I find professional athletes – cyclists in particular – an impressive bunch. They are hard, disciplined people who ply their trade in some of the most atrocious conditions imaginable. To become professionals, they have to be good at what they do, and smart enough to learn how to continue succeeding despite the gaps between the top of the sport continually narrowing. They have to learn to live right and train right. They have to listen to their coaches. They have to learn to control their mind and to override the signals their bodies are sending. They need to be smart enough to read an ever-changing race and smell the right moment to make their move; disaster and glory can be separated only by a split-second reaction born out of intuition mixed with experience and intelligence.
But the best athletes are also a little bit dumb. Men like Fabian Cancellara, Jens Voigt, or Tom Boonen; these are the men who flog themselves for hours on end and, when their bodies are about to break, dial it up a notch and lay it all out on the road. A smarter man would, under those circumstances, say, “You know what? This is nice, but I can also go less hard.”
Not asking that sort of question after dropping the flashlight deep in the pain cave is the perfect amount of dumb.
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@Marko
I thought Pisolero was going to change his salute?
@frank Whatever his salute is, get used to it if you're not already.
@Marko
I'm still holdin' out for that positive test.
@frank
Tru dat. If pharmstrong wasn't a bad influence on him, Vino surely will be.
@frank
Saturday's stage at Paris-Nice bodes well for Jens. It ends in Tourrettes-Sur-Loup.
Just perusing the archives and came across this... Got any lottery picks for us, Frank? (Although calling this one ain't that big a stretch given AC's history with "El Doctor") I'm sure he learned how autologous blood doping works...
I've had this article bookmarked for a while meaning to comment on it....
There is a lot more than a little truth to the statement that you have to be a little dumb to be an endurance athlete. There is a point in every marathon, road race, hill climb, triathlon, criterium, etc. where the hurt is so bad that you just have to shut down conscious thought and let the stupid take over. The stupid is what puts one foot in front the the other, keeps the pedals turning and let's you block out the rest. Because if you cannot shut it out and be a little dumb, you'll pay dearly. Those that can't embrace the dumb have a much harder time coping with the hurt or flat out can't finish. I've been there, done that. More times than I would like to admit.
But if you do understand the dumb and embrace it, you can then ratchet it up and go. And I do mean go. Going so hard that you see spots and want to physically shit yourself. Running or pedaling to the point you think your bones will shatter or your muscles will erupt through your skin. It's a glorious orgy of pain, sacrifice and thorough satisfaction. Though you don't realize it until the race is over.....
If you don't understand the concept of a little dumb when it applies to endurance sports, you should try to make yourself understand. Make yourself shut it off and space out. The miles go by so much faster when you do. If you've trained correctly, your stupid while get you to the finish line without a problem.
Vive le Muet.
-Dinan
As dumb as I am you'd think I'd be hella fast. But alas...
@Dinan
Ever wonder how many people around you have even been mildly out of breath in the last year?
A long time ago I used to say to my long suffering work underlings that the sensation of pushing yourself to beyond the wall was one of the very few things that was better than sex and how surprisingly few people ever got that far - this is probably why I have to run my own business nowadays.
When I heard LeMan's, "it doesn't get easier you just go faster" quote back in the '80's I didn't know much about cycling but I knew what I liked and I liked him.
Finding this site it was the first time that I was in touch with people who "got it". Who knows - maybe a few of our nicknames hide pro's - well maybe Frank's server knows but it can keep a secret - anyhoo this is mostly a bunch of people that habitually like to push themselves to the edge of their abilities and a bit beyond and its an exceptional bunch of people because of that.
Delusional middle aged fat man with shaved legs I may be but I can go to the pain cave and like it with the best of them.
Dinan we may never meet but you're clearly a man after my own way of thinking.
Perfectly dumb of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but the wheelsuckers of life - Colon, hyphen, close brackets.
@Cyclops
Dumb people do not design and build their own badass bike frames. Sorry, brother. You lost your dumb card with Bike #2.
-Dinan