Riding Reflections

My writing generally lacks eloquence or true literary genius. I try to leave that to the real writers out there. But every now and then one comes across an article that needs to be shared. In this case it was a recent article in VeloNews written by Matthew Beaudin entitled, "Notes from the Scrum: Tranquillo." The entire article can be found here and is worth a read.

A common question people ask is "Why?" referring to my constant exercising, choosing to race a distance of 140.6 miles in a single day, pushing myself to exhaustion or similar trends. I have never had an eloquent, deep or well prepared answer, but sometimes articles like the one above can provide a hint into why so many like minded people do what they do and how those actions can relate to the larger picture of Life. Here are a few of my favorite excerpts.

“Restraint, patience, whatever one wants to call it, is the most important element of cycling, because without it, you are nothing as a rider, no matter your skill level or natural ability. Nothing but a book of burnt matches."

"To ride, though, is to escape from this bullshit, from the rules and constraints and niceties of our real lives. Attacks are accepted and encouraged here, so long as they’re executed with class there is a code here the rest of the world doesn’t care about.”

"To be a cyclist is an exercise in suppression. In this way, it’s no different than going to work each day, than being a friend, than being an enemy. There are times and places for our attacks, just as there are moments for our honesty and our criticisms. If we bumble these chances, we ride alone. If we bumble these chances, we are alone."

On that note I'm going for a ride.