Half empty, half full . . .

Our club, our life, there are half empty and half full people all around.  The half empty person says “I’m not riding with that person – they are new; they don’t know what they are doing on a bike”.   The half full person is grateful for the generosity of those who welcomed him/her on their early rides and helped them become a Club rider.  That half full person welcomes the new rider to the club.

The half empty person criticizes the volunteer who organized a less than fabulous event.  The half full person thanks the volunteer for creating an event where we get together, have fun and share our love of cycling.

The half empty person disparages the Club’s Escape New York ride.  It’s a fiefdom, separate and apart from the Club, non-transparent.  The half full person loves ENY.  It gives the NYCC an opportunity to give back to the community.  Every penny earned from ENY becomes a charitable contribution aimed at making a New Yorker’s life a little bit better.   I love ENY!

The half empty person hates the Port Authority for not doing enough for cyclists. The half full person is grateful to the Port Authority for planning an exclusive lane on the northern side of the GW Bridge.  We’re going to have our own entrance to our own exclusive  bridge access, straight from the street, smooth and easy to navigate.  And . . .. the Port Authority is going to take away those horrible clumsy dangerous stairs and replace them with a smooth passage way.  Our own exclusive passageway – no dogs, no tourists, no joggers, no walkers –only for cyclists.  The half full person is grateful the Port Authority will keep bicycle access open during the long and massive cabling project.  The half full person is grateful the Port Authority will be replacing the treacherous ramp – that near-impossible-to-navigate narrow ramp with hairpin turns.  It will be replaced with an infinitely safer one, a gentle ramp that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Wow! The Port Authority didn’t have to do any of this and in fact initially planned to close the entire pedestrian/cyclist passage way for upwards of 4 years while working on the Bridge recabling project.  Instead, they are doing all of this for us.   The half empty person says to the Port Authority, “You don’t care about cyclists”.  The half full person says, “Thank you very much”.  

The half empty person says, “The Club doesn’t do this and should do that and and and negative this and negative that”.  The half full person is a ride participant, a ride leader, is a member of various SIG/ENY teams, the half full person is as member of the board.  They are making the wonderful things about the NYCC even better.   

Half empty people. . . they are no fun.  The half full people, they are ones who bring smiles to our face.   You can find that half full person easily enough.  They are on the road, on a club ride, enjoying their bike, enjoying their friends, enjoying the New York Cycle Club experience.

See you on the road.

Christy