Vlaams Orkest: Tegenwind

Riding as if pushed by the very hand of Merckx. Photo: Elizabeth Keller

Any return from time off the bike is always met with a peculiar mixture of anticipation and apprehension. I will be excited to return to the bike, but on some level I’ve become accustomed to not getting on my bike every day. Not riding is easy, and we are creatures of inertia – once the rhythm of the daily ride is broken, it takes a push to slip back into the current that carries us to fitness.

I will be apprehensive to discover how much of my form has left me; I was strong before the break, and some of that strength will have left me. I can always hurt my legs, if for no other reason than to prove to myself that I still can. But pain feels different depending on which side of it you’re standing; in fitness, suffering feels farther removed, as if we somehow control the pain. When fitness has deserted us, however, we are at its mercy; we are in a hole from which the only escape lies through withstanding the suffering being heaped down upon us in shovel loads from above.

After a week off the bike to rest a knee annoyance incurred during my Festum Prophetae Hour ride, I found myself riding in the early morning rain. This was a wispy rain rain of lukewarm water, the kind of rain we normally find in a Seattle summer. I chose a route with few climbs, so I might not force my legs. The route started with a dozen or so kilometers of gradually rising road before dropping into a valley where the road pitches steeply upward for a short while before continuing on its way down to the seaside. My legs felt magical on the climb; I could push on them and the bike would go. This is why I love Cycling; how can something so rich and complex be so elemental – all we need do is push on the pedals.

I fell into a beautiful rhythm as I rode easily along the twisting road, unusually aware of how good I felt. There must be a tailwind, I thought to myself, as I rose out of the saddle to push over a small rise in the road. Not long after, I reached the turn-around point and found unequivocally that indeed there had been a tailwind. I lowered my chin in resignation to the work that lay ahead to return home. It occurred to me that this, a headwind, is the only kind of wind they have in Flanders.

On most days, I would fixate on the speed that this headwind was wringing from my machine; the most frustrating thing about a headwind is the small return in speed for the amount of pressure in the legs and lungs. But today, I had no designs on speed. I had no designs on returning home at a certain time, for that matter. There was only me and the bike. It is only on rides like these that we may truly appreciate the gifts of dimension that La Vie Velominatus can provide when we are willing to receive them.

Riding into a headwind, with the air swirling about your head and rustling the nearby forest and meadows, forms a lovely orchestra of woods, reeds, and winds. If it wasn’t normally so frustrating, it might be my favorite kind of riding.

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

meursault says:

Jun 26 2013 at 1:45 am

Time off the bike? What have you been doing, writing a book?
the Engine says:

Jun 26 2013 at 3:16 am

@strathlubnaig

@frank

@strathlubnaig

perhaps we can arrange a mini cogal to make up for the Desparate Dan event.

par c'que c'est quoi? That sounds golden.

@the-farmer sadly missed out on the Dundee McCogal II recently due to a wee health issue, so we will try to get a few lads together to make up the lost km. Desperate Dan .... see pic below...his statue is in Dundee.

Mmm - cow pie...
il ciclista medio says:

Jun 26 2013 at 4:58 am

@PeakInTwoYears

@frank

There's a reason the Dutch are good climbers.

This is rather good.

yes, very good....in mute though
il ciclista medio says:

Jun 26 2013 at 5:01 am

@frank

@il ciclista medio

I can't recall riding into a headwind up a mountain though.......may be I was too knackered to notice?

Try riding Haleakala. Headwind in both directions near the top because it swirls around up there. That, and all along the shoulder on the way up you have a strong headwind. So much wind, in fact, that I think a 30-40mm rim would be advantageous over a low-profile climbing wheel.

I hadn't considered (nor experienced) being totally exposed at the top! So the deeper rim would provide a sail like effect or more stability?
eenies says:

Jun 26 2013 at 5:57 am

@strathlubnaig

@frank

@strathlubnaig

perhaps we can arrange a mini cogal to make up for the Desparate Dan event.

par c'que c'est quoi? That sounds golden.

@the-farmer sadly missed out on the Dundee McCogal II recently due to a wee health issue, so we will try to get a few lads together to make up the lost km. Desperate Dan .... see pic below...his statue is in Dundee.

Damn, we were in Dundee and didn't stop at the statue for a photo op? I bet it was just round the corner from the espresso stop too. Here on the coast it's usually quite breezy and the prevailing winds mean that most rides start with an uphill headwind but the homeward run can make you feel like Indurain.

The wind is a reason why I don't do Strava, unless the segment is a loop then surely you just wait for a gale force tailwind and give it your all. Met Office EPO.
frank says:

Jun 26 2013 at 7:01 am

@strathlubnaig

Is that the Engine? Or are most Scots built that way?
the Engine says:

Jun 26 2013 at 7:12 am

@frank

@strathlubnaig

Is that the Engine? Or are most Scots built that way?

I don't usually wear spurs...
halfwheel says:

Jun 26 2013 at 7:35 am

For the record Mr Dan is considered a bit of a climbing Guru being blessed with such a svelte Scottish physic. Being from the East there are few hills, he has to journey over here to the West to ply his gift.
frank says:

Jun 26 2013 at 8:02 am

@il ciclista medio

@frank

@il ciclista medio

I can't recall riding into a headwind up a mountain though.......may be I was too knackered to notice?

Try riding Haleakala. Headwind in both directions near the top because it swirls around up there. That, and all along the shoulder on the way up you have a strong headwind. So much wind, in fact, that I think a 30-40mm rim would be advantageous over a low-profile climbing wheel.

I hadn't considered (nor experienced) being totally exposed at the top! So the deeper rim would provide a sail like effect or more stability?

It feels like a headwind in every direction, especially on the way up the shoulder to the exposed section up the top. Seems a semi-deep rim would give an aero benefit. But who knows!
wiscot says:

Jun 26 2013 at 8:08 am

@strathlubnaig

@frank

@strathlubnaig

perhaps we can arrange a mini cogal to make up for the Desparate Dan event.

par c'que c'est quoi? That sounds golden.

@the-farmer sadly missed out on the Dundee McCogal II recently due to a wee health issue, so we will try to get a few lads together to make up the lost km. Desperate Dan .... see pic below...his statue is in Dundee.

That's cool to get a statue of Desperate Dan. I know there's a Lobey Dosser wan in Glasgow tae. In Milwaukee they got a bronze Fonz FFS