No words survive here, only echoes. Echoes of our hopes, of our plans, of our failures. What we thought we might do when we came here is little more than a shadow; it flickers on the walls for a moment and when we turn to look, it is gone. Doubts swell up and bounce off the walls until they become so loud they can no longer be heard.
Once we’ve entered, we can not return the way we came; the only way out is to descend into the darkness and through to the other side. When we emerge, we will breathe a new life, one where we are able to push a bit harder, and suffer a bit more. It is a better world, one with opportunity. One where we can make things happen because we have discovered a new limit of our will.
Pushing deeper into The Cave is learned over time. When we first enter, we will find ourselves in a small cavern with no apparent exit. As we train and explore its darkest corners, we discover a passage. We gather our courage and slip into a larger, darker cavern to explore. Beyond that, there lies another. Each holds its own unique strain of suffering, but with it comes also a degree of control; the choice to enter is ours and ours alone.
When I’m strong, my mind yearns for the cleansing qualities of The Cave. I feel almost the master of my pain, that I command its ebbs and flows. Even on days that don’t require it, I will hurt myself just to prove I can. When I’m chasing my fitness, however, I approach it with the same reluctance I had as a child when made to eat my vegetables. The suffering flows over me in waves and I am at the mercy of its current.
My training this summer has been erratic and unstructured. I’ve had some great periods, and just as I’ve neared a goal, either illness or travel unexpectedly reared up before me and interrupted my progress. A week away from the bike means another two weeks before I find myself back to where I was. Two weeks of drifting like a leaf in the current. Two weeks of knowing what lies beyond, unable to reach it.
Then the breakthrough, and into the next cavern. It is only through contemplating the darkest corners of The Cave that we discover its deepest passages and it is within the deepest passages that we may discover our purest selves.
Have courage and follow the path into The Cave. Vive la Vie Velominatus.
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One last attempt before I retire to the Dunce's corner.....
@DeKerr
For me, bar none, this is the FUCK'IN best photo ever taken of a just KILLED cyclist who is still trying to get to the light at the end of the tunnel.
@the Engine
Since we are all dick measuring our top speeds here (or what would be the feminine of that one? clitorus measuring??) ... anyways, I hit just over 90 kph (56.5 mph) on the backside descent of Mount Mansfield in VT in a USCF race there in 1990. Sacred the LIVING shit out of me. We were still in the bunch descending and I thought I was going to die. Checked the max speed on the avocet at the end of the race and could not believe it. Never have come close again.
@il ciclista medio
Yeah, between Claudy C and Peter van Petegem, I think they jointly hold the title of swarthiest Belgian. Five minutes after shaving, they have black stubble.
@Buck Rogers
Man I hear ya. I managed to get a frame wobble on when I was descending the Tourmalet last year. The Garmin told me it'd been around 72kph. My mind was multi-tasking...f*ck this is going to REALLY hurt, f*ckety f*ck my wife is not gonna enjoy the phone call from the French hospital. Got it under control but it slowed me down for the rest of the week. I think I've overcome the problem this year with a lower stem and better weight distribution (thanks @Frank!).
@wiscot
Looks uncannily like some of the local women here in Surrey Lanka. The local groceries have laser hair removal clinics at the back.
@il ciclista medio
Ha! No shit! That Dude is rock'in one hell of a Uni-Brow on STEROIDS!
@starclimber Man! That's just RUDE! We would roll up some women in Iraq occasional on hits and my medical partner or I would have to do an intake physical on them and I have to say, they were some of the hairiest women I have ever met. And I really do not mind if women do not shave but these bomb making women were NASTY!!!
@Buck Rogers
Trying to pull us back to cycling......!
Good luck @Mike_P! After meeting and knowing buck for the past year, i still cant figure out what sort of meds he gets his hands on...the stuff that comes out his mouth is always from left field!