Training: The Fourth Bridge
Before the New Year, it was my ride up Haleakala. At present, it’s Keepers Tour: Cobbled Classics 2013. Before Haleakala, it was one of the various Cyclocross races and before that the Zoo Hill Time Trial. The targets change, but throughout my life as a Velominatus, there always seems to be a goal looming over the horizon which spurs me on. Training, for its endless nature, is like painting the Forth Bridge in Scotland: it takes a year to paint and you have to paint it every year.
In contrast to my opinion of painting a bridge, training is something I fundamentally enjoy. Lucky for me, I love training for the sake of training; I don’t feel any compelling need to do a particular ride in any particular time. What I do feel, however, is the need to do any particular ride in a better time than I have previously. I’m fortunate to delight in the process of finding form and fitness, of getting better. I love seeing the improvement; I love setting incremental goals and reaching them through the elementary process of working towards them.
Cycling, in this way, presents me with an incredibly rewarding outlet for that bit of my nature that lives on seeing marked progress. In every walk of life, things are complicated. The deeper we wade into any endeavor, the more embroiled we become in the mechanics of staying afloat – to say nothing of actually moving towards an end. Yet, Cycling is simple; put in the work and the results come.
The more complicated my life gets and the more conflicted my priorities, the more I find I love Cycling for its elemental simplicity. Set a goal, make a plan, follow it. There is no one to look to but yourself. There are no external dependencies. There is only the endlessness of The Work.
Vive la Vie Velominatus.
It’s Forth, as in the Firth of Forth Bridge.
It’s Firth, as in Firth of Forth
AMerckx to that. Le métier. It’s a noble calling… Even if you lack the genes , fitness and physiology of the pros. Training for the sake of training. I’ll paint that bridge. Whatever colour you want.
There are four bridges over the Forth now – downstream of Stirling at any rate. The one pictured is the Forth Rail Bridge – the oldest and now also the fourth (downstream).
It was painted on a five year rolling basis one end to the other and back (big Sisyphus thing going on there) but they’ve now coated it with new paint that means it shouldn’t need repainting quite so often.
We ride over the Forth Road Bridge as a club every so often. The Forth Road Bridge was built primarily to give everyone a good look at the Rail Bridge.
The river that runs past (and when wet, over) the bottom of my garden is the Teith a tributary of the Forth. Oddly the Teith is the bigger and longer river before it joins the rather wishy washy Forth just above Stirling. If there was any justice for rivers we’d talk about the Firth of Teith and painting the Teith Rail Bridge – ah well.
Tomorrow I ride.
Very nice, Frank.
I don’t think I would have loved cycling as a lad but it’s really perfect for me at this point in my life. I enjoy that it’s me, the Machine, and my desire to put in the training time, which always results in gains for me.
I actually logged tons of saddle time the past few years in an effort to avoid/pretend life wasn’t going to become more complicated. And sports have always been something, for me, that I could control to a large degree. Adult life is a bit more challenging to bend to one’s will.
I’m doing my best to transfer my ability to put in long-term training in sports to putting in long-term focus on other projects. And guess what? Progress is coming along.
Right on, VLVV!
I believe they now use a fancy epoxy paint on the bridge, so once they are done, the painters can take a cupla years off…kinda like a doping suspension.
@the Engine
@ Frank – a good post, I hear ya.
@ The Engine – you better get out and ride tomorrow, beats googling hairy beard things ! I be home in a couple of days if the goddamn chopper does not break down again, will give you a shout.
@strathlubnaig
Good man – my feeble excuse for the last few days hinges on eldest Junior Engine’s burgeoning international career.
@ The Engine – Out of curiosity, and being on night shift out here, I decided to count how mnany other Forth bridges there are, above Stirling, which could be accessed by road bike, legally. There are 10 (ten) if you count the Causewayhead one but ignore the old pedestrian only one. Would be interesting to try to stitch a route together which takes them all in, and even out to the lower Forth too. We could call it Franks Route since he inspired me to investigate this through his wonderful dit.
Rejoice in thy suffering.
As an aside, thats a great photo.
As a rule, the more I ride, the better I feel and therefore the better I fell, the more I ride.
Great read, Frank, and brings to mind the frustration one feels at ‘not’ being able to endlessly do ‘The Work’ due to injury or illness.
Love that place. my family is from Markinch just off the A911 in Fife county.
