I first laid eyes on Dan one cold January afternoon.
He was stepping out of Lake Ontario, his purple board held under his arm. Lines of water sloshed across the sand as he trudged from the surf.
I’d never really looked at someone in a wetsuit before but I resented him for what he was wearing. The gear. The look. The booties. The suit. All of it?
Ugly.
I just hated how it looked.
Why?
I’m not sure, but this has always been the case.
I looked at Dan, all blissed out, like he didn’t have a care in the world.
At that moment, he likely didn’t and I resented him for that.
Fucker.
I had imagined that he was someone with a great job that was meaningful where he was paid fairly and had the flexibility to jet out and go surfing on a random Tuesday in January.
I imagined that he had a pretty wife and a stylish house and things instantly organized themselves for him and he ate gourmet food every night and nothing took any effort.
He looked like that’s what his life was like.
But most of all?
I resented the surf clothes.
The wetsuit and the boots?
The wetsuit was too tight, to immodest for my latent Victorian body shame.
And the boots just looked stupid.
I turned to my buddy Josh
You mean that if I wanna surf, I gotta look like that arse?
I shuddered just thinking about it.
I shudder thinking just how wrong I was about Dan.
Dan’s a gardener for the city of Toronto.
At the time I saw him though?
He was a barista at Starbucks with a whole lot of cares and a whole lot on his mind.
But the surf?
The surf brings the smiles and the feeling that nothing matters and everything is going to be ok.
I get that same feeling after a really big, impossible bike ride.
And we’re doing one on September 28 and 29.
It’s part bike ride, part camping trip, part party.
You’ll get to experience first hand what’s out there and available in the Lake Charlotte area for riding.
And?
You’ll get to see me wearing functional riding clothes.
They make things better, easier even.
But I really do not like how the look.
On anyone.