Go read it:
http://cycle-smart.com/blog/2008/12/15/an-open-letter-to-my-new-and-returning-teammates/
Seriously.
I ain't got nothing to say that can compare to the eloquence that Adam uses to capture the romantic life of a bike racer.
Something to cogitate on when you are sitting your ass on the trainer all winter for 3+ hours at a time prep'n for the start of road season.
heddwch
G
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18 comments:
That is the worst POS I have ever read. A 37 year old trying to equate bike racing to punk rock is extremely sad and pathetic.
Hey - Eddy, it got your emotions going.
You don't have to like punk rock, or the life of a lowly domestic racer, but hey, you can't deny that he's got some passion in there.
And he got you to express some emotions, whatever they may be.
I wonder what the drag numbers are on having shower curtain rings wedged in you ears?
you obviously haven't seen those aero do-hicky-loops that some frame makers are putting on there...
those ear "rings" adam's got are aero advantages, they help smooth the air flow around his head ;-)
the only reason Lance doesn't use them is his Mom won't let him.
He also left out the part where bike racing ruined his marriage and he got a divorce. Those are healthy priorities.
yeah - he did that, but then maybe it wasn't the bike racing that ruined it...
he was racing before he was married... maybe he just didn't do what some women expect their men to do when they get married: change...
like it or not, agree with him or not, i feel you have to respect the passion he has for the sport.
The divorce made him faster, no more carrying around the weight of that hyphen.
Sorry, G. For some reason guys like that dude have always made me NOT want to race bikes. I usually steer very far clear of those guys at races. I mean, c'mon man, are there holes in his hands and feet too? Know what I mean?
On the other hand you can't fault his passion, just different priorities I guess.
Thread over. Brendan wins.
Wow, you guys are assholes, huh? Like I don't read the internet?
Here's my number if you ever actually want to talk about it:
413-204-3202
Glad to see you guys got it all sorted out.
Maybe if I hadn't gotten the rude brush off when trying to be polite a couple times I would have a better impression of Mr. Myerson.
Adam, you are a good bike rider. Better than I could have ever been. But you have been rude to me a couple of times when introduced. Maybe you were preoccupied or in a bad mood I don't know.
I wish you well but you really have not done much to endear yourself to the average bike rider or bike fan.
I am not one of the cool kids or cycling elite. Just a guy who used to ride a bike and loves the sport. From the outside it doesn't seem that you love the sport. It seems like you resent it and those of us on the periphery of it. It seems that I am wrong about my estimation. I am sorry about that but I interpreted it the best I could
Yeah.. Maybe the stigmata thing was a little rough, huh?
Different views on bikes is all, I wish I gave two shits about racing. Some of us would rather ride ourselves into the ground repeatedly and chase that feeling, (and consequntly race like shit!) as opposed to seeking the reward you seem to get from racing all the time.
Adam, I'll be working in your neck of the woods in '09 in Quincy just on the other side of the Blue Hills. I need someone to bust my ass during the AM rides I plan on doing out ther before work. I'll even let you try to put me into a tree once or twice if it makes you feel better. If you need a MTB to borrow just let me know I believe you are around my height (6'). If we don't get along, we don't get along. No harm done. I'm the type that would rather ride bikes than argue about one's outlook on life anyways.
For perspective; the internets are for arguing, real life is for making nice. Some of us play assholes on the internet. Some of us will take the contrary position for the sake argument and going against the grain (horrible pun, I know).
Il Bruce, you've made that evaluation of me before, in the comments of this blog, in fact, and I offered to speak to you about it then as well, since I don't know what you're talking about.
How fast someone is on a bicycle is absolutely meaningless to me regarding their quality as a human being. I don't consider myself better than anyone because I happen to be just good enough to be a B level pro bike racer in the US. What is that worth? And since I make my living helping people become better bike riders, why on earth would I be judgmental of people who aren't cool kid pros? The process I go through to do both those jobs is what matters to me.
Since I have no context to discuss your perception of me brushing you off, I can't even address it. I can only say that it doesn't sound like me at all, and I have a reputation for giving a lot of my time to other people. I don't like misunderstandings, and I'm inviting you to get the full picture if it actually matters to you.
What's ridiculous is people who I do not now, commenting anonymously about things they don't know. My marriage? Eddy M really thinks he knows anything about why I got divorced? What my views on marriage and relationships are?
I'm not Lance. I'm not a rock star that you can comment on and criticize from afar with no repercussions. That's exactly my point. I'm one of you, I'm in your community, and I'm a real person. The comments here suggest you guys would rather resent me for having made it to a certain level in cycling and for trying to make some existential sense of it, rather than then other way around. You're the ones assigning the judgment here. It's undeserved, uninformed, and just plain mean, frankly. Typical blog comments, I suppose, but I actually give a shit.