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/172685268
@the Engine
GET some photos if you can that is one awsome looking site.
@starclimber
I hope your getting back to health quickly, those pedals won’t turn them selves.
All I can think about after looking at the picture at the top is the following joke about the man who is visited by God. Because he has been a good man, God offers to grant him a wish. The man thinks for awhile and says that he has always wanted to climb Haleakala on his bicycle, but he is dreadfully afraid of flying; could God build a bridge from California to Hawaii? God’s appalled. Can you imagine the size of the bridge, the logistics, the engineering challenge associated with building a bridge that long? No. That won’t do. Make another wish. The man thinks for awhile longer and then says that he has always wanted to understand women. God’s reply: “so this bridge: two lanes or four?”
@the Engine
Wow. I knew one of your Scots would have a thing or two on that one. But running through your garden…didn’t see that coming.
@Brad
@Brad
Do me a favor and post that one more time; I prefer my pedantry in threes – if its not too much trouble.
But seriously, the title was a play on words, the ones in the article was finger memory. So you still get points for being half right.
@Roadslave525
@eenies
More like the bridge is doping, using performance-enhancing paint. Lame.
@Steampunk
Plus one badge to you, matey. Strong work.
@frank
Couldn’t give a fuck about your mispelling. I just want to see if you can write an article this year without mentioning Haleakala.
Even offshore you cannot escape the doping…..
@Marcus
Plus One +
@Roadslave525 I’m with you (and Frank, and all the others who are thinking in this way).
Nice one Franky boy…
I gave up ‘training’ a while back, no more intervals, no more set days of doing exactly what a program says. Just riding. Riding hard with my mates, challenging each other up hills and in sprints, sharing the work, just having fun. And it works.
Right now I guess I’m training for Keepers Tour, but haven’t said once that ‘this is what I need to do’. We ride our road bikes on 6 hour rides, we ride our singlespeeds on short and fast loops with plenty of hills, we ride our mountain bikes on technical, steep trails and we ride our steel bikes around the bays checking out the talent. And we usually have a beer or two after. The social aspect can be one of the best ‘training tools’ out there. And we’re all pretty damn fit for it… I’m in way better shape than this time last year for Keepers Tour, without really thinking about it.
If riding is a chore, then you’re not going to make any progress because chores aren’t enjoyable.
@brett
And yet the riders we most admire are the ones most able to suffer.
@frank
Seriously?? Fuck: this place is going downhill fast.
@Marcus
You’re just jealous because you can’t haul your Umpa Loompa carcass uphill for shit.
@brett
YES! This is exactly how I feel. I’ve done exactly two sets of intervals in my life & I’m still pissed I bothered. I played lots of organized sports growing up & also at uni & four years of an arsehole for a coach caused me to finish my final season & essentially turn my back on that sport. Cycling is now my lifetime sport and it’s great to just do it because I like it, without a schedule, a regime, and someone yelling at me.
I love training rides but I’m with you – just ride & don’t overthink “training.”
I’m definitelynitty definitely in the “needs motivational targets” camp, especially in the winter and at least until I’ve found some form and the guns start to lay down a proper barrage rather than the soft nerfy shit they’re producing at the moment.
it’s not that I don’t like riding in Rule #9 weather, it’s just so much harder to drag my climbs like a battleship carcas out of a warm bed when I know that not only am I going to be colds and wet (an eternal battle regardless of how much I’m looking forward to a ride or thstalemate of the weather) but, more importantly, that I’m going to be doing it badly.
Once I start finding that form it gets so much easier – there’s a lot to be said for @Barracuda‘s “As a rule, the more I ride, the better I feel and therefore the better I fell, the more I ride.”
Intervals and structured training certainly seems to suit me, being able to do short, intense sessions (often on the rollers) fits well with family, work and commuting and allows me to enjoy longer rides when I do get some time. Without the shorter sessions, I wouldn’t enjoy the the longer rides and the while thing would probably fall beside the wayside.
@Chris
That’s very good, and I can identify with it.
I’ve done structured training in the past–when I was training to outrun the cops–and it worked well, but now I just try to make sure I get a couple of high-intensity efforts in during the week and then long slow miles on the weekend (usually a fun day with the VMH). And spend the winter eating Vitamin D and doing any sort of riding I can motivate to do.
What I need is a goal for the spring to adequately frighten me during the winter.
