pack. A beer belly.

For many years they led a positive lifestyle. Reaching their goals and dreams and now this? Is life over after the sport? In these cases, it sure looks so.

I can't understand that. I can't accept that.

Intense. Muscle upon muscle. Magic

You retire from that one thing. And with the same principles you learned from it, you should then take on into other areas of your life. You can realize new dreams. Meet new goals. And too, did they not enjoy the discipline of that lifestyle? Why quit now?

I've never understood overweight coaches. Look at me. Respect me. Listen to me. Why? Look at you, coach. You aren't following your own teachings.

My late father said: "If you have a politician wanting to get elected and they're overweight, don't vote for them. They can't take care of themselves. How can they take care of a nation, a riding and such?"

And we talk about politics. There is a former Vice-President of the United States talking a lot about the environment. Perhaps that dude should eat one less cow. Start helping the planet that way. Lower consumption.

At forty-seven, I've had a blessed life. I've lived many of my dreams. But I want to create new dreams. Reach new goals.

Mr. Murray Smith showed me what I can be at sixty-three (God willing). I'm terribly excited. And so should you be. Don't let society beat you down or dictate your future.

As Bruce Cockburn says, "You've got to kick at the darkness, 'til it bleeds daylight."

Now, let's go out there and do what Mr. Murray Smith does. Let's kick some Ass!

With his new Cyfac Absolu bike - Toronto 2012

FOOTNOTE TO FOR THOSE ABOUT TO BIKE (WE SALUTE YOU)

I wrote to Murray Smith in June of 2024 and asked him how old he was now and if he was still cycling. And if so, to send me a picture. He wrote right back from France and included a picture of him at seventy-five. Fourteen years had passed but his letter was filled with the very same enthusiastic tone I experienced cycling with him and then I viewed his photo and I thought: "Sh%t--I'm sixty years old--I have to continue this kind of level for another fifteen years. How and the heck am I going to do that?" And even through his words he has a way of catapulting you to a whole new level. I mean what a life. What a gift Murray Smith is to the world. He has a fire--I'm not talking some kind of normal fire--I'm talking M2 flamethrower kind of fire. Fourteen years has passed since I wrote the article though nothing has changed - Murray Smith constantly shows us that age is just a number. He shows us that at seventy-five you still can have an extraordinary life creating astounding adventures. And I think of another Bruce Cockburn song: "The Trouble with Normal." The main line is: "but the trouble with normal is it always gets worse." You don't want to be normal. You want to be like Murray Smith.

Murray Smith, at age 75. Photo taken in a French hilltop village (Chateauneuf de La Begude) about 20km from Montelimar, France.