cycleology

Fear is Cycling and Running’s most efficacious component. Humanities plushest bicycle might as well be a rusty Tricycle without fear in your gear-box. Your Fear Gear is located at your exhaustion threshold. The Fear Gear, turning it on and off in a slipstreaming evolution of fatigue, pain and gain is a dance between you and your VO-Max.

A rare and sometime elusive gravity field in this exhaustion zone where thought’s of limitlessness propel your efforts. As if Somebody inside you is pushing you Somewhere you’ve yet to venture. Out on the edge. Near total collapse. Stay on this train of thought. This mysterious and ostensively effortless self-propulsion is astonishingly narcotic, where muscle fatigue doesn’t equate to pain. It’s just a new level of fatigue to embrace and overcome.

“No matter how hard you train, Somebody will train harder. No matter how hard you run, Somebody will run harder. No matter how hard you want it, Somebody will want it more, I am Somebody.”

“A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more.” Steve Prefontaine.

When I’m scared I’m quickest. Scared of what? I never seem to discover, just scared. Dopamine, adrenalin and caffeine milling around. How do you know you’ve gone too far till you get there? Are there limits to limits?

Steve Prefontaine saw no limits. Steve was Nike’s first Signature Athlete in 1974. Steve and Bill Bowerman’s collaboration at the University of Oregon crafted a one of a kind champion in Pre. Bill Bowerman Co-Founded Nike, invented The Waffle Trainer with waffle-irons in a backyard shed and served in the US Army in WW2.

” Someone who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then Punish himself even more”. Fear of oxygen-debt, fear of collapse. Your running or riding away from past limitations. It’s a scary place so never slowdown in this vague and hazy space. On wheels or feet if you want to get stronger you will need to embrace muscle fatigue and look to the hills with some fear.

I ride as fast as possible whenever possible. No speedometer. No odometer. No GPS. No counting of anything. The GPS in my head. A smooth surface. Maximum tire-pressure. Ideally a carbon seat, seat-post and handle bars. Never counting miles. Always reveling in memories.

The bicycle is perfect synergy between human and human ingenuity. A Bicycle Ride will always embellish your life. What are you afraid of? Get out today and find your Fear Gear. It’s just a breath or two away.