Vocabulary!

@%#*!

Wait a second. WHAT did you say?

Yes, folks, we cyclists have our own vocabulary of four-letter words.

Arch: what I love to see at the end of Tour de Cure! I\’ll bet TdF riders are even more elated at seeing the Arc de Triomphe! Also, the bottom of your foot.

Bike: a two-wheeled contraption with pedals. People use them to race, get to work, go shopping, etc. And to have fun, naturally.

Bonk: what happens when you don\’t eat enough food. Don\’t try it on purpose.

Cold: hard on this spoiled Southerner, for whom anything below 50 degrees Fahrenheit is cold. Bring out the leg warmers, etc.

Endo: what might happen if you overdo application of the front brake. I don\’t intend to try it.

Flat: a tire with no air. It seems to like to happen at the worst time, such as six miles into a century. Keep a spare tube handy. And tire levers, CO2 cartridges, etc.

Hill: when the ground heads skyward. Going down is fine. Going up, it\’s a different story, unless you\’re a natural climber — which I am not.

​Lazy: what a wanna-be cyclist can\’t afford to be!

Ouch: see Rash.

Rain: GROAN! We can\’t all be Gene Kelly. But in Summer at least it can keep you cool. Just hope the lightning keeps its distance.

Rash: what happens when you crash.

Wind: moving air that only too often is moving the wrong way.

Zzap: I can\’t think of any other 4-letter word for lightning. When it gets close, I feel like a mobile lightning rod. Not a comfortable feeling, I can assure you.

And I\’m sure there are more, without my having to venture into unprintable territory. What more can you think of?