La Vie Velominatus: Romanticization
I’m often told I romanticize Cycling’s past, that the days gone by weren’t quite as rosy as I make them out to be. There is some truth to this, certainly, but the assertion isn’t entirely accurate in the sense that I romanticize everything about Cycling.
Because events are seasoned by our thoughts and individual experience, we necessarily cannot see them for what they truly were. The thoughts that pass through our mind when looking at an old or new photograph, a race, or when we go for a ride influences the way it is remembered and the significance it holds.
Our minds are very good at forgetting pain and remembering pleasure; it isn’t very long after an experience that negative associations begin to fade and positive ones to amplify. This psychological mechanism is the gateway to romanticization. Certainly, I remember that climbing Haleakala last January was a horrible experience, but I’ve managed to forget what that means precisely. On the other hand, the memory of accomplishing a task that turned out to be much harder than I had anticipated lingers strongly; I find myself drawn back to the mountain for the chance to experience once more the purity that touches us briefly when we persevere despite total exhaustion.
Romanticizing encourages us to study the past, to appreciate how things were, and provides the opportunity to learn from the mistakes others have made. It reminds us that things were not always as they are today and that those things we wish were different may be so tomorrow. It helps us forget that many long hours of suffering are balanced only by brief moments of exhilaration. It helps us to dream, to imagine what could be.
Do the great races of the past seem more glorious than they were? Perhaps. Does the sunlight’s glint off a chromed chainstay blind me to the weight of the bicycle and the extra burden it places on its rider? Certainly. Does the memory of reaching down to flick a downtube shifter eclipse the inconvenience of sitting down to shift, and removing a hand from the bars? Absolutely. But they also form the fabric of what keeps me returning to the bicycle.
Vive la Vie Velominatus.
Most definitely. Later in the day after a ride I will think, I could have done that again, regardless of how hard it actually was.
Well said. I’ve been pondering this while reading Nicolas Roche’s Inside the Peloton, which I really cannot recommend. While any number of authors really capture the beauty and beastliness of cycling, Roche doesn’t/can’t. More to the point, he seems unable to articulate this passion. After reading Fournel’s Need for the Bike earlier in the week, Inside the Peloton feels like a bad ride””the kind that rubs some of the romance off the veneer that is this addiction. And with LBS closed yesterday and today, I couldn’t even replace my broken spoke and go for a ride…
I believe this reward mechanism of the brain is key to our very existence. Why else would our distant caveman ancestors have risked life and limb time after time for meat if not for agony and danger being eclipsed by the thrill of the hunt?
Those opiate dopamines sure are tricksy hypnotists, but I do love them so. Were it not for them (and a pair of skinny wheels), I would still be a 110 kilo exercise-dodging couch potato.
Hindsight allows one to focus more on the positive aspects of what has occured rather than on the negative.
Thinking about the pain one felt climbing that bastard of a hill or the 40k’s into that headwind on the way home seems to disappear once you reach the top or unclip at the front gate. I did it and it wasn’t that bad was it? I’ll do it all again tomorrow, willingly.
Great article. And yup hindsight is a wonderful thing. In the theme of the last article I think that even crashing is romanticized. My first big crash was horrible – multiple broken ribs, collar bone, severe head injuries – yet never once has it kept me off the bike. When I look back on it, it seems not that bad. You get the manly pride thing from having scars and bent bones, you get to look like a hard man as you walk home covered in blood and your girl friend is super nice to you for a couple of months.
In reality it was f-ing horrible. I couldn’t even sit up out of bed without help. But I have mostly forgotten that. If we didn’t forget the pain how could we idolize it and repeat it?
Awesomeness, Frank! Very well put. Being able to forget the pain and remember the pleasure is an essential tool in the box of every Velominatus.
Ha, I rode some Italian steel today, chromed chainstays and all!
Here’s a bit of romance by Jen’s.
This is one of those ‘snippits’ that will stay with me forever!
http://bicycling.com/blogs/hardlyserious/2011/12/28/a-gift-from-jens/
@sthilzy
Great find – Jens is… well, Jens.
It’ll be a sad day if he ever retires. Yes, if.
