[fabsroman]

Okay, I'll start with the most amusing of them all, the shaving of legs. The answer is yes, I still shave my legs, and it isn't for aerodynamics. I really resisted at first, but then decided to start doing so after my first major wreck. Imagine having road rash up and down both legs, both hips, and one arm. Of course, it had to be bandaged up with gauze and tape. If the road rash didn't hurt enough, try peeling all that tape off of legs with hair on them. Wrecking on a bicycle is a lot worse than wrecking at the same speed on a motorcycle because cyclists are only wearing a thin pair of lycra/spandex shorts. I had three really bad wrecks in my 4 years of racing and the worst was behind the White House on the Ellipse. The race was completely flat and it had no corners (i.e., it is an ellipse) and at the rolling start we were going as fast as the pace car which was 35 mph. Heck, me and another guy in the front were drafting the pace car. About lap 4 or 5, I went to fill a gap that was starting to open and another cyclist had the same idea. We both went down and took about 20 guys with us. I had to go to the hospital for that one. After that, I refused to race on any course that was completely flat or without corners, unless it was a time trial.

The other reason for shaving ones legs is for the massages. It sucks to have hairy legs with massage oil all over them on a regular basis. I didn't care too much for the massages, but they were supposed to help remove the "toxins" from my legs.

Now, lets address the luck issue. There is a saying that goes something like this, "I would rather be lucky than good any day" and I think it applies to everything in life. Sometimes, luck can get you something you do not deserve. Sometimes, luck can get you out of a bad situation. However, there is another saying "Chance favors a prepared mind." If you run out of good luck, you had better be prepared or the bad luck will really put you in a hole. The guy in that hunt club was lucky a million different ways. First, he got to hunt without being a member. Next, he just happened to be in the right spot at the right time, which a lot of hunting depends upon.

The first antlered buck I killed was from both luck and being prepared and it is the one described above (i.e., taking the truck to hang the stand). I had seen the buck on the farm the night before and thought about all the shots that could present themselves, so I would be mentally ready. When I saw the deer the next morning, which was the biggest I had seen in my life while hunting, my heart rate didn't even increase, or if it did, I didn't even notice it. I got lucky in having the deer come my way, but the shot was made without any luck involved. My previous shot on a buck was a complete disaster and a pretty unlucky day for me. I had a slow morning and took a shot at a fox. I'll skip the details. I missed the fox, but managed to have the rifle scope knock me senseless and split open my forehead. There was blood everywhere. Went to my dad's stand so he could look it over. He gave me a napkin and said everything would be fine. Well, I went back to my stand, climbed up, and started waiting again. A little while later, I saw an antlered buck walking along the woodline. I had a pretty good shot on him and was going to wait for him to stop right before the fence before I shot him. I was pretty excited. Pulled the trigger and nothing. I forgot to load the gun when I got back in the stand. Sheer stupidity.

As far as the latest and greatest gear is concerned, both in the cycling and the hunting arena, it is a bunch of crap. Yeah, I am buying a new bike to ride, but I am still going to use my old one too. I am going to send the frame out and have it restored and use it for my fair weather days.

Two hunters/cyclists evenly matched in skill will have some things decided by technology and others decided by luck. When I killed my first antlered buck, there was another hunter trying to get a good shot on him from about 250 to 300 yards away. The night before, when I saw him we were coming back from dinner with a bunch of other hunters and two of the guys went out that night with guns looking for him but they never saw him. So, I guess I hot lucky that they didn't see him that night and that the other hunter 250 to 300 yards away didn't pull the trigger before me. That same year, a bow hunter on that same farm was waiting for a 8 pt. to get in range when he heard a rifle shot from another hunter on the farm and saw the 8 pt. collapse. Bowhunter unlucky, rifle hunter lucky.

I went to South Carolina for a 3 day stage race and had some of the worst luck ever. Did pretty well on the time trial on day one. Day two was a 30 mile road race and there were about 10 out of 50 guys left as we approached the line and the first 5 places paid out, and I had a pretty good sprint. I was on the wheel of one guy and he started to unwind the sprint down the left curb. Figured I was going to win the race until some idiot opened a car door that was parked on the grass and we had to stop to avoid wrecking and we watched everybody else blow by us. The next day was a criterium and this time there was about 80 people that started because some of the younger riders were riding up an age category. Anyway, it was about the same result. There were about 15 riders left with 5 laps left and 2 guys had just gone off the front. I was feeling pretty good, so I was going to try to bridge the gap if the pack didn't start reeling them in. With about 3 laps to go and just as I was about to attempt the bridge, I got a flat. My training partner/teammate was behind and he started yelling at me to pick up the pace. When I told him I had a flat and he was on his own, he could not believe it, just as I couldn't. Anyway, they didn't close the gap and nobody bridged the gap, but my training partner won the pack sprint and my sprint was better than his based upon other races and training rides we had been on. I was pissed.

At the end of the day, all of this stuff, hunting, shooting, cycling, fishing, etc. is supposed to be about gun. Yeah, everybody wants to win and everybody wants to get a B&C or P&Y buck, but that is what really kills me. Amateurs want to win bikes races so bad that I have heard that they are using illegal drugs. Hunting used to be done to feed the family, but now it is done to brag about who is better. In the end, it comes down to who has the most money (i.e., can afford the best equipment and to hunt where others cannot) and who is the luckiest, but chance still favors a prepared mind which is why we practice shooting, why we site in our guns, why I train for bike races, etc.

At the end of the day, I think a lot depends on luck in the hunting and fishing sports. We are trying to catch animals that can change their minds at any given moment. The bigger buck you have been watching all off season might decide to get hit by a car or shot by another hunter, or he might decide to stay away from your hunting ground all season.

At the end of the day, I still think more days afield will increase your chances of having good luck, versus buying the best equipment possible and not being in the field. Now, if you can do both, your chance for success really increases. Or, instead of buying the range finder, how about taking some time to shoot 3D with your bow so you learn how to judge distance, but have fun while learning.