Categories: Defining MomentsFolkloreReverenceThe Rides

The Graceful Touch of La Volupté

Her graceful touch.

I get to certain parts of my training when I begin to crave his blows, especially in winter. Winter is the time of year when training is a time for reflection and spending hours on the bike. Thoughts of hill repeats and intervals don’t creep into even the dampest corners of my mind as I kit up and set out upon the road, just me and my bicycle, the rhythm, and the weather.

The rides are long, the intensity low and the lack of tactical objective is both liberating and concerning. I cherish the simplicity of this sort of riding; the weather is cold if not bad – but usually it is cold and bad. Just being on the bike means you’re training harder than most everyone else, which feels empowering. But there is a complacency that is unnerving; I’m unsettled by the question of whether I still know how to hurt myself. But this is not the time of year for me to push so hard on the climbs that I can answer that question for myself, so I begin to yearn for his hammer’s cruel blow, so I can prove that suffering is still where I thrive.

She arrives with the same abruptness that he does. La Volupté, yin to The Man with the Hammer’s yang, comes uninvited but welcome. Her visits are swift encounters, an angelic push to make the hill a bit shorter or the wind a bit less fierce. Before you realize she was there, she is gone.

But yesterday, she clung closely to me, pushing me along for the duration of my ride. The fluidity in my stroke felt other worldly, the lines I took into corners were as perfect as the gear I chose to exit them. The cadence always seemed in harmony with the terrain. I felt blissful joy at being on my bicycle.

Then the rain began to fall, lashing at me and chilling me to the bone. The sound of the rain rapping on my helmet was motivation; the sound of the spray from my tires onto my downtube was confirmation of my speed. I felt her next to me, acting as my personal conduit to The V. I pushed harder, I rode faster. But still I felt only the fluidity of the pedals spinning beneath me and the steady breath in my lungs. I was outside myself, an observer. Whatever was happening on the bicycle was going to happen with or without me.

The Man with the Hammer and La Volupté; bonded together as Pain and Grace. Pain is easy to recognize, easy to process, and easy to conquer. Grace, on the other hand, is elusive and easily mistaken. I have not felt so good on a bicycle for as long as I can recall, possibly ever. I work hard to be the best rider I can be, and the sport repays me in equal measure of what I put in. That is the beauty of it, the harmonious symmetry of dedication to a craft.

Yesterday, it was different. I was paid something forward, and I will not forget it. Vive la Vie Velominatus.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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chris says:

Dec 15 2015 at 8:41 am

@frank

@davidlhill

er, @frank, what’s that thing on your wrist? Doesn’t look like a watch, or a fitbit type thing.

But it has to be, as the obvious alternative doesn’t bear thinking about.

David

Its an orange RoadID.

They come in other colours?
Ron says:

Dec 15 2015 at 8:49 am

My word, Frank! Congratulations on that ride, must have been awesome.

I'm looking forward to getting back to long rides in 2016, been a distracted 2015 for me, but in a way that will pay off in the long run. The form will always come back, with enough hard work.

Also, am I the only one who doesn't like riding sexy tan sidewalls in the rain? They never get quite as cleand AND starting at them getting dirty can ruin the ride for me. I'll usually put on a rain wheelset with all black tires if I know rain is definite. Oh, and stop posting those wheels! They keep making me rethink my mantra of, "I'm fine riding alloy clinchers, I'm fine riding alloy clinchers..."

Oh, and ID is a great idea. Either the road ID or just dog tags on a string/necklace. I don't wear any other jewelry, so I enjoy that my lone decoration is a set of dog tags that I wear whenever I'll be riding, which is every day.
Ron says:

Dec 15 2015 at 8:51 am

@Oli

I remember being touched once. It was in that special place.

Oli, I cannot endorse this kind of absurdity, but wow, that is funny.
Gianni says:

Dec 15 2015 at 11:32 am

La Volupté only visits when you are very fit. So it's been many a year since I can say I've had that sensation. It's a fortunate rider who gets a visit from her ever.

