Mitch's 'Why Cycling' & Update...

There are many good reasons to justify my love affair with cycling such as my interest in the mechanics of a bicycle, my compulsion for exploration and travel or my basic desire to stay healthy and in good shape, but while these are obvious contributors, none of these reasons is really responsible for my efforts in cycling competition—at least not anymore. In fact I’m very happy knowing that just being a ‘bicycle rider’ allows a person all of these advantages whether in competition or just riding around town. So, in my case I’ve only found one really good reason to justify all of my efforts ‘in competition,’ and noting the recent climate here in Belgium I’ve decided I could unravel this onion a bit while I’ve got your attention—you might understand my process a bit more as a result of it.

For me a short and sweet answer to the question of “why race a bike” is always—“because it’s hard.” But in truth any competition in any sport can be hard if you want it to be—so this answer is largely incomplete. However, I feel I can argue that only in cycling can a person cook up special recipes that bump the sport into a unique ‘really damn hard’ category. It’s not my intention to argue these points here, but suffice it to say, my love for cycling always peaks when I’ve been in the kitchen a really long time, orchestrating with the most obscure and difficult ingredients I could find, and the pressure is on to plate a delicacy for the queen. It’s ‘off with my head’ if she’s not pleased with my performance. Especially at the level of competition I’ve been racing in (the fastest guys with real lives) these recipes are a dime a dozen.

So, my truest appeal for cycling competition in recent months and years has been to use the sport as a form of training for a test for ‘real life.’ This may seem kind of odd, but I guess this is something I've felt I've needed; otherwise I’ve always felt I’d benefit from the experience. Anyway you cut it, I've appreciated what cycling has done for me as a person far more than what it has done for me as an athelete.

In my mind, bike racing and all that it entails offers a perfect analogy for real life and in particular, that as a person figures out what is required to be a successful bike racer, they can also find the skills required to be a successful human, husband, friend, father, businessperson, anything as long as they take the time to give the experience enough consideration. Surely other young adults negotiate this process in the contexts of their lives, but I swear I can't think of a better lens than this one.

Perhaps other cyclists would be the only ones to appreciate my claim, but as a means to help the others out here are a few compelling factors that cycling introduces.

- Cycling is a time intensive sport. EX: A world class runner could get by on less than half the time commitment of a semi-pro or even an ambitious amature bike racer.

- Cycling is a gear intensive sport that requires detailed mechanical knowledge, planning, coordination and effort. (Back to running - buy shoes, learn how to tie the laces, go running.)

- Cycling is expensive and unless your wallet comes pre-loaded, figuring out how to afford it is an endless and strenuous effort.

These are the big ones--but there are many others.

Anyway, among the many lessons cycling has taught me, one of the classics has been the art of keeping one’s composure when ‘the shit hits the fan’ and/or extreme disappointment takes place. Cycling amazes me in its' ability to dish out these blows as heavy handedly as it does as well as well the consistancy and frequency they maintain. In cycling, I’ve learned that no matter how much you plan, no matter how hard you try, no matter what, things will never be perfect, shit always happens. You ought never act surprised or put out by it when it does. That’s cycling, and “that’s life.” Only, as a microcosm cycling has the ability to accelerate these patterns and make them more readily available for your heartbreak and/or benefit. This is cycling and why I love it. Q:Strange? A:Probably.

So, why is this all coming to the surface now? Well, at least in my little world, life in Belgium is sucking pretty badly right now. I’m still not well and in fact this is now the seventh day I’ve been without good health. It’s the ninth day without good riding, racing or training. Comparing these numbers to a 28 day cycling trip hurts a bit. I’ve been looking forward to this trip as perhaps my ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity to achieve the best fitness I can in order to find out what I am capable of as an athlete. What’s preventing this now is that the cold which we are all referring to as “the plague” has left my head and gone into my chest. I have a very long history as an asthmatic, but in recent years that’s all it has been—‘history.’ Unfortunately there’s a ‘perfect storm’ here and the beautiful—no amazing—Belgian/French cycling environment that we had been graced with through my last good day on the bike (when we did Paris-Roubaix) has completely gone. Now I’m recovering from the plague in a world of cloudy skies, cold damp air and downpours—the perfect cocktail for asthma trouble.

It’s Thursday now—the weather is not supposed to improve until Saturday and after that—more bad weather is on the horizon. Without some good weather or a trip to the hospital for some serious medication, I’m a bit concerned my Belgian racing experience peaked a couple weeks ago. There’s not many races left—I’ve essentially missed three already. I gave this past Tuesday’s race my best shot, but it was essentially a blow out as I was not at all healthy. I suffered through 5 of 13 laps before I couldn’t pedal anymore. As of now I’m feeling like racing today would not be in my best interests—it’s pouring out and I’m operating on somewhere around 85% of my lung capacity-the rest is the phlem that has kept me awake in the middle of the night and offered me the time to share these thoughts. Certainly not the Flemish holiday I had been looking forward to.

So—as I was saying about cycling. A fantastic pursuit! Love it! Totally gratifying!

When “just keep pedaling” is not the thing, “just keep smiling” is sage advise. :)