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.
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@Robs Muir
Mm. Yes.
I have been off the bike for two weeks now - due to life and work. With some pretty bad weather coming in this weekend and a road trip coming up, it will be three weeks. I am definetly itching to get back on it, but this break has done wonders for the little pain and aches on the back, knees etc. I did start doing a tittle lifting and incorporated some running (yeah....I know). I am actually hoping it snows this winter, so I can go snow shoeing.
I've found myself increasingly riding alone and shirking the weekend group rides. Probably just the result of dealing with the same folks on the same loop through the Spring and Summer months and needing a break, but there's something about the solitude of a solo ride in crappy winter weather.
You learn more about yourself and Le Metier in those lonely tempo base rides than you ever do on the Saturday morning hammerfest, imo. Takes a lot more stones to stay out for that extra hour than it ever does to close down that one attack for the town limit "finish." Makes the latter during the summer seem easy by comparison.
@Rom
No, its more English. Since when do the English consider themselves Europeans?
@Ron, @brett
Less friends, but better friends. The kind you'd move heaven and earth for if they needed it, and the kind you don't need to see all the time, and when you hook up again, its like nothing ever changed.
@KW
Why go around diluting the value of letters by combining others to make the same sound!
@gordon
I'm planning on upgrading my indoor gear for that reason. It really helps the stroke and its the perfect environment for intervals.
I'll probably just use it on nice sunny winter days though, no way am I giving up my Rule 9 winter rides!
Geographic isolation means I ride alone or with the VMH, both of which I enjoy. Being a sub-clinical (I think) depressive type, I often find myself on solo rides working hard enough to replace negative ideation with the constant awareness of physical discomfort--and then reaping the emotional rewards of the resultant neuro-chemical cocktail.
I do miss the days of regular weekend club rides with the same group of folks who work well together. One of my best days was the Seattle to Portland (325km) 25 years ago. Seven or so of us got a late start and hammered in a disciplined paceline all day long. Like group meditation.
@brett
What!!?? My little dude learned the word "fuck" from Frank.
@frank
kos itd all endup az txt spk uddrwys
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
@pistard
Blast! Caught red-handed! Those crappy Giro-brand gloves have since worn out.. low-quality stuff. I got a couple sets of black leather gloves to replace them. As for the cables, would somebody please give me some instructions on how to clean up that mess? Regarding the phone call. This is unacceptable and I have not since repeated such indiscretion. Have a good one my friend.
- chuck