Nothing wrong with romanticizing cycling’s past. We, as humans, tend to romanticize what we love, which then fuels our love for it, and so on. We wouldn’t be passionate about it otherwise. Also, i think there was some full on badassery back in the day that you just don’t see today. Some may call it “romanticizing,” but the fact is, while it may have had a dark underbelly here and there, there was some full on beauty and intestinal fortitude you just don’t see today.
It’s this article from Jen’s
http://bicycling.com/blogs/hardlyserious/2011/12/02/would-i-do-it-all-over-again/
I think Jen’s won’t retire from cycling, most likely reincarmate as a author and write the best books on Cycling Life from his inner core of pain and pleasure from the sport.
Very well said Frank. Sedentary, non-competitive people will never be able to experience and love the pleasure/pain cycles we get to experience in cycling. The more it sucks while you do it, the better the memory of the accomplishment! Kind of reminds me of last years Off-Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell… A true suck-fest, but I’ll be back for more in 2012!
@sthilzy
Wow! Awesome read. Jens is just the epitome of class. Thanks for sharing!!!
I have 2 things to say about Romanticisation;
1. I had the great fortune last week to have 5 days in the Victorian high country simply riding my bikes up some very big hills.
As some of you may know, I’ve recently come into posession of a fairly slick Carbon bike (my first CF) with some nice new SRAM bits that make it, well, lovely to me anyway.
The climbing is all very satisfying of course, although the best part of it all is the descent. On the biggest descent of 28km, there is a very fast section that is about 11km long with plenty of amazing corners. As I was coming down this section at an average speed of more than 50km/hr, my senses were fully engaged with the task at hand; down in the drops, spotting the apex, calculating the braking marker to ensure that maximum momentum was being carried through the corner without overshooting the edge of the road, outside pedal down, outside ankle dropped, shoulders square over the bars, pushing them down across my chest to lean the bike over, forcing the contact patch of the tires to bite more firmly, then and hammering out of the corner to set up for the next one.
The funniest thing though was the number of times I found myself reaching for the right hand down tube shifter after the apex to slam it forward…
2. This;
@mouse
It’s funny that ‘ghost’ of a right down tube shifter!
I goes the other way and catch myself reaching down to shift up starting a climb – without looking down of course!
I try and live in the now, while keeping the notion of being a romantic on the side. I realised the magnitude of Cancellara’s 50km solo break at the time. I knew we would talk about it for years to come, and tried to enjoy it as such. When you experience such a thing, you will know – it gives you goosebumps.
The romantic notion is valid when you think about music now, compared to 20 years ago. In 20 years time, radio stations will not play classic britney spears and classic nickelback, as they do bowie, zeppelin and creedence alike. These people are here for a minute, our heroes are here for a lifetime.
In a mountain race (Alpenbrevet) a few years back I recall getting rained on for the last 40 minutes of a 25km climb over Grimsel Pass. At the summit and for the first 3-5 minutes of the descent we were buffeted by sheets of rain and 1-3 degree Celsius temps combined with strong gusts of wind. I recall thinking on the descent as my freezing fingers could barely grip the brake levers, the braking power reduced to nothing while feeling I may be blown off the mountain, that there is no reason for me to be doing this. A few years later the exact sensations of how miserable I was and how that cold seemed to penetrate to my core are all reduced to my simple summing it up as: the coldest I have ever been- which is somehow romanticized. It makes no sense.
Damn, those yellow shades are awesome! I think we’ve gone over this – Rudy Project Pilots? Similar to some Oakley model named…
@mouse
Awesome picture – and surprising subject as Chuck Flop (a nickname I will perhaps some day explain) was my childhood hero and as I sat down to write this article, my intentions were to write a tale about Mottet, but instead I found myself in a philosophical mood about the sport…
As for your description of the descent – fantastic, but I think it calls into relief my feelings about descending: I hate descending, what I love is cornering…No other time do you feel as close to your machine when the forces are all without exception working to push you out of the corner and down the mountain, and your union with the machine defies physics and allows you briefly to fly.
As for descending, bombing down a road at mach 4 just makes you get sore, cold, and it takes ages to warm up the guns again on the next climb.
