| Place a Classified | Subscribe today | July 10, 2009 |
|
|
|
|||||||||
| |||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
Cyclists a nutty bunch
Cyclists are all at least a little bit insane.
The competitive ones are anyway. They just have to be. Otherwise, they wouldn't be good at what they do. This theory was bolstered two weeks ago, when it rained so persistently at the Garden Creek Gap road race that my wallet was soaked through my jeans and my fleece jacket looked like it wanted to crawl off me and go back to my car.
Then it started to hail, the pea-sized pellets that make you say rather obviously, ''Ow, that stings,'' before comparing it to a vegetable or sporting ball. In rain like that, baseball and softball players don't even bother to show up at the park. Even most mail carriers would have bucked their motto and called it quits in such unseemly conditions.
But the cyclists kept on racing. Happily and sopping wet. That sentiment seems to be a requisite for being any good at endurance sports like cycling, running or swimming, the ones that bring out the good kind of crazy in their participants.
''Better this than heat,'' one cyclist said. ''It's the wind, not the rain, that killed me,'' another added.
Keep in mind here that the course, a 25-mile circuit west and south of Arimo, is brutal even on a sunny morning. There's a 1,000-foot climb, that, for much of it, makes a four-cylinder car crack 2,500 RPMs just to ascent at 20 mph. Imagine also a sturdy breeze along the Interstate-15 corridor, and try biking along it. That's what they do for about eight miles on the Gap course.
All of them were pedaling for at least two hours. It's hard work. At the finish line, the top riders crawled by, asked, a bit ironically, for water, and started down the backside of the course once more. They'd already completed the climb four times.
They gave the rain no more heed than they would a cloud of gnats or a one-inch pot hole. On the contrary, they thrived in the downpour. And that's the thing, really. Cyclists are peppy no matter the conditions. They tuck their heads close to the handlebars, stare at the pavement and churn their legs, assuming speeds most would hesitate to go in a covered, insured vehicle.
Keep in mind, too, that there's really no money in these races. Yes, you can win a couple hundred at the higher levels of competition, but it's not going to help on a down payment for a hybrid car. Winnings only could cover a fraction of the cost for a new bicycle. They do it for the workout, for the rush and most importantly, to push themselves to the edge of exhaustion, so that next time, that edge is just a little bit farther away.
Almost everyone can ride a bike, just as almost everyone can run, jump or throw a discus. But few have the dedication of the elite, which is precisely what earns them that distinction in the first place. It might seem insane, and many of them will tell you it is. But they are a happy lot, and it's easy to admire them for that, too. Dan Thompson's column appears Thursdays. With comments or story ideas, call him at 239-3122 or e-mail dthompson@journalnet.com. Article RatingReader CommentsSubmit a CommentCommenting RulesWe encourage your feedback and dialog. All comments are subject to deletion by our Web staff.
|
|
Comment
Rate
Report a Comment
