We need to be tough on and off the bike.
Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 Hour Rule suggests that mastering a skill comes down to an incredible amount of practice; however talented you might be, it is the cultivation of raw talent into skill that distinguishes between success and failure. To train is to practice, and every hour we spend devoted to our craft is one spent chipping away at our facade to slowly reveal our true selves, like Michelangelo swinging his hammer to chip away the fragments of marble that obscure the masterpiece within.
Becoming skilled at our chosen craft requires discipline and perseverance. Toughness. Not only on the bike, but in all aspects of our lives. It demands that we get enough sleep, that we eat well, and that we manage our personal lives such that we are still able to Train Properly. Well, two out of three ain’t bad, anyway.
But mastering the art requires that we go out when the skies are dark and the clouds are laden heavy with rain. It requires that we commit to early morning roller or turbo sessions, that we submit to long, cold rides on short winter days, riding within the light cone cut from the darkness by our headlights. Even in Spring and into Summer, as the demands of bad weather and dark days diminish, we are still torn between the work that lies before us and the temptation of the easier path.
Keeper @Marko sent me a set of rollers, which I am ashamed I did not previously posses. I am also ashamed to admit I have not yet ridden them apart from a short spin to make sure they didn’t have any grenades in them. In my defense, just as they arrived, the weather in Seattle morphed from caterpillar into butterfly and I have taken every opportunity to cultivate my tan lines, so faras a Seattleite might have a tan line in April. But I know that starting in May, my training for the Festum Prophetae Hour requires two-hour sessions on the rollers to cultivate my stroke, so I have to wrench myself from the sunny streets to do The Work for the greater objective. Especially because I have heard tell two hours on The Rollers in a nasty thing. Especially on a fixed-wheel track bike.
Picasso said that you should learn The Rules like a Pro so you can break them like an artist. To that end, I am prepared to start riding my rollers for the sake of my Hour efforts in June and August. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to like it. Not one stinking little bit. But it is required, so it will be done.
And speaking of track bikes, my Don Walker Hour bike is being redone in a VLVV paint scheme.
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@frank
Does this mean that you're unlikely to put in a good Hour attempt before the year 12015 at the earliest?
Embrace the rollers for all the reasons set out by @sparty (especially the fact that they'll take you to some very dark places - you've got to have a crack at 2 x 20 intervals. The only other option is motorpacing
(this could be tempting fate, the last time I post a mini phinney, I broke Velominati.com)
Just a note, as I'm seeing more and more folks raving about Skratch shite. Allen Lim is behind that fucking company. He was all wrapped up with Landis, Vaughters, then COTHO. If you want to make a liar even wealthier, that's your choice. Guy gave an interview a few years back that was so full of lies. Your choice. I'm not going near that fucker nor his well-marketed bullshit products. I know how to cook rice anyway.
His only upside is that he hates Gatorade.
@chuckp
Nope but I did see the first ever live performance of Quadrophenia. That dates me. It was also a bit of a disaster as Townsend was not a happy bunny with the sound engineer - result was a lot of broken kit (not a huge surprise) and a 45 min gap in the programme when he stormed off.
@Teocalli
NOW we're talking!
I saw The Who in 1989 and they were old then, but still rocked. Absolutely LOVE The Who! Who's Next is one of my favorite albums of all time.
@Buck Rogers
I don't know why I didn't go to their (supposedly) last performance of Quadrophenia in London a couple of years back. I pulled up the booking page and stupidly didn't book. Big regret!
@chuckp
No thanks!!
@Ron
I just wish it came in sizes larger than a pound.
@chuckp
Yep. 81 or 82, Wembley Arena.
I don't care what anybody says - BOOH is the ultimate teenage boy album. As a teenager the lyrics were brilliant. As an adult, I realise they were the corniest possible.
"you took the words right out of my mouth - it must have been while you were kissing me". Come on, that's genius that is.
Bat was my second ever album purchase (after Out of the Blue), and I'll never forget hearing "The wolf with the red roses" for the first time. wtf?
The concert was brilliant - I recollect the finale had a line up of 14 or 15 guitarists - it seemed as though anyone vaguely connected with the band was given a guitar and they did a line up.
Ah, happy days. By coincidence ELO are at the 02 tonight....
David
@Philonius
The kid is the best thing about that photograph - he's star-struck, finally getting to stand in front of his idol and he's got two bits of paper for the autograph. One's for his Dad
@Rigid
Agreed.