@Steampunk
Sounds like you’ve had a proper holiday. You’re read The Rider already, right? Perhaps the only book more eloquently written. But, I have to say, Le Metier is not far in arrears. One of my favorite things about Fournel’s book is the structure of short chapters. As I’m sure is the case with many of yours, my life doesn’t accomodate lots of uninterrupted blocks of time for reading a book, and my obsessive personality makes it hard to put a book down mid-chapter. Reading a collection of tales like Need for the Bike is great for just picking it up during an idle moment and moving on when the next task calls.
@mrhallorann, @il ciclista medio
What always surprises me the most about the memory of pain is that I really can’t remember it. Sure, I know it hurt – and I know it was unpleasant, that I hated everything. I just have an idea of what that means, but no actual memory of it. On the other hand, memories of pleasure actually bring the pleasure back. If I’m sitting in a room thinking about something good that happened, I’ll become physically happy as an effect.
Amazing.
Its also worth pointing out that this is not the case with other negative feelings. Regret, for example, remains a palpable feeling. For instance, I knew I wasn’t pushing myself hard enough on the last uphill TT I did and I still feel that sensation of regret. I can’t think back on that TT without feeling it. The effect? I won’t back off next time.
I believe all these mechanisms in the mind are wired to make it as easy as it can be to do the right thing. It doesn’t mean it actually becomes easy…just as easy as it can be.
Or this.
@frank
The Rider, too. Yes. (it’s what reminded me of the video I just posted above). Short and evocative: very good. I’d happily part with most of the books in the house (and there are plenty). For cycling, though, I’d be keeping The Rider, Need for the Bike, Le Métier, and Tomorrow, We Ride. These, I think, capture the romance and reality of cycling””the smells””in a far more contemplative manner.
Having said that, this site is compiling some very impressive “must-reads”! Kudos to all the Keepers!
@frank
Obsessive personality: look what you’ve done. Also reminded of Krabbé riding with Gerrie Knettemann in December 1977:
(p. 29).
Which puts me in mind of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance:
@Gareth
Very interesting point – its like you remember just enough to do your best to repeat whatever mistake it was that led to the accident, but not enough to keep you from doing it again. Similarly with training – my horrible experience on Haleakala is enough to remind me of what happens when you suck donkey balls, but not so much that I don’t chance it again. I am spurred to train more, but also to return to it.
@Anjin-san
Exactly!
@rhys
Interesting comparison. There are definite similarities; I think there are some rides and riders we’ll talk about. Nibbles, for example, has a tendency to ride in the style of Old, with long breaks and some class, even if his breaks don’t work out. Grimplette on the Galibier similarly so. What we WON’T be talking about in 20 years is the Gilbert-style timing of closing the break down in the last 5km and the dominating the finale. Gilbert, of course, demonstrated immense tactical wizardry and skill – not to mention power and strength, but those aren’t the things that wind up teasing us for years…its more than just class – its class + risk + ingenuity…or something.
Zep and Bowie weren’t following formulas – they were doing something different every time, coming up with new ways to captivate us. I think that’s the difference.
@mblume
Exactly!
@frank
I always think that myself. The rub is when the time actually comes, do you push as hard as you can, or just as hard as you think you can?
Great article, as usual, btw.
@frank
On the topic of music, I always wonder what modern music will hang around. I have heard the argument that there was bad music back then as well, but that only the good stuff is remembered and survives. What good stuff is there today that could survive? Sure there are some bands and artists who have great music, but it I don’t think they have enough of a following to become to my generation what those classics are to the older generation. What will survive?
@scaler911
The psychological aspect of cycling is very intriguing to me. I have seen the effects it has on me pretty obviously. The most prominent example is when I was riding one of my now favorite routes for the first time. I was riding along struggling to push 39/22 and go 23 Km/h and in a terrible mood because of it. I ended up in a town that I knew was much higher than where I started, and only then realized I had been gaining altitude, but it was such a gradual slope and windy that I hadn’t even noticed. Nowadays I do that section just fine in my big ring, it was just the matter of not knowing that destroyed me. I have been working on just always pushing because of this experience.
