August 15 will be the 3 year mark since I got off my rear and started cycling again. I can say it was part Tour-DAY-France (thanks Bobke) inspired and part 225+ pounds of couch crushing ass that motivated me to do something besides increase my territory of our king-sized bed. No, I had no visions of grandeur about how far cycling would take me but I needed activity to keep the Jenny Craig commercials from looking better and better. The wife agreed that cycling would be good for me (just how fat have I gotten? I'm thinking) and we headed off to The Bike Store to find out what the cycling world had to offer. That is where we met Bill Staudt, owner of The Bike Store in the Centerville/Warner Robins area as well as Macon.
Bill helped me find a bike, the proper clothing, safety gear, and shoes to make future cycling adventures a true depletion of my checking account. Bill told me about a few local "rides", yeah ~ I now know them as sufferfest, and invited me to join the group that week. Saying "sure, I'll join you" and seeing the glint of a wolf in sheep's clothing in Bill's eyes should have been the first warning to stay away, far away. Needless to say, my first ride was 36.5 miles in the middle of August with a group that was in peak form that late in the year. It hurt so bad that the lingering pain just went away a few days ago!
There were two things that happened on this first ride that inspire my riding to this day: 1) as much as it hurt me, I felt the addictive grip of cycling that I last experienced 15 years before when I gave up riding. If you're an avid cyclists, you know that euphoria of pain and pleasure, suffering and exhiliration, deep running pangs of exhaustion but the desire to push harder even when every fiber in you body and soul scream for relief......... that addictive feeling that only cycling gives. Sick? Not at all; 2) the group waited on me. Patiently, encouragingly, attentively they waited. Did they get pleasure from seeing my ashen face, the sweat burning my eyes, hearing my lungs scream for oxygen, watching the swimming head and swaying body of someone nauseated beyond the help of Dramamine and not able to drink liquids and perhaps stave off the feeling of death that consumed my body and mind? You bet your ass they did!! And, I thanked them at the top of every hill when I caught up and at the end of the ride. Afterall, each was sacrificing his/her own training to make me feel welcome. Or, was it entertaining for them?
Bill and the others kept pushing me, encouraging me on every ride after that. I watched the fast guys, aka HammerHeads, scream by and away from me each ride. But, I kept riding as hard as I could. Every ride I was able to hang on a little longer before getting dropped. Along the way, I also got to know the other riders in our group, and yes, I was a wheel-sucking whore and still am some days.
A cyclist once said that "the suffering never ends, you only get faster." Yep. It only gets easier when you give in and no longer want to suffer on climbs, sprints, and those long solo days that build self discipline. I've gotten faster, but the suffering is the same. I've moved up to the HammerHead group in the last 3 years and have lost some weight along the way: down to 178 lbs from 225 lbs but the suffering is the same. The addictive feeling that cycling gives me is stronger than ever as well.
Sitting here watching the Tour-DAY-France has me reflecting on these last 3 years, the thousands of miles I've ridden on the road and on the trails, and especially the friends I've made along the way. I've destroyed and replaced my Madone road bike and sacrificed a lot of flesh when I crashed on the descent off of Woody Gap.
"FORKED"
I've knocked the bark off of trees and wiped trails clean with my body. I've made friends with others who have done the same and they all inspire me to ride every chance I get. After all, its no fun suffering alone and it makes the pain of wrecking a little more tolerable when you've got friends to point and laugh, or perhaps hold pressure to stop the bloodflow!
This last year was the year I wanted to start racing and move up to CAT4 so I can team up with a few friends to be more competitive. But, after a knee injury and resulting surgery I'm looking at getting my fitness back before the winter training rides with the group in Macon and compete next year. We'll see how it goes..............
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