Token January Inspiration Post
We're mid way through January already, frightening isn't it? Time does not stand still for any man. Yet seemingly time favours the honorable and the humble. How? Time does not alter the great, and it does not dwindle the amazing feats of human perseverance that some of our wheeled comrades are capable of.
I ride alone quite frequently, I like the solitude, I enjoy the headspace and that chance to just escape - me and the bike, alone together at last. It does grind. 50 miles in you begin to question your choice in ride partner (air, as it happens, is a boring old man) and so it's a glorious gift when a similarly weary soldier trundles alongside you, in a desperate yet futile attempt to overtake. Mutual agreement is reached and you eventually exchange conversation, share some wheel time and before you know it you've another friend for life. These lonely gallopers, I find, are usually like me - sort of newbies, not quite quick enough to keep up with the big boys clubs, not quite slow enough to step back to the family friendly village runs. These run-ins are what I love about our sport. There are no heroes here, only friends, we are all in this pain-pit together.
Anyway, I digress, my point is that these conversations always begin with the standard "how did you get into it?" chat. A lot of two legged and also seated conversations begin this way also and there is a common theme with the anticipation of my answer and that is something along the lines of "I suppose with the Olympics and all, everyone's at it." and "Oh you're Manx, did you start because of Cav?". Cavs ace, and a truly amazing cyclist. The Olympics were amazing and it's heartwarming to know that Britain as a whole has such a shining spot amongst cycling globally. However, unfortunately I cannot answer any of these with a yes. I've already explained why I began, but I haven't quite entered into the realm of why I carry on, not least to win races (one day) but also the people that inspire me to keep pushing.
I'm going to pinpoint two people in particular, who I always think of just at those moments when it's needed - when I'm cresting a bastard hill and ready to unclip, or struggling to find the force to push each pedal round in a headwind or just plain finding it hard to haul myself out of bed on a Sunday morning. I think of certain people and what they have achieved, and continue to achieve, I give myself a hypothetical slap around the chops and carry on.
The first inspirational gem I want you all to know about is Juliette Clark. I have mentioned her briefly in an older post, as she was our ride captain in group four for the Alpine Challenge. I remember the first time I got to ride with Juliette, the last training run before we headed out to France. I remember being quite perplexed by her sheer power on the hills, her frame (body, not bike!) must be half the volume of my own - and unlike some of our burly male counterparts she simply dances up and down the arduous climbs as if a child would run up and down tirelessly on the beach. It's awe inspiring. Yet what I didn't know at the time, and what I didn't know until I got back from France was that Juliette also suffers from a condition called Lymphoedema (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphedema). I read up about it, and after doing so, and also reading her unbelievably inspiring blog (I implore you all to read it, it is wonderful http://theswellsup.blogspot.co.uk/) - I found myself baking and subsequently eating a large humble pie. This woman quite literally pushed me up those hills in France, shouted kind words of encouragement and saw to it that the most amazing, fulfilling moment of my life actually HAPPENED and she appeared to do it with ease and enjoyment. I owe almost everything I have experienced thus far to the inspiration given to me by Juliette. She is the sort of athlete I aspire to, she is the epitome of sports(wo)manship. Every time I look at a gnarling ascent in fear and anguish I always think of France, and I think of what the human body can achieve with the help of the mind.
On which note, another amazing human being is James Golding. I met this guy on the Alpine Challenge as he does a lot of wonderful work with UK Youth, who do some unbelievably valuable work with Britain's young ones, they're also the charity my team also raises money for. Whilst being a generally sound bloke, and a crackingly good endurance cyclist, James is probably one of the most brilliant fundraisers I've ever had the joy to meet. He's quite literally raised millions for charity. Remember when I was griping about not being able to get out of bed on a Sunday morning? Well, this guy exudes the term "man the fuck up". In short, the guys had cancer twice and been hit by a truck at some silly speed, has cycled across the US to raise money in the meanwhile and still has time to be an ace dad and fiancee (congratulations!) - and NOW is going to ride around the world. If that doesn't warm your cockles and get you pedaling well, you've probably no hope. Here's his twitter https://twitter.com/jamesgolding1 - keep your eye on this one, #thebigone will be epic!
So when people expect me to say something like "Victoria Pendleton is my inspiration" or "I wanna be like Wiggo" - they're totally wrong. Those people are amazing, but they are not my heroes. There are no heroes here. We are all friends. We all share the pain, but there are those amongst us that drive our better nature and our physical capabilities to the extreme, those people are my personal heroes and it's those people that I think of every time my brain wants to stop.