I’ve already nearly forgotten the fact that my toes almost froze off on my New Year’s Eve ride (due to poor choices in footwear), but I’ll always remember the time I went for a RIDE. On NEW YEAR’S EVE. In frakkin’ WISCONSIN.
@frank
I’m not so sure about that, mon ami. I have a feeling Gilbert’s going to carve himself a pretty lofty niche in the Pantheon. His ability to out of the pack in the last 3-5 km’s, repeatedly, in spite of being a marked man is pretty impressive. Amstel Gold, Fleche Wallone and L-B-L back-to-back-to-back, on top of the Montepaschi win.
Plus he’s just turning 30, and he’s going to have to find some other ways to win, which I think he will. Cut my man some slack.
@DerHoggz
Its not quite your generation, but I’m listening to Yellow Ledbetter right now, and I can tell you that song is every bit as good as anything from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. So is Alive. And some other tracks from the Grunge era. But I think you’ve got a point – just the good stuff stays at the top.
As for really new stuff that’s great music, it’s few and far between. Deer Tick has a few songs that are absolutely fantastic, heart-wrenching stuff – with a phenomenal drummer to boot (only drummer who compares to Bonzo’s looseness in my opinion)
A few Deer Tick tracks (I know they bug a lot of people, but I like ’em)
Houuston, Tx: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2lVqBldyL8
A Beauty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb6Xk4ysPdM
I’m also a massive Big Head Todd and the Monsters fan – and I think some of their stuff is amazing and timeless, but they’re so poorly known that I doubt they’ll make the list in another couple decades.
But looking at my extensive library, there is very little new stuff in there that I think is worth assuming it will last…
@The Oracle
Aye plus, fuckin’ one, mate. Nice.
@scaler911
Another good point – but you’ll at least push yourself harder than before…and baby steps are good enough for me!
Both mind and memory are capable of a lot of tricks. Climbs and winds that my mind says are impossible never are. Pain and exhaustion always diminish over time just as the size of my guns, climbing prowess, and general cycling ability are magnified.
Agree with Frank on the regret though. An earworm that never leaves.
@sgt
That’s exactly my point – the legends we talk about are Merckx going off the front with 100km left to go, and rides of that nature. We don’t talk about riders who are invisible all day until the finale. It is truly nothing against Gilbert – I quite like him – its to do with the modern style of racing that is very formulaic and not inspiring in the sense of legend-making.
The only race where he went off the front early was LBL – and that was only because he was following the Schlecklettes. Before wiping the floor with them, I might add.
@scaler911
Interesting point. How does one overcome that most powerful of muscles, the brain (yeah, I know it’s an organ but it is the muscle for thinking isn’t it?) to push past where one thinks is their limit? The mind is the most powerful piece of equipment we own.
As frank indicated, he will to return to that moment/point and “won’t back off next time”, an admirable quality and something I would do myself. The question you raised though @scaler911 is, where is the body’s limit? It certainly has a physical limit, dependant on fitness level, stored energy etc., but I think it is more limited by the mind. If you’re able to overcome that mental barrier then I believe you’re able to push the body limit further. How much can one suffer? The Pro’s can endure the suffering longer and more repeatedly than any of us, that’s why they’re Pro’s rather than me, but I’m still learning how far I can push my envelope.
Sorry, if I’m sounding like a life coach BTW, I’m not!
@sgt
I’m going to throw another thing out there: whereas the 90’s are largely remembered as the decade of EPO-fueled decadence, I’m predicting that the 2000’s (and a beyond) will be remembered for the race-radio mechanization of racing.
@frank
I’d largely agree, except that we saw some great racing in 2011, a lot of it seemingly unaffected (or dare I say, improved) by radios, i.e., the aforementioned grimplette on the galibier, cuddles hauling time back and limiting his losses on same, Goss at MSR, Van Summeren winning P-R, etc.
I’m as nostalgic as the next guy, don’t get me wrong. But I also think that no one knows they’re living in the “good old days” until they’re the “gone old days”. We just came off a cracking good year of bike racing, and you’re harshing my mell… ;-)
@frank
Way Back In The Day When I Was Young, I remember taking an organic chemistry class. There was a discussion about a newly described molecule found in the human body: encephlan (sp?) Apparently, this is a powerful substance excreted by the human body during times of great stress. It is a powerful memory blocking agent. No, not a pain killer – it just simply blocks memory of pain.
