Beauty and the Beast: Andy and Big Maggie at VR2012
On Wednesdays in Norrköping we have what we call “Social cycling”. 50kms ridden at 25km/h for anyone who wants to give it a go. We erase the barriers of conformity, we stop for coffee halfway and we hardened cyclists take off our helmets and glasses just to prove we are not aliens from another planet and we socialize. Suddenly everyone is in a comfort zone.
Last night I saw the above titled film with 3 of my daughters. I knew the plot, I’ve grown up with that story and seen a couple of different showings down the years; Film, on ice, in a book.
The vain Prince horrid and cruel, the enchantress who places a spell on him that can only be broken by reciprocated love.
As I’ve gotten older I’ve found myself looking for more than pure entertainment value, hidden meanings behind the story become apparent, can it be translated into something else and I found on this occasion that my mind had wandered.
The vain Prince may just as well have been one of many cyclists I have witnessed down the years buying the latest model, spending more money than (it would appear) sense on machines that have all the latest technology (and price tag) built in. Scoffing at the plebs with the cheaper, more inferior models.
The enchantress disquised as an old lady seeking shelter offering a rose is Vellos, the Goddess of cycling (yes I just made it up, if there isn’t one then there should be one) NOT to be confused with Velominati, that rather satirical article written by God knows who, God knows when but more likely some old fart with nothing better to do than to ply total and utter snobbery on a sport destined for all. White socks will raise you to the heavens, black shorts are the only way to go and colour-coordinated attire is a must or you will burn in hell. Sort of Wimbledon Pre-Agassi.
Well I’m very much post Agassi. Sure, I can feel like the real deal in the same kit top to toe, legs shaved (waxed actually) well-oiled and glistening, but I would never in my wildest dreams chastise anyone else for not doing the same.
I realize that it is more about image than cycling for some individuals.
You, the reader, may feel like I’ve hit a sore point, or perhaps you are nodding in agreement or alternatively you’re wiping the egg-yolk from your chin thinking ”aye aye, what’s he on about now?”.
So here I will make the following 3 statements about cycling that pertain to me.
1. The best bike for you is the one that fits your body, not your wallet.
2. It’s not about the bike, it’s all about the bike (”What did he just say?”).
3. You don’t have to step out of your comfort zone cycle, cycling is full of comfort zones.
1: The best bike for you is the one that fits your body, not your wallet.
The one that hits the sweet spot in all the right places.
I ride a Trek Madone 6.9 SSL Project One. Off the shelf it’s worth a few quid. It’s hard, it’s harsh, it’s a thoroughbred that suits me well on long training rides with friends on the flats in Sweden or in the hills of Italy.
HOWEVER. The bike that makes me go ”aahhhhhh” and just pedal effortlessly around town, along a canal walkway, to the shops, smelling the air, seeing life and making me go mushy and warm inside is a 2002 Merida 901 aluminium with Sora components! (written in fat Italics so you can easily go back to the start of that model reference and re-read to make sure you haven’t made a mistake)
The chain has been changed once, as has the back cassette and saddle. Everything else is original.
The gears have never failed me, the chain rises and falls effortlessly in a manner that would make a blind man think: ”Campa record right?”
The geometry is perfect in such a way that I just seem to fall into the bike and we become one.
Leaving me all the time in the world to wax lyrical in my mind, write poetry, sing to myself, solve riddles and forge plans with the happiest of dispositions.
2: It’s not about the bike, it’s all about the bike.
Yes, slightly more profound than the previous statement.
Bikes are being designed today by the sort of people that 50 years ago would be studying the best materials to take Apollo 11 to the moon and back. Millions are ploughed into finding the best position (you will note in the peloton this year that more and more riders will set up their bikes with a very aggressive drop and saddles that will slope up the the maximum 6 degrees – changed by UCI from 3 degrees) slimline aero forks, flat handlebars, cantilevers and figure-hugging attire… the list seems endless.
The riders that these advances are made for are Beasts on the bike. Trimmed athletes primed to go from 0 – 100 in an instant and then stay there. And while I would have it that their bikes are set up to millimeter perfection in an attempt to hit the right formula for the perfect ride, that’s not why I ride my bike. Even if all of the advances made in bike design et al, eventually find their way into your local bike store; (LBS) Me, the too old, too heavy, too slow? Do I really want a bike that costs £10 000 just so I can sit at the start and look cool those few seconds before I get dropped by 70% of those starting in my local fun ride?
The fact that (for me) it’s not about the bike, makes it all about the bike. I’ll take what I can get as long as it fits me and I genuinely feel good riding it; and NO I’m not saying that the riders on the expensive top-end brands don’t feel good riding their machines, I would bloody hope they do.
But spending double as much for a set of pedals, a frame, handlebars, bottlecages etc etc because they are lighter when you could use the shedding of a few pounds yourself does seem rather like one is missing something very basic.
My goal for Vätternrundan this year is 11 hours including the 1 hour for stops and or mechanical breakdowns. My goal isn’t 10:59:58, and if I am forced to stop more than planned, I won’t be upping the average speed to compensate half-killing myself in the process, coming in at 11:00:05 and saying “Crap!!” to myself for missing my target. Then I would have missed the whole point as to why I ride.
Freedom on 2 wheels with good company in a fantastic ever-changing landscape around Vättern.
See the sunrise, the water, the mist, the hills, the green. Hear the chatter, the laughter, the swish of tyres on tarmac and the chunking of gears being changed. My breathing, my heartbeat, my thoughts. My goal is never the destination, my goal is the road.
3: You don’t have to step out of your comfort zone cycle, cycling is full of comfort zones
I meet a lot of people at my spinning classes. Quite a lot of them would do well on a bike. By that I mean they would manage the sort of rides I do in the time I do them in. However, when I mention this to them and suggest they give it a go the most common and immediate response is:
“50kms!!! Are you mad?”
Not really no, you’ve just completed a 2 hour spinning class? You could do 50km in that time no problem. But of course, it’s not about the ride in itself. It’s the meeting new people ( because cyclists are Flesh-eating Zombies) or having a bike that won’t look out of place. or what to wear?
It’s way out of their comfort zone.
On Wednesdays in Norrköping we have what we call “Social cycling”. 50kms ridden at 25km/h for anyone who wants to give it a go. We erase the barriers of conformity, we stop for coffee halfway and we hardened cyclists take off our helmets and glasses just to prove we are not aliens from another planet and we socialize. Suddenly everyone is in a comfort zone.
So my message to you, the cyclist, the reader is. Do the same, break down some barriers in your town, get others out on the bike to discover just what a great training form it is. Help them get up and cycling. Teach them to ride in a group and suddenly you’re expanding your own network of friends and acquaintances. There aren’t many sports where you can spend 3-6 hours in the company of friends, exerting enough energy to light a small village in darkest Borneo and get a good cup of coffee while you’re doing it.
Show them the beauty of the sport and they will forget the beast.
Footnote:
Vätternrundan 1998. My 9th VR was on the cards and this was my first ever late, or as some would say early start. Nr 16995 and for the first time I rode without lights. It was windy and a little cold, but I made it around. Now looking forward to Nr 10 !
