I have never been good at leaving good enough alone. Probably because I rarely feel “good enough” stays that way for long. In fact I think that my fathers, and may others, old line of “nothing’s sure in life but death and taxes” needed amending. I now say “nothing’s sure in life but death, taxes and change.”

In fact, change is the one constant.

But I realized many years ago that I, to a large extent, thrive on change. I used to think I didn’t, and that I was stressed by it. But it really wasn’t that change stressed me. No, it is typically the volume of change that stresses us.

Life is about changing gears. But when you are changing them two and three at a time it is real easy to get your chain caught up in the cogs. Probably why I love single speeds so much. No muss, no fuss, simple and easy. It may be the only thing in my life that is.

So, as such, I got a wild hair when I saw a Trek 1120 XL frame come up on Pink Bike this week. I spent a few days staring at the ad and finally reached out to the guy selling it. Badda boom, badda bing, and I have an 1120 frame headed my way.

Being that I have its twin brother, a Trek Stache 7 XL frame hanging in my garage as well, this will become a two bike build out of two I already have. Then a sell off of those frames. I am really only happy when I am building something. Building things, be they bikes, guns, motorcycles, cars has fueled me and kept me sane for a very long time. However, all of this also comes with its own version of stress because I dislike the sometimes difficult task of selling off the stuff I am replacing.

Those are first world problems though, right!

I could have just as easily titled this “Tinker” because I have to tinker with everything I have, and I mean everything. Even tools like the Leatherman’s I tend to carry every day get worked over at some point, and they rarely need it. I mean, they come with everything under the sun to begin with. But I always find something I want to do to make it just a smidge better for my use.

I guess all of this is ok, as I am building things based on my unique usage and needs. I especially find that I have to tinker with things like bikes more and more to suit my aging body and the fact that I cannot change that I am 6’6”! Nothing, and I mean nothing, fits me right without a bit of tinkering.

But back on subject. If something is good enough for now, why does it become not good enough later? Well, my thoughts here are that we change and our expectations and needs change as well. We can keep something that is ill-fitting, we can alter it to fit or replace it. I like to tinker because I do not like buying replacements. Unless it is replacing something core to be built around with stuff I already have like this frame swap.

It is just like the single speed I mentioned above. It can be great for my uses around where I live. But when I take it up to the mountains I have to change the gear to fit the ride. Doing down hills? Taller gears needed. Climbing a lot, shorter gears. Stuff wears out too and I much prefer being able to replace worn parts than replacing whole items. I came from the age of rebuild it and keep it forever. Today’s throw away world does not suit me at all.

So while something may be good enough, there is always room for improvement. The same can be said for our lives. We all need a bit of tinkering with along the way. Whether that is getting in better shape, fixing how we eat, or expanding our minds or anything else that makes us better. Good enough should never be a state we live in fully. Life was not meant for living just good enough. No, we need to continually strive for better.

So is good enough ever really good enough?

Yea…for a little while.