And, not surprisingly, it is found commonly in females during childbirth. Evolution has indeed provided us with protections for the propogation of the species. Without this mechanism, no woman would ever willingly subject herself to that streching exercise a second time.
So, we can all pratter on about Rule #5, being hardMEN, etc etc…but go ahead – bring this concept up with your VMH. They are all laughing at us. Pain? Yeah, try giving birth to a 10 pound baby boy. Then tell US to harden the fuck up.
So…let the inuuendo commence. My $.02.
But a nice piece, Frank. Thought provoking for those many hours along the White Line.
@eightzero
“Way Back In The Day When I Was Young, I remember taking an organic chemistry class” Hell, that in itself brings back PTSD painful memories for me!!! Summer 1991 I did my two college semisters of O-chem. Oh the HORROR!!!
@Buck Rogers
1991. LOL. Got you way beat on that, sonny. And stay off my lawn.
@eightzero
Only if you give me my ball back you old bastard!
Frank, It always amazed me that you’d ride through snow, rain, heat over courses that were insane then, cross the finish line and swear on your mother’s honor that you would never do that race again.
Strangely, after showers, warm clothes and food, in the team car on the way home you are already reminiscing about the “EPIC” ride and when the time comes to register the following spring the race has become the best race you ever experienced and you can’t wait to do it because it could be more epic.
great one frank!
sorry for my typical johnny come lately, been super duper busy at work, but long days in saddle will come later
In terms of the Romanticization of our passion, I agree we do just as you describe; we forget the pain, the doubt, the moments when someone tips the pace just that .1% farther than we should go to hang….but we do. We remember the finish line, the last km, the tactic of seeing others burning to dust…and doing just a little better.
That is what we do first hand.
Then there is what we do in our minds eye as we recollect the past, what we have seen…what we are taught and what we read in the historical record.
And that brings me to another facet to think on, that is perhaps we make unfair comparisons in Romanticizing our passions in the historical records, what we read and none of us have experienced first hand. In that, we compare what we ride today, the very best bikes that have ever been built; at the speeds we do now, which yield cat. 5 club riders running 35k/hr which isn’t real (no matter who you are); for lengths that we do now….and you get my drift. We compare yesteryear to today and today to yesteryear, and dammit, we are faster but only because of our technology now. Had Bartali ever had 11 speed Super Record Campagnolo dressing his Pinarello Dogma, he would have broke more legs than anyone presently. Had those mens had hoops worth a damn, not to mention aero and carbon, they would have been at least 20k faster. Had Gual ridden a 700gm Hi Mod carbon ride instead of steel that was part cobblestone, he would have climbed like angels ascending to the heavens…there is no freakin doubt about this.
Desgrange tried his dead level best to kill the peloton, its well documented. That is historical fact, so part of this is not over romanticizing our first love. The peloton in the infancy of the Tour rode freaking 300k like it was nothing, and some stages were longer, and lasted greater than 10 hrs regularly. Granted, the Tour was not 20 days like today, but longer nonetheless. On the bikes they had then and all.
Part romance, absolutely. Part unfair comparisons, perhaps. Something I learn of and cherish, damn-straight. And thinking of their accomplishments in a historical context…it was simply amazing.
so, I give. I do fall sport to romanticizing our passion
@sthilzy
Jens refers to himself as a cyborg in that article. As if not intimidating enough as a mere mortal. Mebbe a second career as movie action figure? That could be awesome.
@il ciclista medio
I was chatting with @gaswepass a couple nights back about just this sort of thing. Something that I have never really gotten over is the ‘butterflies’. I realize that that is not really uncommon, but given the sheer number of races I’ve done, I’d think I’d be over it by now. What’s interesting to me (looking inward) is if it’s the local Thursday night TT or Tuesday night circuit race, I’m golden. Anything else and I’m a mess for about an hour. As I was telling @gas, I think that’s why I don’t really like crits (tho I do them and have had some decent results) and don’t race ‘cross (way too short).
Given that I’m at an age where I have no hope of ever being pro, I’d think that I’d be able to shake that nemesis. But, alas, here I am; weak minded.
