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

Fastbyfrank says:

Nov 22 2013 at 4:05 am

Frank, not only do we share name and groupo, but solitude. My cycle, and motorcycle policy is one of solitude, where 3 hours cycling gives me the head space of 6, and a 1200 km solo motorcycle ride is my solution for equilibrium.
Chris says:

Nov 22 2013 at 4:21 am

@Mike_P Not cool at all. Hope you have a speedy recovery and get back on the bike soon.
The Pressure says:

Nov 22 2013 at 4:37 am

@scaler911

@The Pressure

@frank Don't stress, come to Toronto and we can split some crack...

And some weed, and some prostitutes, and some booze.

"And plenty of food at home!" Wait...It's not Chris Farley??
Deakus says:

Nov 22 2013 at 4:53 am

@Mike_P

A lovely piece of writing Frank, but hard reading for me at the moment. I've recently undergone minor surgery that is taking far longer to heal due to an infection setting in and will be off the bike for an as yet to be determined amount of time. Not good days! Time to enter the psychological pain cave and tough it out.

I feel your pain fella, I am just coming out of the back end of a small op (local anaesthetic) to remove a lump on my fore arm...you guessed it, wound got infected...3 weeks of shoving extra strong antibiotics in me. I think they are so paranoid about MRSA these days they dare not take any chances.

Get well soon and hope for a speedy return to the bike.
Two Ball Billy says:

Nov 22 2013 at 5:06 am

Nice post Frank. A journey to meet the "man with the hammer" should always be a solo effort.
chris says:

Nov 22 2013 at 5:23 am

@frank quite right !
le chuck says:

Nov 22 2013 at 6:22 am

@pistard

I'll read up and see what I can find. Bike #3 is a 1998 Bianchi Alloro and it has the cable routed through the top tube and it looks pretty chic. The shoes are from Vittoria, they make a new version with 3-point Look-compatible cleat holes. They're soft and supple. I just like the feel of regular lace-up shoes. I think the website I bought them from is called "alwaysriding.co.uk"
Mike_P says:

Nov 22 2013 at 6:58 am

Thanks guys! It means a lot :-)
DCR says:

Nov 22 2013 at 8:03 am

@Mike_P

A lovely piece of writing Frank, but hard reading for me at the moment. I've recently undergone minor surgery that is taking far longer to heal due to an infection setting in and will be off the bike for an as yet to be determined amount of time. Not good days! Time to enter the psychological pain cave and tough it out.

I will dedicate my next ride to your speedy recovery. I took a month off for illness and traveling for work. I can comprehend the torture of not being able to ride.

@le chuck

@pistard

I'll read up and see what I can find. Bike #3 is a 1998 Bianchi Alloro and it has the cable routed through the top tube and it looks pretty chic. The shoes are from Vittoria, they make a new version with 3-point Look-compatible cleat holes. They're soft and supple. I just like the feel of regular lace-up shoes. I think the website I bought them from is called "alwaysriding.co.uk"

Are those the only shoes you ride with? are the soles stiff enough?
xyxax says:

Nov 22 2013 at 8:18 am

@frank

@xyxax

@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

Exceptionally well played, my man. +1 badge to you.

I'm grateful and will try not to phuch it up.