La Vie Velominatus: The Choice

Koblet in all his Cyclist Majesty

The only people I would care to be with now are artists and people who have suffered: those who know what beauty is, and those who know what sorrow is: nobody else interests me.
– Oscar Wilde

I have a theory that every living being is designed to cope with a certain level of stress in their lives, that if our lives are somehow free of stress, we will invent new ways to meet our mind’s infinite capacity to worry about things it can’t control; I call this phenomenon the Suck Equilibrium.

The ability to cope with stress is what makes a person great; in Einstein’s case it was the stress caused by a desire to discover the Unified Theory, in other cases it might be to balance the checkbook. The driver isn’t important; that it pushes us to do more in life is what matters.

The Suck Equilibrium dictates that we adapt to the amount of stress we carry; no one is free of this burden – the hungry seek a meal, the homeless a home, the bike-less a bike, and the millionaire more millions. There is no cure, there is no remedy; no matter the level we reach, our natural inclination is to seek more from ourselves. In the end, there is only Rule #5.

The Cyclist is a unique character among the others. While the artist suffers because they must; the Cyclist suffers because they choose. To me, the greatest artist is that who choses to suffer, and who discovers the beauty in that choice. I am proud to call myself a Cyclist.

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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frank says:

Oct 1 2013 at 2:06 pm

@Ken Ho

Jeez Fronkenschtem, I know summer is coming to an end for you, but it's a bit early to be getting all bloody depressed. Don't you go skiing ? You are close enough to Whistler, no need to cut your ear off over a few short glum days. Is Seattle weather that bad ? Maybe some flannel or a goodcardigan would cheer you up. Maybe a Starbucks ? Meanwhile, here in sunny Ox, it's getting warmer and we are looking forward ro a cracking summer. No suffering here, matey !!

I'm going to go pop down to the store and start wearing one of these, a local Seattle product and gift to the world.
frank says:

Oct 1 2013 at 2:12 pm

@Rob

"Suffering is one very long moment. We can not divide it by seasons."

Hopefully Oscar rode a bike because if he had done so more he would have had a feast of things to say.

Nice one as always FrÃ¤nk. It's tempting to call you the Oscar Wilde of the bike world but then that would put me in a dicey " position" , as I have spent the night with you in a hotel....

Rob's wife on phone to Frank: "Are you going to murder my husband?"

Frank: "Would I say yes if I was going to?"

Things went downhill from there.
frank says:

Oct 1 2013 at 2:14 pm

@Brian

@frank - chapeau! "Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars" K.G.

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.

Khalil Gibran

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/k/khalilgibr386848.html#T7BVk4UYcfpceiwo.99

And another quote from one of my all-time favorite artists (whose personality and struggle with depression, I think, mirrored Pantani's) - Layne Staley:

The cracks and lines from where you gave up
They make an easy man to read
frank says:

Oct 1 2013 at 4:23 pm

@mrathbun

Thanks for the company on the HOTN Frank. The day turned out to be quite an enjoyable sufferfest. My bonking friend that day is also encouraged to know that he is still a badass for completing the ride. He's scheduled an appointment for a tattoo of Rule #5.

Hey!! Great to see you reach out - you saved me on the ride and were excellent company to boot! Fantastic stuff, take care, and see you next year!

Cheers
Chris says:

Oct 1 2013 at 4:34 pm

"If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible."

Thanks Frank. I needed that. I needed that extra little bit of inspiration to take myself out to the garage to submit myself to the rollers for a couple of hours. It has been a long time.

"There is the solitude of suffering, when you go through darkness that is lonely, intense, and terrible. Words become powerless to express your pain; what others hear from your words is so distant and different from what you are actually suffering."
Weldertron says:

Oct 1 2013 at 4:55 pm

@frank

Just saw you placed a respectable 28th! congrats! Can we expect an article on the experience soon?
frank says:

Oct 1 2013 at 5:36 pm

@Weldertron

@frank

Just saw you placed a respectable 28th! congrats! Can we expect an article on the experience soon?

I would have placed higher had I not face-planted out of the lead group and flatted out of the second group, and gone off course, adding another 6.5km (right @mrathbun?). Both those things tend to affect the placing! But thanks, and it was such a good experience.

The race is such a cool one - I will be planning on a better showing next year. Its such a demanding race; a race of attrition, plus lots of technical off-road trails, and then - if you're good enough and strong enough, you can't have any bad luck. Its fucking awesome.

Yes, we'll do an article on it; stand by.
Steve-o says:

Oct 1 2013 at 6:50 pm

Thanks Frank. The suffering on the bike that I crave, the mashing of the pedals, the visits from The Man With the Hammer, the solitude of long miles, the suffering...give my life balance. Makes it easier to not sweat the small stuff. I've been a Velominada of late, getting my house ready to sell. And I feel out of balance. I take my first ride for a couple of months in a couple of days, and then a Sunday ride with buds I've ridden with for nearly thirty years. Back to balance. It's great to be here.
Chuck says:

Oct 1 2013 at 7:59 pm

All is well indeed, that one must imagine Sisyphus happy.
Ken Ho says:

Oct 1 2013 at 9:58 pm

@frank

@Ken Ho

Jeez Fronkenschtem, I know summer is coming to an end for you, but it's a bit early to be getting all bloody depressed. Don't you go skiing ? You are close enough to Whistler, no need to cut your ear off over a few short glum days. Is Seattle weather that bad ? Maybe some flannel or a goodcardigan would cheer you up. Maybe a Starbucks ? Meanwhile, here in sunny Ox, it's getting warmer and we are looking forward ro a cracking summer. No suffering here, matey !!

I'm going to go pop down to the store and start wearing one of these, a local Seattle product and gift to the world.

Yes, get some breeze up yer nethers. That will take that feeling of suffering away.

I must admit, even though I have had the hammer down a bit on my recent night rides, the absence of heat or any hills of note, and th presence of moonlight, have removed any sense of suffering from me. Every ride has been a pleasure. Interestingly, I often describe myself as non-religious, but very spiritual, in an animistic sense. It's interesting to me taht others here identify with thatthought too. I don't think it's restricted to cyclists. I think that most outdoorsmen feel that way. It's hard not to feel spiritual when ski-ing backcountry or off-piste steeps, or even when just at the top of a wind-swept mountain. lost in the heart of back country MTB evokes teh feeling too, as does sitting in a crystal,perfect surf break.

The road up to Mt Warning is open again though, so the easy rides might be on hold for a bit while I'm on a home break.