I feel it in my bones. I feel it in my breathing. I fixate on how much I feel it in my legs to the point where I find myself in a meeting, rubbing them to gauge how soft they’ve gotten. (Must learn to stop doing that in public as it can’t possibly improve my social standing. I’m tempted to cite the fact that I’m a Cyclist and it is normal in our circles, but I’m afraid that will only serve to drag the rest of you down with me rather than prove my case.)
For most uf us, life gets in the way of Cycling when we’re not careful to ensure it doesn’t, and having a goal sketched out before you can be helpful in keeping focus. In the run-up to Keepers Tour, I managed to stay disciplined and make room in my schedule to get on the bike regularly enough to get fit. But goals also have the effect of leaving a void once attained. In the aftermath of the trip, I’ve been hopelessly caught between conflicting priorities as I struggle to catch up after those few weeks away; without a goal in sight to make sure the bike gets assigned its due importance, I find myself riding the bike less than I’ve become accustomed to.
Of course, I do find satisfaction with each ride I manage to get out on, and I take comfort in the knowledge that things will settle down again and balance will be restored. It is during these times, however, when the feeling in my legs, lungs, and bones serve to constantly remind me that I’m a little less fit than I was yesterday that I realize what the bicycle is: an addiction.
I don’t want to speak for anyone else, but I wouldn’t be able to make a convincing argument against anyone classifying me as having an addictive personality. And, based on the assumption that you’re reading this and relate on some level to what I’m saying, then you probably have one, too; it seems to be a bit of an occupational hazard for the Velominati. Consider the following from WikiPedia, which represents a body of work by people whose credibility and identity is impossible to verify. Everything but the bit about “weak commitment” and “stress” rings true:
An individual is considered to be at the risk of developing…addictions when he/she displays signs of impulsive behavior, nonconformity combined with a weak commitment to the goals for achievement valued by the society, a sense of social alienation, and a sense of heightened stress. Such a person may switch from one addiction to another; or even sustain multiple addictions at different times.
The article goes on to define this condition as a “brain desease”. That sounds more “insulting” than it does “scientific”, but I have no choice but to submit to the authority of those whose credibility I can’t disprove. So, in the face of an overwhelming lack of evidence of being incorrect, it has to be assumed that we (or at least I) have broken brains, though as I write this I suppose this fact shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has been paying any attention at all. On the other hand, we already aspire to be heroin-thin, so I suppose it’s fitting that we have an addiction to go along with the appearance.
Having told you now what you presumably already knew, I’ll close with the following sentiment: so long as I’m destined to be addicted to something, I’m glad it is Cycling, which I consider to be something healthy and positive, instead of something destructive like crack or reading.
Vive la Vie Velominatus.
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@Rigid Make sure you enjoy the views, but give it hell on the Alpe - very envious... hope you get good weather. Remember, the first three bends are the worst...that first ramp, god! after that, it is just stunning. Go crush it. Feed the habit.
@Rigid
Ride that thing into submission!
@Rigid
Look forward to reading about it. Have a blast.
Addiction? Whatever.
So I finished out last season with a Cat 5 RR State Championship (doesn't say much for the state of Idaho I guess) and an upgrade to Cat 4. The winter was spent not putting on any extra pounds. Plodding away on the trainer 2-3 hours at a time watching old VCR tapes of various Grand Tours and Spring Classics. A Christmas present of six months of coaching from a racer that was seen driving the front of the peloton at the U.S. Pro Cycling Challenge a time or two had me chomping at the bit for the local racing season to begin to try out the larger caliber guns and see what double the training hours had wrought. Whoever said that Cat 4 is not much different than Cat 5 must not have been 50 years old and 25 pounds overweight. First race: DNF, second race: DFL (Dead Fucking Last). Yesterday was my third race - a race that I have won before. Last year I got in a ten man break and finished fifth in the bunch sprint. What did I get yesterday? Off the back and DFL!
What have I wanted to do all day (but can't because it's Mother's Day)? Ride my fucking bike.
I need help.
@Cyclops
If you havent read it already, get hold of a book called Ten Points by Bill Strickland. There is a lot of writing about his racing progression - which is measured for a long while by how long he can hang on to the bunch. There is also some other personal stuff in there which I hope doesnt ring true for you (you will understand if and when you read it).
Normally takes about 3 weeks of racing to get used to the intensity of racing after off season training, in that time frame expect to suffer. The good thing is you're not going to be a January star, (Or June star I guess in the northern hemisphere) where you've burnt all your matches in the first month of the season and spend the rest of the race calendar going backwards through the pack.
@cyclops, I prescribe attendance at the Seattle Summer Cogal. It will put you in the right frame of mind. In?
@Jeff in PetroMetro
A-Merckx. No ride for me today either, and a good but too short ride yesterday. I'm about to go out of my skin.
Addiction demonstrated for me this weekend by a friday night spent vomiting for no apparent reason leaving me f*cked and unable to race on saturday, so I did a gentle training ride solo after failing to convince anyone to join me, where I promptly fell off for the first time in twenty years. Oddly, I view this as a good thing, because the last time I crashed it really hurt and I was dreading this, inevitable folow up on the grounds that I don't bounce as much as I used to and therefore it would be infinitely worse. I slid about fifteen feet, scuffed my shoe, removed three stitches from my favourite mitts,got dirty enough to look heroic, and that was about it. Didn't feel anything the next day, so did an hour of intervals in preperation for this weekend's treat - two day /3-stage race. After a nearly 20-year racing hiatus, I am loving being back in the ring.
@eightzero
Maybe, if I don't live in Kentucky by then.