Thoughts after 10000 km of Cycling

This is inspired by this brilliant post. I agree with most of the points there and can relate very closely to them.

Here are some of my thoughts after completing 10000 km of cycling.

• A good, efficient and reliable bicycle is worth every Rupee you pay. It will make you want to ride. 
• If you want to get faster, get more comfortable. Good equipment is useless if you're not comfortable.
• Core strength and flexibility are crucial to being comfortable on a road bike.
• It can be very frustrating to not be able to ride (through injury or for whatever reason). It can make a cyclist's life really miserable.
• Buy once, cry once. Buy nice, don't buy twice. Not my own but I live by it :P
• Don't blindly accept what people say on forums. Try, evaluate, question and find your own answers.
• The fundamental rule of bike fit - listen to your body and use your brain. Don't go around asking strangers on the forums for advice without trying enough.
• Experiment a lot with the kind of riding you do - slowish long distance rides, faster shorter rides. In time you'll know what kind of a cyclist you want to be. Work towards that.
• If you're like me and like fast shorter rides, see what you like more - sprinting, climbing, time-trialing etc., learn what your strengths/weaknesses are and work accordingly.
• Clipless pedals are absolutely a necessity
• Good shoes make a big difference in comfort and riding pleasure
• While I'm not a big fan of helmets, I think a clipped-in roadie should wear one.
• I will never wear a mask while riding a bicycle. To all those masked bandits - HTFU.
• Get a Garmin. It's a necessity if you're a serious roadie.
• I find naming bicycles extremely lame. Even lamer are references to a bicycle as "her"
• Cycling might seem like an inexpensive affair to a non-cyclist. It's hard to keep it that way if you have a credit card :P
• I want to try out everything that's available in the market (different frames, geometries, wheels, groupsets, components, clothing etc.) and see for myself what I like best. Wish I could afford that :P

I'll add more points as and when I think of them.