Life On Two Wheels

Along the river and toward the mountains a morning shadow shimmers across the road. The rays of the first light jet through the trees and across a figure gliding upon the road. His breath trails in short spurts, petrified as it hits the icy air. All is quiet except the slight sound of the athlete as he summons himself for yet another days work. Soon the rest of the world will bustle with life as well and the brief simplicity of cyclist and nature will disappear into the everyday struggle of life in full motion; the errands and intervals, the appointments and intersections, and the deadlines and finish lines OutPaceTheRace

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Eluding the corruption of cycling

North Bend, WA
Monday, June 5, 2006

In the end the cheaters lose… I don’t reckon that all the double-deal’n tricksters out there’ve been caught, but just knowing that you didn’t actually win should be punishment enough. Does it actually feel like you won if you cheated? I can’t see how it would unless you’re some kind of rogue, psychotic, charlatan who feels that the whole system is fraudulent. Of course a life time ban is in store for an act as such… i.e. Tyler H.
But when you see that the best ones in the sport are bogus, it makes you wonder about everyone else… and that’s not a good feeling.

Aside from the theatrics of frauds n’ fakes; the last couple days have been full of some pretty intense preparation for nationals. Yesterday was a 5 hour ride with 10 6 minute intervals, half climbing half flat. I ended up riding up to Camano Island from North Bend. I did a couple loops in the Valley area to get most of the climbing efforts done, then I headed out to the Island. The ride ended up taking 5 hours and ~ 20 minutes, it was a good hard ride & definitely a fresh alternative to the local riding.
Some relatives of mine own a house on the beach up there, so on the fourth we usually get together for a barbecue, fireworks and, yes, beach volleyball. I’ve got to hone my volleyball skills some time ‘cause the ball’s got an obscure knack of going backwards upon contact with my hands. No idea how that works, it’s definitely got nothing to do with my superior coordination.
Today’ll be a super easy day- just an hour and a half, a mid-day nap, and a lot of sitting around.