No one resents you for making it to any level at anything. Well, I can only speak for myself I suppose.
I just find the us against the world thing a little weird to be honest. I'm too young, and came from too soft (read: squarely middle class) upbringing to have worried about getting beat up for the music I liked (except my weird fascination at 12 with Huey Lewis - don't ask).
I got beat up for being skinny and an easy target (kidney issues - but who gives a shit, probably too much info and pretty soon I'll sound like G here).
Anyways, the point of all this rambling nonsense is that at some point I realized a few things about riding/racing bikes and life:
1. No one outside the scene gives a shit.
2. No one outside the scene gives a shit.
3. If 1 and 2 are true then I better not take it so seriously and act like a D-bag. Things will probably work out better.
At this point in time Punk Rock as an analogy to bike racing in the (still) wealthiest country in the world just came off as weird. Both professions are choices, not inherited burdens or struggles. So that's why I called bullshit. I don't begrudge you (or anyone) success in bike racing unless they're on the juice.
All that said, your argument is compelling if taken at face value and if it gets people psyched to ride/race.
Does any of this crap make sense at this point?
Brendan,
It's exactly because these things are choices that make them meaningful. We're moving into the territory of the role of games in society, sports as culture, and transmission of culture with these points.
Whether it's punk rock or bike racing, they're both social constructs of a modern, middle-class society. I agree with you completely there. Even growing up poor in the US, it's easy to recognize how easy one has it. I managed to get a degree, I'm not starving, I don't have malaria, etc.
But that's where the search for meaning in the games we play becomes important. Bike racing at the pro level in the US is not necessarily fun. So why do I do it? What's the personal reward? What's the societal contribution? And for the 20-year-old kids on my team who still have stars in their eyes and think they might make it to the Pro Tour, they don't necessarily know what in store for them. They don't know that most of the job is meaningless, monotonous drudgery. I have always looked for more, and tried to understand my own passion.
Further, the experience of being on a small team in the US is very similar to the experience of being in a small band on tour. I left home for the season last January 1st, and didn't get back until mid-June.
I have strong ideas and can go on all day about whether professional bike racing has spiritual value or not. We're certainly not feeding the poor or saving the world. But context matters, too. Most of us aren't quitting our jobs to join the Peace Corps, and we all want passion and meaning in the work we do. Bike racing just happens to be one of those jobs that consumes absolutely everything. In order to do it, in order for me to do it at this point in my life, I need to really mean it, and it really needs to mean something to me.
Sharing that perspective with people has typically been well received, as opposed to being judged as pompous or dismissive towards those who haven't experienced it. I think that was what surprised me about the comments here.
If you want to understand the analogy better, check out a book called "Our Band Could Be Your Life." And you _should_ have been beaten up for liking Huey Lewis, frankly.
Hmmm, I'll say I do know Adam a bit, and don't necessarily agree with him 100% of the time (but who does with anyone?), but all of you (including Adam), need to keep things in perspective and maybe, just maybe, you might learn a thing or two.
(Adam hasn't lived your life, no you his life, experience(s) shape(s) us all in different ways)
Make of it what you will.
- Kirk Albers
Ugh, and of course Adam replied before I had written mine.
Adam, well written on the last one.
- KA
Hmm, maybe I should've been beat up for that (HL and the News). But.. their bass player was the coolest looking cat on the planet when I was a kid. Stood there holding it down with that smoke firmly planted...Cripes man, I was like 11 or twelve and aside from that it was Dio, Crue, Run DMC or the Beastie Boys in my world.
Anyways, to echo Kirk, well put on the last post. I seem to recall reading our band could be your life somewhere along the line. We probably like many of the same bands (aside from my dorky love of Ska). BH Surfers though (I recall them in the book), God they sucked. Sorry, sat through that once or twice.
I do tend to read things from a highly cynical point of view so my first read of your post was like "what is he talking about? Bike racing and the tough life, huh??" I tend to emphasize taking things less seriously. It's a serious business, this non seriousness thing. Perhaps this leaves me too cycnical? Woah, that was some introspective GeWilli stuff right there. Better stop now lest I grow 3 feet and sprout red hair.
When I stated I tend to stay away from guys like that at races.. what I mean is the real angry aggro types. This is a result of some ridiculous experiences at amateur levels of racing. It sort of molded how I approach racing bikes. Maybe I read that kind of "angry at everyone/railing against the world" vibe into your post. Anyways, as a motivational piece it does convey your passion for the sport as noted above. No one can take that away from you.
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