The guy with the Hammer, I don't see him much either mostly because I'm smarter. I define the Man with the Hammer as a complete bonk. Butterflies copulate on the wheel's spokes, the bike goes in cruel slow motion, hopes of a quick death float over the head. With the advent of actually bringing food on a ride, I hope I don't see him too much anymore. We used to do long rides with only some dilute sports drink in a bottle. Once that was gone and the engine room runs out of soft coal to burn and the pace does not relent, bad things will happen.
Gianni says:

Dec 15 2015 at 11:34 am

@rfreese888

She showed up on my way in to work this morning – totally unexpected. Admittedly there was a tailwind but still I was invincible at times. A kind of spongy / springy feeling in the legs on inclines, very pleasant feeling.

Also relate to absence of pain without intervals and hill repeats this time of year, like something is missing.

Damn tailwind. I've been fooled too many times by that. Now I know better; if I'm feeling this good it has to be a tailwind.
Barracuda says:

Dec 15 2015 at 3:21 pm

@chris

@frank

@davidlhill

er, @frank, what’s that thing on your wrist? Doesn’t look like a watch, or a fitbit type thing.

But it has to be, as the obvious alternative doesn’t bear thinking about.

David

Its an orange RoadID.

They come in other colours?

Yep, I have a black one, with silver name and ID plate. A must have round these parts !
RedRanger says:

Dec 15 2015 at 5:28 pm

@Barracuda

@chris

@frank

@davidlhill

er, @frank, what’s that thing on your wrist? Doesn’t look like a watch, or a fitbit type thing.

But it has to be, as the obvious alternative doesn’t bear thinking about.

David

Its an orange RoadID.

They come in other colours?

Yep, I have a black one, with silver name and ID plate. A must have round these parts !

indeed. I have red, white, black and orange. need to get a new ID plate since I have moved a couple pop times since I originally got it.
DeKerr says:

Dec 15 2015 at 5:39 pm

@Ron

Also, am I the only one who doesn’t like riding sexy tan sidewalls in the rain? They never get quite as cleand AND starting at them getting dirty can ruin the ride for me. I’ll usually put on a rain wheelset with all black tires if I know rain is definite. Oh, and stop posting those wheels! They keep making me rethink my mantra of, “I’m fine riding alloy clinchers, I’m fine riding alloy clinchers…”

This VVinter I ponied up for a pair of Continentail GP4000 All Seasons. That gives me a few months to get the sidewalls on my Veloflex Masters looking clean-ish again.

Oh, and are these the wheels you want to stop seeing. Sweet Merckx on a Marinoni I want a pair of these.
Joe Cline says:

Dec 15 2015 at 6:14 pm

There's a thin line between . . .
frank says:

Dec 15 2015 at 6:54 pm

@Ron

My word, Frank! Congratulations on that ride, must have been awesome.

I’m looking forward to getting back to long rides in 2016, been a distracted 2015 for me, but in a way that will pay off in the long run. The form will always come back, with enough hard work.

Also, am I the only one who doesn’t like riding sexy tan sidewalls in the rain? They never get quite as cleand AND starting at them getting dirty can ruin the ride for me. I’ll usually put on a rain wheelset with all black tires if I know rain is definite. Oh, and stop posting those wheels! They keep making me rethink my mantra of, “I’m fine riding alloy clinchers, I’m fine riding alloy clinchers…”

Oh, and ID is a great idea. Either the road ID or just dog tags on a string/necklace. I don’t wear any other jewelry, so I enjoy that my lone decoration is a set of dog tags that I wear whenever I’ll be riding, which is every day.

Rain bike has black tires. Tubs. Friends don't let friends ride clinchers. These particular ones are rubbish, however; love the hubs but the rims are first-gen Enve and they are like the Beastie Boys: You can't, you won't and you don't stop!

In the main photo, I was caught out on the Number #1; I didn't expect the bad weather to swoop in the way it did, but I was thankful it did. What a ride.

@DeKerr

Oh, and are these the wheels you want to stop seeing. Sweet Merckx on a Marinoni I want a pair of these.

The are the droids you're looking for. Loves me the FUCK outta thems there puppies.