My Personal Journey Through Self De-Pussification

What the hell is de-pussification?  Well…. we need to start with what pussification is and work our way back from there.  Since Websters is not going to help out here with a definition, let me give it a try and break it down.  Lets start with the base of the word pussy.

I think the 5th definition hits the nail on the head.  Come to think of it I think the great comedian George Carlin has already given us a definition.

Are there are events in your life that just make you sit back and think WTF?

• When did I get so old?
• When did it start taking 2 days to get over a good drunk?
• Where did those darling little kids go and who are these nasty teenagers living in my house?
• When did I start saying “Yes dear”?
• I still have a nut sack but where are my BALLS?

I have had a few of these ah-ha moments recently but I would like to focus on one of them.

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Step 1 – Realizing you have inadvertently been pussified

Here in the PNW we have been getting lots of crappy weather lately with lots of snow, wind, flooding, etc…   And as each week goes by, I stand in my garage looking at my bike praying for nice weather so I can go riding.

A few days ago Mark sent around this picture that started me thinking….

“Hey when did I become such a big pussy?”

Ok, Ok, I am sure there are enough answers flying around right now but the question was kind of rhetorical.  Like most of us I grew up riding in the dirt.  But now the thought of gravel roads, pot holes, forest service roads, that once were exciting, usually gets me looking for the alternate safer route. Hey what happened here, maybe this our first clue that I have undergone pussification.

Back to Marks picture…. As you can see, riding was a little different before custom paint, thousand’s of dollars worth of chrome, waterless cycle washes, who needs a bloody helmet anyways.  This guy is out camping and I really don’t think he minds if there are a few rocks in the road or a rain cloud anywhere on the horizon.

This also makes me think of these guys.  I have no idea who they are, but I found them a while back over here.  When I close my eyes and reminisce what riding was like when I was growing up, I see pictures like these.  I missed their era by about 20 years, but WTF they are my memories and I can envision it however I want to.

Things like having to shove your bike over a fallen down tree, or through a whole in a fence or just riding the pipelines to wherever you wanted to go was all part of a normal day.

You can read more about these guys here.

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My First Bike

Here is a picture of my first bike.  I bought this off a neighbor and rode it until it wouldn’t run any more.  By the end the thing was pretty banged up but I can honestly say:

1. I never stayed home because of rain
2. I never worried about having special Harley soap to wash it with
3. Never paid anyone to change the oil
4. I never worried about tire tread
5. I never had a problem vice-grips and duct tape wouldn’t fix
6. Rarely rode on paved roads
7. Never found a bump that didn’t look like a little jump

Step 2 – Let the healing begin

I can hear you all saying “Alright your a pussy, lets get on with this already”.

My first step to overcome this affliction was to march out to the garage and fire up the bike.  It was still raining but after about 4 weeks of not riding, even the cold rain felt good on my face and legs..   It was also nice since there were no weekend warriors out there, I had the road to myself.  I think I will take my dirty bike out again tomorrow for another ride.

I am getting back to changing my own oil and doing my own minor maintenance.

I will keep this updated, its getting late.

Step 3 – Maintenance

I am still working on this one here.  I was thinking maybe some of you could send in a few test questions and we could compile a simple test for people to take and give them their pussification index.  Newcomers could rate themselves and those of us already in self medicating can check our progress.

Step 4 – Future

Unfortunately we have/are witnessing a whole generation of pussies growing up and their biggest problem is they have no way to self diagnose themselves as being pussified.  I don’t know when it happened but the soccer mom’s and other assorted PTA’ers have won at our schools and convinced our school boards and principals that there will be no more losers and every one wins.

More on this in a future post.

Step 5 – Conclusion

So I know I rambled on a little here but I can not be the only one feeling this way.  Leave a comment it you have something to add or say.