La Vie Velominatus, Part IV: The Great Escape

The Col du Tourmalet

One of the most magnificent things about Cycling is that not only does it represent different things to different people, it represents different things on different days. Some days, it’s training – a means to an end. Other days, it’s the culmination of a body of work; rather than a means to an end, it represents that end itself, whether that end is exhilarating or devastating. But these two facets represent Cycling only as Sport, the complex simplicity of the balance between dedication and results.

Cycling stands apart, however, in its many dimensions beyond Sport. For me, Cycling is meditation, a time to clear my mind of ancillary concerns and contemplate on those that require my focus. It is thoughtlessness, a time to eliminate everything through the simplicity of pain. It is simultaneously medication and therapy; even a short ride can shake a heavy lethargy from my bones and rejuvenate aching muscles and joints. It is simultaneously tension and release; Cycling can fill my being with effort, an effort that overflows my legs and lungs and spills over to fill every fiber of my being, flushing from me all those things I wish not to keep.

Cycling is penance for my mistakes; a few hours at the mercy of the Man with the Hammer can help me understand the error of my ways. It is cleansing of other’s mistakes – here the Man with the Hammer helps pound out the ripples in the surface of Life they cause me.

I am by no means a great man and never will be. But I am a better man for my bike, and for that I am eternally grateful to 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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View Comments

wiscot says:

Sep 20 2011 at 2:14 pm

@frank
Yup, my old doctor used to refer to me as "the guy with the great numbers." HR, BP, pulse, cholesterol, all really great and attributed to getting the pedals round as often as possible.
mcsqueak says:

Sep 20 2011 at 2:30 pm

@frank

Nein, Mt. Bachelor in central Oregon. I've never ridden up to Mt. Hood, I think riding on the side of HWY 26 would be a rather dicey adventure.

The highway up to Mt. Bachelor from either Bend or Sunriver is a little slice of heaven, though. Hardly any traffic, nice shoulder, and a grade that gives you a workout and makes you feel like you've done something difficult without killing you. Did that ride a few weeks back.
RedRanger says:

Sep 20 2011 at 3:22 pm

When I lived in Sicily the best part of riding a bike was getting to explore new parts of the province I was in. Like this image every time I rode to Palermo.

Here in Tucson its a lot of this:
Pedale.Forchetta says:

Sep 20 2011 at 3:24 pm

Beautiful words Frank.
mcsqueak says:

Sep 20 2011 at 3:26 pm

@RedRanger

Tucson looks like the 70s?
Pedale.Forchetta says:

Sep 20 2011 at 3:27 pm

And thank you for the wallpapers!
Pedale.Forchetta says:

Sep 20 2011 at 3:29 pm

@RedRanger
Sicily is great but from that photo Tucson is not that bad.
RedRanger says:

Sep 20 2011 at 3:38 pm

@Pedale.Forchetta
@mcsqueak

I used the hipstamatic app. to take that picture of Tucson. this is an ok image I took on one ride. I am on a major road heading north into higher dessert.

And Carini(the town I lived at in Sicily)
RedRanger says:

Sep 20 2011 at 3:43 pm

@frank. those wall papers rock! you are hooking it up with those. first for the iPhone(kinda my idea ;)) and now this. Awesome!
Steampunk says:

Sep 20 2011 at 5:25 pm

Today was a great day. Frank's beautiful words over breakfast, then a quick one-hour spin and espresso at my coffee shop before joining a couple of colleagues for a 75k loop that included some great climbing. While waiting for riding companions at the coffee shop, I opened Michael Barry's Le MÃ©tier (the coffee shop has a great bookshelf) and reread his final chapter, Autumn. Near the beginning of the chapter, he has this:

Alone as I near the Pyrenean peak, I feel fast. The only person that I race against is myself, and the ghosts that I create. I throttle towards the summit, accelerating hard out of the tight switchbacks and glancing at the road ahead while focusing on the peak above. The kilometer markers posted at the roadside seem to come every couple of minutes. I don't need to look at my powermeter to know I am fit. The data it stores will be all that records my effort. With nobody to judge me or compete against me, and no spectators to witness the effort, this is a solitary experience race I create.

Which I thought dovetailed nicely with Frank's words above. The ride itself was good. And as I willed myself up and over a couple of nasty, steep pitches, I found myself thinking very much the same thoughts...