The task spreads out before me like molasses poured onto a tabletop, indulging in its viscous immensity. Its growing breadth makes it a kind of enigma, the sort distinguished by an elusive end and therefor an intangible beginning. It occurs to me, at this moment, that the difference between those who achieve and those who stagnate is not measured by their greatness, but by their courage to begin. There is a boldness in embarking on that to which the end is unknown, to trust in your ability to navigate a path along which the way can be felt more than it can be seen.
In life, our path is fractured by the paths of those in our social and professional proximity. In training, we are simply a product of our discipline and will. In a world full of change and flux, training stands out as a beautifully simple thing. Time in the saddle goes in one end, and progress comes out the other. The magnitude of the change we see as a result is directly proportional to our commitment to a goal; there is nowhere to to seek answers to our failures but inside ourselves.
The most sacred act in Cycling is, for me, the day-long solo training ride, especially in Winter. On these days of 200 or more kilometers, I rise with the sun still lingering behind the Cascades to the East. There is a chill in the air even inside the house as I shake off sleep and prepare for a ride book-ended by the twin fires of sunrise and sunset. I wait patiently for the streets to be lit well enough to allow my safe passage; perhaps I’ll have another espresso while I wait for the sun to laze above the horizon.
Setting out, my heart will be heavy with dread knowing the ribbon of kilometers, hills and climbs that lies ahead. In Winter, the effect is heightened by the gray clouds in the sky and the knowledge that rain and possibly snow will accompany me. Before I even begin, my mind casts ahead to the warm shower and hearty meal which will greet me at the end of this long day. Yet, the only way to arrive is by loading the pedals at the outset and getting to the business of turning them endlessly until I return to the house.
My usual long training route consists of chaining together my daily training loops. While familiarity with the route serves to comfort me, the conclusion of each loop carries me by my home – each time I find myself tempted to escape into the warm confines where my family, a shower, and a meal awaits. Yet, with each passing of the house, my resolve is energized, I continue. I continue with only the thoughts in my head, my discipline, and the cold and wet to keep me company. When I finally return home, my spirits fill with a sense of accomplishment.
These rides help me find form, certainly, but they serve a more fundamental purpose that echoes in my personal and professional life. They serve to remind that a large task is an aggregate of smaller, more simple tasks and that we need only the courage to begin. Just as a long ride is accomplished by the simple act of turning the pedals, we achieve our goals in life by starting today to incrementally move towards them.
I am reminded through the solitude of the ride that simply beginning is the most critical element to finishing; fail to do that, and you will never have the opportunity to finish. Vive la Vie Velominatus.
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
@McTyke
I agree that its easier to take layer off and stow them, and I think whomever suggested you dress for forty-five minutes or an hour in is a nutter.
But the point is you shouldn't dress to be comfortable when you step out of the house, because after 10 or 15 minutes your core will be warmed up and you'll be roasting. I like to feel just a bit of a chill when I step out - just enough to make me wonder if I should have a gillet on or if I should have worn a long sleeve jersey instead of a short sleeve with arm warmers. Usually by the time I hit the first climb, I'm perfect or even a little too warm already.
@Erik
Shifting from Cycling, I think we often assume that people had a holistic plan in place when they set out to do something awesome. But in reality, they just started and figured it out as they went. Edison famously said that he didn't fail to make a lightbulb a trillion times (number may be exaggerated) but discovered a trillion ways to not make one before he found one way to do it right. He just had the courage to get started on it. And, of course, the vision of making one, but he was a long way off from knowing how he was actually going to do it.
@mouse, @mcsqueak, @Buck Rogers
Padding sucks ass. Pick where you put it, and it sucks. In saddles, in chamois, in gloves. I use Castelli's Aero Race Gloves and they have almost no padding and just super light lycra over the hands. You don't even know they're there. In colder weather I wear a variety of gloves (wool, neoprene, etc) but none of them have actual padding in the palms.
@ChrisO
Those are the ones I used to use, and indeed the Aero Race Gloves are over the wrist and I use them for training and OTT is kind of my style, so I'm good with it!
@Yannersan
As demonstrated by the Prophet, complete with V Face.
@asyax
Welcome, mate. I just took a job with a 45km commute each way; good for the legs, better for the soul's wind-down after work. In the dark, in the rain, doesn't matter. Just heals.
@Nathan @actor1 - great, thanks for the suggestions, I'll check them out!
I do think the Castelli aero race glove looks good, but I wish they made one that didn't go so high up on the wrist.
@frank Try going cold a little longer and you might not get a little too warm so soon. Either way we each choose our own comfort level. I have the sense that you aim to dress very precisely* and I choose to dress very basically*. Under dressed.
@frank
Can anyone tell me what make and model that support car is along side Merckx?
@unversio
Clearly a Peugot based on the grill emblem. Probably a 404:
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Peugeot_404_1966.jpg
@asyax
welcome on board, the pace is smooth, and there is a tailwind lately
@frank
yeah, i agree. When buddy calls up for a ride/or texts, i will ask what the pace is and he sometimes will reply 'spirited'
that translates nicely into your 'repeated hammerfest', racing for signs, or mailbox's, & smashing hills flat
@Nate
Yep 404 and a 404 in the Faema photo as well