I'd be interested to know who your heroes are fellow rouleurs, please do comment!
I ride alone quite frequently, I like the solitude, I enjoy the headspace and that chance to just escape - me and the bike, alone together at last. It does grind. 50 miles in you begin to question your choice in ride partner (air, as it happens, is a boring old man) and so it's a glorious gift when a similarly weary soldier trundles alongside you, in a desperate yet futile attempt to overtake. Mutual agreement is reached and you eventually exchange conversation, share some wheel time and before you know it you've another friend for life. These lonely gallopers, I find, are usually like me - sort of newbies, not quite quick enough to keep up with the big boys clubs, not quite slow enough to step back to the family friendly village runs. These run-ins are what I love about our sport. There are no heroes here, only friends, we are all in this pain-pit together.
Anyway, I digress, my point is that these conversations always begin with the standard "how did you get into it?" chat. A lot of two legged and also seated conversations begin this way also and there is a common theme with the anticipation of my answer and that is something along the lines of "I suppose with the Olympics and all, everyone's at it." and "Oh you're Manx, did you start because of Cav?". Cavs ace, and a truly amazing cyclist. The Olympics were amazing and it's heartwarming to know that Britain as a whole has such a shining spot amongst cycling globally. However, unfortunately I cannot answer any of these with a yes. I've already explained why I began, but I haven't quite entered into the realm of why I carry on, not least to win races (one day) but also the people that inspire me to keep pushing.
I'm going to pinpoint two people in particular, who I always think of just at those moments when it's needed - when I'm cresting a bastard hill and ready to unclip, or struggling to find the force to push each pedal round in a headwind or just plain finding it hard to haul myself out of bed on a Sunday morning. I think of certain people and what they have achieved, and continue to achieve, I give myself a hypothetical slap around the chops and carry on.
The first inspirational gem I want you all to know about is Juliette Clark. I have mentioned her briefly in an older post, as she was our ride captain in group four for the Alpine Challenge. I remember the first time I got to ride with Juliette, the last training run before we headed out to France. I remember being quite perplexed by her sheer power on the hills, her frame (body, not bike!) must be half the volume of my own - and unlike some of our burly male counterparts she simply dances up and down the arduous climbs as if a child would run up and down tirelessly on the beach. It's awe inspiring. Yet what I didn't know at the time, and what I didn't know until I got back from France was that Juliette also suffers from a condition called Lymphoedema (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphedema). I read up about it, and after doing so, and also reading her unbelievably inspiring blog (I implore you all to read it, it is wonderful http://theswellsup.blogspot.co.uk/) - I found myself baking and subsequently eating a large humble pie. This woman quite literally pushed me up those hills in France, shouted kind words of encouragement and saw to it that the most amazing, fulfilling moment of my life actually HAPPENED and she appeared to do it with ease and enjoyment. I owe almost everything I have experienced thus far to the inspiration given to me by Juliette. She is the sort of athlete I aspire to, she is the epitome of sports(wo)manship. Every time I look at a gnarling ascent in fear and anguish I always think of France, and I think of what the human body can achieve with the help of the mind.
On which note, another amazing human being is James Golding. I met this guy on the Alpine Challenge as he does a lot of wonderful work with UK Youth, who do some unbelievably valuable work with Britain's young ones, they're also the charity my team also raises money for. Whilst being a generally sound bloke, and a crackingly good endurance cyclist, James is probably one of the most brilliant fundraisers I've ever had the joy to meet. He's quite literally raised millions for charity. Remember when I was griping about not being able to get out of bed on a Sunday morning? Well, this guy exudes the term "man the fuck up". In short, the guys had cancer twice and been hit by a truck at some silly speed, has cycled across the US to raise money in the meanwhile and still has time to be an ace dad and fiancee (congratulations!) - and NOW is going to ride around the world. If that doesn't warm your cockles and get you pedaling well, you've probably no hope. Here's his twitter https://twitter.com/jamesgolding1 - keep your eye on this one, #thebigone will be epic!
So when people expect me to say something like "Victoria Pendleton is my inspiration" or "I wanna be like Wiggo" - they're totally wrong. Those people are amazing, but they are not my heroes. There are no heroes here. We are all friends. We all share the pain, but there are those amongst us that drive our better nature and our physical capabilities to the extreme, those people are my personal heroes and it's those people that I think of every time my brain wants to stop.
I'd be interested to know who your heroes are fellow rouleurs, please do comment!
May you ever cycle as well as you write! The best heroes are unsung.
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