This is an interesting topic. Since I am so new to the sport I dont have te experience to be nostalgic or to romanticize the past. But I definitely enjoy learning about it. And I look forward to feeling this in the future about now.
@sgt
I’m very surprised that my assertion that today’s racing isn’t the making of legends is the same as saying it wasn’t good racing or that the wins weren’t great. Its like the use of the word “epic” for going out to pedal around the lake.
To me, to call something the makings of a legend is a sacred thing – a lot of great things don’t fit the categorization of legendary but are still amazing.
Great racing this year, but the “catch the break in the last five km – over and over and over and over” scenario is fun, its exciting, but its not legendary. That’s all.
Also keep in mind that the racing in the 90’s is still some of my favorite ever (even if they’re not legendary) so my prediction that this era will be called the Era of the Radio isn’t so much to be taken as a negative thing. Even if I preferred the radios were gone. (Of your examples, I think only MSR would have been the same without radios – I think the others were highly influenced by them.)
@frank
I’m focused on two things this year (and that focus won’t actually change a fucking thing in either case).
1. Get money out of politics (and this is not the forum for that).
2. Get rid of race radio’s. I really liked the days when all the guys off the front had for info behind them was a chalkboard with the split, and maybe an occasional visit from the director with 5-10 min old info about the race behind. Let the riders go on instinct. Sorta the same reason pro baseball players shouldn’t have aluminum bats (I fucking loathe baseball by the way). Get rid of obvious advantages.
And in breaking news: Fucking Universal Sports is off the air. I’m going to nip off and kill myself now. Cycling (of course), rugby, skiing, occasional climbing. Shit!! (sorry for the language, just WTF??).
@scaler911
But you return to do the Crits even though you don’t particularly like them. I wouldn’t call that weak minded, rather, facing up to those uncomfortable thoughts, even with an hour of butterflies beforehand.
BTW, I won’t be turning Pro anytime soon myself either unless they start a Pro cycling Masters circuit. Even then I’d be paying my own way…..
@scaler911
I’m not sure getting butterflies before a race is such a bad thing…keeps you honest. I think it was Jimmy Page who said that he still gets nervous any time he has to perform. So you’re in good company.
@Rob
Now, THAT’s a good use of the term epic!
@scaler911
Argh! Noticed that this weekend. No more watching the classics or Giro live on TV. No more watching badass Lindsey Vonn rip it up. Best channel on TV. Gone.
@Souleur
You’re bringing up a great point here, that @Steampunk was alluding to. Cycling didn’t have video cameras until the 50’s. Before that, race reports were all just made-up based on second, third, fourth hand information. The races were writ into legend by journalists who waxed poetic about the rides to up readership, and for all we know, it was all made up. Except the stats that you point out. Amazing just on that fact alone. Incredible.
Now, with cameras, we still don’t know it all, but we’re getting closer. And cut the cord on the radios.
@frank, @Steampunk
Track down and read Dino Buzzati’s Giro d’Italia. Out of print but I reckon you can find used copies on Amazon, especially if you don’t try to buy it during the month of May. It’s thick with romance about the sport and what the Coppi/Bartali duel meant to Italy right after WWII. Also a revealing picture of how print journalism formed the narrative in the days before video as each chapter is on of Buzzati’s daily dispatches to the newspaper that sent him to cover the race as a veteran journalist. Great stuff.
When I watch a race with Gilbert in it, and know there are hills into the finish, I really anticipate the time when he will go with a group early or wait like a snake in the grass ready to strike. I think he is a tactical marvel. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him attack near the finish and seeing others try to grab his wheel and fail. His ability to go a bloc / sur la plaque on an uphill finish is like no one I remember seeing live. I am sure others have had it in the past- so maybe this is the a bit of the “this is the best/greatest _______ of all time” syndrome that society seems to shower on every achievement without recalling/studying or romanticizing history.
If Gilbert can keep near this pace up for the next few years, he will write himself deeply into history. For me his skills are much different than the sprinters such as Cavendish. Yes they both win it near the end, but for me what /how Gilbert does on the parcourses he does is exceptional- even if race radio plays a part in it.