Categories: ExportLa Vie VelominatusThe RulesTradition

On Rule #9: Love the Work

Fignon gets on with the job of being a Cyclist

Fitness. The rhythm, the feeling of precision in our movement, the sensations of The Ride. The temptation of knowing we might in some way control our suffering even as we push harder in spite of the searing pain in our legs and lungs. The notion that through suffering, we might learn something rudimentary about ourselves – that we might find a kind of salvation.

Cycling, like Art, is based on the elementary notion that through focussed study, we might better understand ourselves. But to describe Cycling as a an Art does it an injustice. An artist, they say, suffers because they must. A Cyclist, I suggest, suffers because we choose to.

This element of choice, what psychologists refer to as the locus of control, is part of what allows us to feel pleasure through suffering. Through this choice unfolds an avenue of personal discovery by which we uncover the very nature of ourselves. Like Michelangelo wielding his hammer to chip away fragments of stone that obscure a great sculpture, we turn our pedals to chip away at our form, eventually revealing our true selves as a manifestation of hard work, determination, and dedication to our craft.

Having chosen this path, we quickly find that riding a bicycle on warm, dry roads through sunny boulevards is the realm of the recreational cyclist. As winter approaches, the days get shorter and the weather worse. Form tempts us to greater things, but leaves us quickly despite our best intentions. Its taste lingers long upon the tongue and urges us to gain more. Even as life gets in the way, we cannot afford many days away from our craft before we find ourselves struggling to reclaim lost fitness.

To find form in the first place, and to maintain it in the second, is a simple matter of riding your bicycle a lot. This simple task asks of us, however, a year-round commitment to throwing our leg over a toptube in heat, cold, wind, rain, or sleet, lest we spend months fighting to reclaim last year’s lost condition.

But with riding in bad weather is revealed a hidden secret. It is in the rain and the cold, when all the seductive elements of riding a bicycle have vanished, that we are truly able to ensconce ourselves in the elemental qualities of riding a bicycle. Good weather and beautiful scenery, after all, are distractions from the work. Without them, we have only those elements that we ourselves bring to The Ride: the rhythm, harmony between rider and machine, our suffering, and our thoughts. As the rain pours down and all but the most devoted stay indoors, we pull on extra clothing and submit into the deluge.

We are the Few, we are the Committed. We are those who understand that riding in bad weather means you’re a badass, period.

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

Buck Rogers says:

Nov 1 2011 at 1:02 pm

@wiscot

@Buck Rogers
I'm still not convinced that's a training pic. If it was cold enough to set out wearing a jacket and overshoes, I'm sure LF would have worn tights and some kind of warm hat. Even today, a lot of pros don't wear helmets when they don't have to and when training they're usually bundled up with tights, jackets etc. Back in the 80s when helmets were a lot less common and only compulsory in Belgium and the UK (I'm willing to be corrected on this) I'm sure most pros would not train with one on. My guess is that Le Prof is riding a spare bike sans number in a race somewhere. Hence the helmet and racing gear. The jacket has been added because of the adverse conditions. Whatever . . . it's still an awesome pic.

Could be. But would not at all surprise me if he was just out for a training ride and left in the rain properly equipped. Hardcore photo either way!
DerHoggz says:

Nov 1 2011 at 1:04 pm

@mcsqueak

I hate people waving me through, even when I myself am in a MoD. I just wave right back.

I also don't understand the people that feel the need to show off how fast their Dodge Neon is and impress me, as well as the people that try to scare you or whatever by yelling. Not impressed at all, I'm out here laying down some V and while you are snug in your crappy car.

Today I did find one thing I couldn't ride through, a migraine. I had to stop like every 2km because of nausea and my eyes feeling like they were going to explode.
Steampunk says:

Nov 1 2011 at 2:08 pm

@mcsqueak
Trick is to do a track stand, make eye contact with the driver and nod them through. That way, if they don't respond, you're off. And if they do, you've followed the rules of the road. This happened to me this morning. Four-way stop. I nodded to the driver to go ahead. She waved me through. I told her to go ahead. Then she stalled. Police car on the opposite side of the street"”clearly impressed that I had come to a full stop"”was very amused as I rolled through the intersection while the driver got her car going again.
RedRanger says:

Nov 1 2011 at 2:36 pm

@Steampunk
In many states it's not considered a stop. So your not following the law.
Cyclops says:

Nov 1 2011 at 3:06 pm

The current discussion going on in a local cycling club mailing list is about cyclist obeying the rules of the road but one guy makes a good point that motorists hold cyclists to a higher level of expectation than they do themselves. Get out of line the least bit and motorist go into rage and yet they speed, roll through stop signs, etc. It's worse in Idaho since we are the only state in the Union that allows not stopping at stop signs if the intersection is clear and proceeding through a red light after stopping if the intersection is clear. The problem is that people are ignorant of our state laws and assume we are in the wrong when we aren't.

BUT I think people need to realize that regardless if the cyclists is in the wrong or not you're in a high speed vehicle that weighs a couple of tons and you're going to kill somebody over a few seconds of inconvenience.
Dr C says:

Nov 1 2011 at 3:22 pm

@Chris

@Dr C
If they fail to complete the course, send them off for hard labour!

where did you find that vid? Is that the Shimano Kamikazee factory? Or where the endurance test the gearsets? What a way to spend your working day, can't believe they haven't cleaned up all the trophies!
Dr C says:

Nov 1 2011 at 3:30 pm

I think one of the things to bear in mind with safety in rain cycling is that the cars are more likely to lose control than they will in the dry, regardless of how good one's bike handling is, and assume they will try to wipe you out - anticipation is everything, so assume you are about to be killed at all times and adjust your speed and line accordingly - take them on and you lose....
DeltaMngo says:

Nov 1 2011 at 3:42 pm

@ChrisO

@DeltaMngo You've got those tram tracks in Melbourne too - they must be especially fun in the wet.On the other hand the overhead cables are more likely to be struck by lighting than you so what's with No Thunderstorms... HTFU old chap.
.

Trams are almost exclusively in the Melbourne CBD. Outside the city, which is where I live and commute, there are no trams and no overhead cables.
DerHoggz says:

Nov 1 2011 at 3:54 pm

@Dr C
Looks like a keirin school. Keirin is really strange because of the betting associated with it.
Dr C says:

Nov 1 2011 at 3:58 pm

@DerHoggz
Korea??