Suffering for the Sport

As the pros prepare for the "first" (according to the purists) stage race of the season, I find myself still struggling to eek out a 2-3 hour ride outside. Here in Michigan, we've been blessed with a super cooled winter with temps typically topping out in the teens. Makes for some cold toes and fingers...

There are folks I know who have been putting in 4-5 hour rides for the last couple months, and I give them a lot of credit, they are obviously more hardcore than I am. I went out for an hour and a half last Saturday and it was pretty damn painful. I opted to ride my fixed gear, the thinking being that, by forcing me to keep the legs moving, I would keep warm. Well, that thinking didn't seem to apply to my toes... Even with wool socks and booties, my toes were totally numb about 45 minutes into the ride. I kept trying to wiggle my toes to get some feeling back but to no avail. The only thing that helped was the sun. But it only warmed the side of my body facing the sun, so on the way out the toes on my left foot were cold and on the return trip, my right. By the time I got home, my shoes must have turned into little ice boxes, because in comparison, even the concrete of my front porch felt warm under my stockinged feet...

It's all comes down to suffering for the sport. It's the most sincere way I can think of to show your dedication. Sure, there are those with deep pockets who can continuously purchase new bikes and make pricey upgrades, but I liken that to the wealthy parents who attempt to buy their child's love instead of spending some quality time with him/her. Don't get me wrong, I still drool over $6,000 carbon and custom titanium frames, I have a pulse.

New and pricey cycling stuff is great, but you still gotta put in the time and sacrifice. Whether that be dieting to increase your power to weight ratio, boring sessions on the indoor trainer where minutes turn to hours, or training rides in frigid temps, we do all this in hopes of having some on-bike fitness for the coming season. That's what makes cycling what it is. It's also what bonds us emotionally and physically to the sport. It all comes down to the suffering.