@PeakInTwoYears
Last year that was the Keeper’s Tour but unless I sell my downhill bike in the next few days and convince Mrs Chris that spending the proceeds on KT13 is a great idea, I haven’t found it yet.
@Chris
I’ve long felt that the surest sign of good form has less to do with power and endurance or even the capacity to recover quickly from an exertion. Instead, for me, form has everything to do acquiring that higher threshold for pain. When I can look forward to hurting myself and relishing in that moment. That’s when I know the fitness and form are on track…
Mmmm. Training. As I was asking @gaswepass last night, does anyone know where you can buy a “Home Tonsil Removal Kit”? If I can get scaler911 Jr’s out sooner than the scheduled date of the 21st, I can get back to sitting on the bike, instead of sitting around the house with a febrile kiddo.
@scaler Wow that’s old school. Didn’t know they still did tonsilectomies. Meantime may I suggest topical application of brandy, or bourbon.
@Steampunk True enough, the ability ability to not mind increasing levels of pain does come with form but I quite often find that when I’m really lacking in form my legs start to give out before the pain become too much. I think that is an indication of a lack of power possibly resulting from generally riding at a high cadence all the time. Low cadence intervals seem to be working at the moment but it’s early days.
@scaler911 Have a word with @Dr C, I’m sure he would be able to talk you through it on skype.
@Chris
Re cadence: spending time on the mtb this winter, I’m turning the pedals slower and (I think) finding a wee bit of increased power. Now if only my knees don’t complain too much…
@brett
Two means to the same end.
This does raise a few questions:
Are you a child? Does Bretty-whetty not like his chores? Does Bretty-whetty not like eating his peas either?
For the record, I fucking hate peas, so I’m right there with you.
Whether its enjoyable or not is beside the point. I do love training because I’m wired that way (OCD, anyone?) but on the other hand, if something needs doing there is no point in not enjoying it. I was taught that when I was raised, and at this point I can’t even really tell the difference between things I want to do because I love them or things I do because I know they need to be done. Either way, by the time I’m done doing it, I’ll feel good about it.
Not being facetious, but wondering how you know you’re in better shape if you’re not keeping track of your training?
@Steampunk
Yeah, it started right around the time you started showing up.
To be fair, though, the joke may have seemed funnier to my by the fact that the VMH could hardly crack a smile about it, which said to me it was fucking hilarious
@Chris
Either you’re on your iPad or you’re hammered already. If its the later, then AWESOME.
.
@frank
iPad Mini, got it for my sons birthday yesterday. It seems to be like typing on an iPad whilst hammered.
Drinking is the hardest part of getting my form back. Once I cut the booze out, form comes back fairly quickly.
@Steampunk
TTTHHHHHIIIIIISSSSSS.
@PeakInTwoYears
Rule #90 has been great for my power, but with the knee tweaks I’ve had the last month or so, I’m backing off on it. Mountain biking (and CX) teach you a great range of pedalling; on the road you slip into whatever your natural cadence is but off road you ride according to the terrain. Its great for your stroke.
@Chris
Yeah, I weighed in on Feb 1st and weighed more than I ever have in my entire life. I cut out all booze and any form of candy and kept the exercise at the same level and i have dropped 2 kilos in two weeks, and strangely enough, I have not missed the booze. Something is REALLY not right here.
No booze for me until I get back to my college undergrad graduating weight (4 kilos to go).
@frank
Easy. I feel better, I’m riding more/further/faster/stronger, my tan lines are crisper.
I’ve been doing this long enough to know what kind of shape I’m in. I don’t need a journal or HRMs or Strava to tell me how I’m feeling.
@frank
And of course enjoyment is the point. When I started riding bikes as a kid it wasn’t because I wanted to train, I did it because it was fun. You don’t get to a point and say “right, that was fun but now let’s make it suck and something I don’t want to do but will anyway”. If you feel like you ride because you ‘have to’, then why bother?
@brett
Correct answer. Its like the friendship test.
@scaler911
he left out the part about whether the rollers still work indoors when you can’t get out…
I don’t eat green beans because they squeak on my teeth & the effect is like nails on a chalkboard.
Buck, ouch! Highest weight ever? That hurts. Thankfully we had to lift lots of weights in college & I now am far below that highest weight; if I get to that again I’ll be looking like Lampre Man in my kit, and my V-jersey is already snug in the arms as it is.
@frank
He’s started smoking Marlborough lights instead of Marlborough Reds. Not too hard to figure out.