Categories: Defining MomentsLa Vie VelominatusNostalgia

Training: The Fourth Bridge

The Forth over the Firth in Scotland

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.

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

scaler911 says:

Feb 12 2013 at 1:20 pm

@gaswepass

@scaler911

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.

he left out the part about whether the rollers still work indoors when you can't get out...

I'll weigh 150Kg and smoke Camel Straights before I get on rollers or an indoor trainer ever again.
Steampunk says:

Feb 12 2013 at 2:03 pm

@Chris & @frank:

It's been almost three weeks since I last got on the bike. I've been doing a pretty solid weights regimen (which is actually shrinking, rather than growing the guns"”which is good, because the BFGs can get unwieldy big). Lots of squats to grow the power, while core and stabilizing exercises ensure I'm not making a mess of the body in general. As a result, I've been fortunate to avoid knee pain and other aches, etc. Cardio is coming, but the power is most definitely there. The Hell in the Great White North Cogal on February 24 will be interesting. Power there; fitness? probably not. Not nearly enough time in the saddle, but that will come as the weather improves...
gaswepass says:

Feb 12 2013 at 2:57 pm

@scaler911

then I want the rollers back
DerHoggz says:

Feb 12 2013 at 3:45 pm

@Buck Rogers

@Chris

@frank

@Chris

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.

Either you're on your iPad or you're hammered already. If its the later, then AWESOME..

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.

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).

Right now I am 7kg over my lowest weight last summer. I don't think I will go that low this year though, so probably need to lose 3-5kg. With the temperature being mostly sub-freezing recently, my riding schedule has been very sporadic. I have been hitting the gym 2-4 times a week since November, so hopefully it is some muscle. My friend who is really into lifting heard me complaining about how heavy I am so we started a two-week "cutting" cycle: no carbs whatsoever, just meat and fruits/veggies. I will probably allow myself some carbs for longer rides though. I do feel much stronger since working in the gym though.
PeakInTwoYears says:

Feb 12 2013 at 5:00 pm

Wow. I just had a fabulous ride. And it's all because of you people. I was on the verge of pussying out and doing chores around the house, and instead, all because of this thread, I went out for two hours and beat myself to hammered shit.

I love you all. Come here. Gimme a hug. I mean it.
strathlubnaig says:

Feb 12 2013 at 5:14 pm

@strathlubnaig

Even offshore you cannot escape the doping.....

Just as an addendum to this pic I posted earlier, the DOPE station is an acronym for Dropped Object Prevention Equipment which really does sound like a euphemism for, well, dope, I guess.
PeakInTwoYears says:

Feb 12 2013 at 7:14 pm

@strathlubnaig

Dropped Object Prevention Equipment

Hemostats?
King Clydesdale says:

Feb 12 2013 at 10:39 pm

I'm excited about training this year as I have some real goals to attain this year. I have filled out my Cyclist's Training Bible Worksheet. My first ever race is going to occur at the end of March. I've been working hard in the gym on core strength this winter, as well as putting in time on the trainer. I'm looking forward to getting out on the road again soon.
piwakawaka says:

Feb 13 2013 at 12:22 am

I have been back "training" for only two and a half years, I am blessed to have a fantastic 40km loop with around 700m of climbing where I live. I ride this at least twice a week, it has three, or four in the longer version, good climbs, a good fast descent through a valley with a couple of power climbs, there will be a wind, but its a loop so you get it back at some stage, I love it cause it has it all, the climbs are my "intervals" , the valleys where I make time, I ride it cause its fun, it still hurts just as bad but what used to take 1:33 I knocked it out today in 1:14, from 25.5 kmh to 30.5kmh in speed, 15kg lighter but could definitely drop a few more, hell the bike even dropped 2.5kg, this steady and incremental progress has been a bonus and perhaps a reward for the effort, can't ride slow, train correctly, just go out and try and ride whatever conditions are in front of me as fast as I can, cause that's the way I like it, there's the buzz, that's why I ride.

So love your Parcours, learn her every rise and curve, push yourself, measure yourself and reap the rewards.
Gizmo says:

Feb 13 2013 at 4:59 am

@piwakawaka

I have been back "training" for only two and a half years, I am blessed to have a fantastic 40km loop with around 700m of climbing where I live. I ride this at least twice a week, it has three, or four in the longer version, good climbs, a good fast descent through a valley with a couple of power climbs, there will be a wind, but its a loop so you get it back at some stage, I love it cause it has it all, the climbs are my "intervals" , the valleys where I make time, I ride it cause its fun, it still hurts just as bad but what used to take 1:33 I knocked it out today in 1:14, from 25.5 kmh to 30.5kmh in speed, 15kg lighter but could definitely drop a few more, hell the bike even dropped 2.5kg, this steady and incremental progress has been a bonus and perhaps a reward for the effort, can't ride slow, train correctly, just go out and try and ride whatever conditions are in front of me as fast as I can, cause that's the way I like it, there's the buzz, that's why I ride.

So love your Parcours, learn her every rise and curve, push yourself, measure yourself and reap the rewards.

That's pretty impressive training that made the bike lose weight too. ;)