Solo Artist

Solo on Haleakala. Photo: Elizabeth Keller

I walk away from social gatherings with an acute sense of accomplishment whenever I haven’t offended anyone and when my friends all stayed awake. I view myself as a bottle of wine that keeps getting better with age, but I’m slowly coming to grips with the notion that I am actually a bottle that may be corked. The great irony of life is that as we become more comfortable with who we are, we become more annoying to be around.

Fortunately, I enjoy being alone. I haven’t always felt that way, but my natural charm means I have had to cultivate a taste for it. That isn’t to say I don’t like being around others – quite the opposite – but being alone allows me the opportunity to reconnect with who I am. This is especially true when riding my bicycle. Riding alone, there is nothing to do but focus on the sensations of the ride: the wind in my face, the smells in the air, the sound of my tires as we hum along together, rider and bicycle.

Doing a long ride alone is an exercise of discipline. The little voices in your head may start quietly, but they build to crescendo inside your skull after a few hours of solitary suffering. The doors and patios on the cafés at the roadside start looking larger and more welcoming with every kilometer that passes under your tires. A point comes, on these long rides, at which Rule #5 becomes a matter of continuing on with the task; a determination to finish what you have begun.

We learn fundamental things about ourselves when we are alone in the Pain Cave, after we’ve dropped the flashlight and watched helplessly as it rolled off the shelf and into the void. Questions come knocking, and they won’t go away until you’ve dealt with them. This is when we grow, when we build confidence in the face of doubt.

We are lucky to find ourselves at crossroads where every direction leads to more suffering, where the direction we choose is irrelevant. The choice is simply to suffer or to go home. In a world where we have made a science of luxury, we Cyclists choose to suffer.

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

Rom says:

Nov 21 2013 at 4:13 pm

@frank

@Rom

@KW

Anyone can go into the Pain Cave while riding with a group. It's going in when no one else is around that will really make the difference.

@Rom

Great article @frank but if you're going to adopt the SI units of the modern world you might as well spell them correctly. That'd be kilometres then. Of coarse you can measure them with a meter, a kilometre meter.

If you're going to criticize @frank's spelling, you might want to proofread a little better.

Apologies to all. Just pointing out "kilometres" is more Euro.

No, its more English. Since when do the English consider themselves Europeans?

I thought it originated with the French, with a metre defined as twice the length of a Zefal HP pump.

(stupid iPhone BTW)
Jamie says:

Nov 21 2013 at 4:24 pm

On the subject of breaks from riding - I just got back from six + weeks at sea and am afraid to get on my bike for fear of the breathless weak box of kittens I will be on the first incline. I'll let you know how it goes after this weekend.
frank says:

Nov 21 2013 at 4:30 pm

@Rom

@PeakInTwoYears

@Robs Muir

I find seeing the scenery around me a lot more beautiful when its not some guys butt infront (sic) of me

This is precisely why one must ride with hard women.

Mm. Yes.

My VMH loves to wear thin white Lycra, so my bunch rules are:

women can ride behind her except for K the gay woman,

men can't ride behind her except S the gay man.

So far it's not working at all.

I recommend the following: stop her wearing white fucking lycra.
PeakInTwoYears says:

Nov 21 2013 at 4:39 pm

@Jamie

Hey, sailor! Good to hear from you. How was the trip?
frank says:

Nov 21 2013 at 4:48 pm

@Beers

@ChrisO

Group rides and training are not generally compatible..

I agree with you ChrisO, and lets face it you are muchos superior to moi, but being the opposite where I group ride with guys in the top 10 open class, and they slay me several times a week, my riding is getting stronger chasing while they are the ones having to wait. It has taken me from average joe to reasonably handy in only a few months.

On the topic of Han Solo, just this morning I did a pre-work 65k loop that usually do with the group. Didn't write any records, as usually chasing like it's a race. Solo you are riding based on how fast you can go, what your legs and lungs can take. It was a bit of a revelation, and I am happy with the result. It was a beautiful morning also...

Agreed as well. Riding with a group can elevate your riding. But really, that's what racing is for. If you are disinclined to race, then the group ride is the next best thing.

The Pros pretty much train alone, for the reasons described. Testosterone (the hormone, not the doping) is a dangerous thing if you're doing your programme. Some dickhead always wants to kill it, and men are unable to let that happen, for the most part.

Training is all about discipline. Break down and build up. It means you are on a schedule and no one else is on that schedule.

In the end, this is everything you need to know:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3NmV994BDE

And then there is...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhUt_bl6J4o
frank says:

Nov 21 2013 at 4:52 pm

@Nate

@Beers

Oh, and this topic is missing something

Yes but where do you stand on this?

Blasphemy.
frank says:

Nov 21 2013 at 4:53 pm

@Rom

@frank

@Rom

@KW

Anyone can go into the Pain Cave while riding with a group. It's going in when no one else is around that will really make the difference.

@Rom

Great article @frank but if you're going to adopt the SI units of the modern world you might as well spell them correctly. That'd be kilometres then. Of coarse you can measure them with a meter, a kilometre meter.

If you're going to criticize @frank's spelling, you might want to proofread a little better.

Apologies to all. Just pointing out "kilometres" is more Euro.

No, its more English. Since when do the English consider themselves Europeans?

I thought it originated with the French, with a metre defined as twice the length of a Zefal HP pump.

(stupid iPhone BTW)

Nice play, but if it had started with Zee Frahnche, then it would have been un kilomÃ¨tre.
Nate says:

Nov 21 2013 at 4:56 pm

@frank Having spent some time looking this afternoon I am pretty sure Mr Lucas has scourced the Innerwebs of the correct version.
frank says:

Nov 21 2013 at 4:59 pm

@eightace

Frank you are an INTJ Myers-Briggs personality like me and Lance.

I think Wiggo is and a lot of other driven individuals but we don't do well with others.

http://www.personalitypage.com/INTJ.html

Funny, I thought Lance was a DICK personality.

I assumed you were full of shit, btw, but after reading, I am amazed at how close it is. I disagreed with a few items, but then got to this:

Unless their Feeling side is developed, they may have problems giving other people the level of intimacy that is needed. Unless their Sensing side is developed, they may have a tendency to ignore details which are necessary for implementing their ideas.

I have developed both those sides and assuming I'm right in thinking that (as an INTJ is prone to assume), then the whole thing is scarily spot-on.

I'm off to go over-drink now, on account of all that stress.
xyxax says:

Nov 21 2013 at 5:09 pm

@frank

@KW

I always like to tell people that my name in phonetically correct. Ch shouldn't make a "k" sound, that's what the damn K is for!

Why go around diluting the value of letters by combining others to make the same sound!

Well said, Phranch