Guest Anatomy of a Photo: Here We Rest

photo by Camille McMillan

@steampunk dropped this beauty of a photo on us. Volumes being spoken here, none of which makes being a pro look so great. Thanks Steamy.

VLVV, Gianni

I’ve waxed lyrical on the darker side of le métier on these pages in the past””on the physical and psychological demands that pro riders endure. But this photograph requires even more of the cycling fan. Tan lines? Check. Eye wear? Well placed. These are pro, right?

But this kind of voyeurism almost inspires an awkward kind of guilt. Witness: the still-open door; the suitcase stand still leaning against the wall””suitcase dumped on the floor beside it; shoes (as beaten and worn down as the rider) askew in the general vicinity of the shoe mat. How do we process these? Dingy hotel. Emaciated rider. Sun-burned face. Chapped lips. Hunched shoulders. Heavy head. Distant eyes. Broken. Total, utter, complete fatigue. And tomorrow they expect panache. Again.

Steampunk

In never-ending search for la voluptÃ©, Steampunk is an unreconstructed Canadian west coaster transplanted to Ontario, where he rides on every opportunity and sometimes shows up to work as a professor of history. He is a careful student of the Rules and la vie Velominatus, but is not beyond (occasionally) distilling them down to a single path: la vie Cognoscentus. The BFGs are always locked and loaded (that sound you just heard was your soul being crushed by their power). On a more serious note, he is a staunch advocate of commuting by bike and he also fundraises for Bikes to Rwanda.

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View Comments

Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Jan 4 2013 at 4:56 pm

@Steampunk Like when it becomes your job.
roberto says:

Jan 4 2013 at 5:21 pm

@Jeff in PetroMetro

Absolutely spot on. I'm lucky enough to make my living making music and believe me that changes things. When you take something you love and decide to make it your business it brings both great satisfaction but also an attitude extremely different from those who enjoy that same thing for pleasure. My relationship with my work is very rich and rewarding, but also by turns exhausting, frustrating, infuriating, and depressing. It's not the sort of thing that can be grasped by a hobbyist, I think.

An important teacher in my developing years told me that "it's not enough to love it, you have to be crazy", and he was right.
Marcus says:

Jan 4 2013 at 5:25 pm

@Jeff in PetroMetro

Apparently even porn stars get bored and don't romanticize their job
Buck Rogers says:

Jan 4 2013 at 5:32 pm

@Marcus

@Jeff in PetroMetro

Apparently even porn stars get bored and don't romanticize their job

Hey man, don't ruin my fantasies here.
Barracuda says:

Jan 4 2013 at 5:50 pm

@razmaspaz

I have to say that this image evokes no pity from me. We are all trapped in a lonely hotel room, cubical, crowded airplane seat, etc. We will all have to go home tired and beaten down only to return the next day with expectations of our best. The difference here is that there is no political silliness, no schmoozing, no posturing that decides who gets the promotion, only the limits of your body and mind. While I see a lot of worry in this photo over whether it was enough today, I also see the satisfaction in knowing it was everything, and what more can you do than leave it all out there today.

Excellent summation ....... I agree ...... my office is also dark and small ..... expected to return and perform flawlessly day in day out .........

that photo speaks volumes for not only cycling but daily life in the general rat race...
pistard says:

Jan 4 2013 at 8:24 pm

A great photo, and brutally honest. The mundane colours of faux wood and dingy linens are pure Bill Eggleston; B&W or sepia would overly romanticize/heroicize.
razmaspaz says:

Jan 4 2013 at 8:28 pm

@PeakInTwoYears

@Steampunk

@razmaspaz

I think that's precisely the point. But nobody romanticizes your cubicle. And yet: we romanticize the shit out of pro cycling. When you get home from the office, you go for a ride to clear the cobwebs and frustrations. Imagine riding to the point where you lose all pleasure in it.

Precisely what I was thinking. The pathos of the image is in the sickening distance between a harsh reality and something we fantasize.tivit

Completely agree, except nobody romanticizes computer programming (my job) because its not a leisure activity. You would have to be sick to do that for fun. Cycling on the other hand, sure it has its grind, everything does, but the good days are unmatched.
Brian says:

Jan 4 2013 at 8:28 pm

@brian

i'm canadian.sorry,all i see is a cheat.

Man, I gotta change the name I post under.

I'll never cast a stone at any of these guys. Pro sport is not a pretty place.
anotherdownunder says:

Jan 4 2013 at 8:41 pm

@brian

I would expect that Rapha will sell a bazzilion of the Team Sky kit courtesy of Sir Wiggo and the increase in cycling exposure in UK.

Overall it is not a bad looking kit, is not for me, but will sell well I think.

Is a lot more stylish than the Greenedge kit that's for sure.
brian says:

Jan 4 2013 at 9:10 pm

@Brian

@brian

i'm canadian.sorry,all i see is a cheat.

Man, I gotta change the name I post under.

I'll never cast a stone at any of these guys. Pro sport is not a pretty place.

mines a little b. sorry i'm new here and don't know the site stance on cheating. if i'm out of line,please delete the post.

@anotherdownunder

@brian

I would expect that Rapha will sell a bazzilion of the Team Sky kit courtesy of Sir Wiggo and the increase in cycling exposure in UK.

Overall it is not a bad looking kit, is not for me, but will sell well I think.

Is a lot more stylish than the Greenedge kit that's for sure.

yeah,you count on that,it was history after all. i kinda like it as well. but i really like omega-pharma-qs,new kit,you can see it here http://www.omegapharma-quickstep.com/en/news/show/opqs-cycling-team-new-jersey-for-2013/978 or maybe its just me imagining boonen in it,haha,cheers.