The crux of the biscuit

Fasten your chinstraps (and for God's sake, as well as your own, pull the damn thing down in the front. It does no good hanging off the back of your head), this could be a long and bumpy ride. This week we've looked at fashion (where helmet tilt was brought up), and over on Gewilli and the legendary Zoo Report the subjects that just won't go away, training, wisdom, the kingdom, power, and the glory. As much as I'd like to prove that resistance really isn't futile, it's been months since I've posted anything meatily thoughtful, and so away we go.

It's not time to drop the fashion subject just yet though. We'll get around to that, but these things must be done delicately. There's a few topics I want to cover, notably helmets, cycling caps, and bar tape. All three, of course, somewhat related to fashion. We'll get there. This is much deeper than that though. As I approach my historic 500th post, I want to reflect a bit on the essence of the blog, the audience, writing, and the meaning of life. Or something like that. Like the best rides, I just have ideas, not a planned route for this. We may end up way off course yet.

The best writing makes nearly each and every reader believe the piece was written specifically for them. Perhaps I've written this before. Sorry. Where have you been all my life! Now with a blog and its limited, targeted audience, this objective isn't nearly as challenging as it might be with a different medium. Hell, I only get between sixty and a hundred twenty distinct visitors a day, and I know most of you. I can write specifically to you if I want to. The funny part is when I don't, and five people all swear that it's them I was calling out. Some are easier to snare in this trap than others. Grin.

Half the time I back down from throwing some of this randomness out there for fear of inflaming one or more of my loyal readers. That's right, we actually worry about hurting feelings here. Direct, honest feedback isn't always well-received. Besides, this ain't Dear Abby; nobody writes in seeking advice anymore. And what the hell do I know anyway? (yes, there's a theme here). You think it's easy being a truly helpful, benevolent mofo?

What's this got to do with fashion and training? (two questions in a row, bad form) Well, training advice is partly a study of behavior, and behavior is a lot like fashion -- they both are always changing. That's one of the things that makes it so easy to suck readers in to concluding you're writing about them. Anytime you write about behavior, most likely it's something everyone's been guilty of to some degree at one time or another. Just like fashion. Stuff that you're proud of at one point in your life becomes a source of shame and embarrassment at another. People don't like shame and embarrassment... (yes, I know the ellipsis is the oldest and lamest trick in the book when it comes to the thinly-veiled direct reference to somebody bait. Why the hell do you think I put it in there?).

Which brings us to addressing the questions of training, practice, coaching, and racing directly. By now I hope you're not just wondering if you're one of my targets of the day, but instead are deeply contemplating your own sense of personal guidance and self-reliance. Only you can prevent forest fires... I can preach about practice, training, and racing, but why should anyone listen? It's not like I've ever set the sporting world ablaze. Experience? Well, (now maybe you'll "get" the big preface) without mentioning any names, but including myself of course, there are thousands of people who've done hundreds of races, yet never improved very much. I think they call us Cat 3s. One of my old teammates (a cat 2) once said "there is no such thing as a good cat 3." He pissed a few people off, including me, and in retaliation I rode the fucker right off my wheel at Loudon one night, on the way to a solo win. Yet he was right, at least in a way.

So practice doesn't make perfect. I've no data to back it up, but I'd guess that riders who come into the sport having already developed a good "engine" prior to entering their first race ultimately having a better success rate (i.e. upgrading) than those who start racing prematurely. Yes, it's true, there's a skill set associated to bike racing (any form) that's only loosely related to fitness. You won't get this any way except racing (ok, maybe a little from racing something other than bicycles, especially something with wheels), so some "practice" is a must. Yet I've seen people with just a few years racing discover things that have escaped me for two decades. Lucky for me, these nice kids are willing to pass it on. I'm still learning, but the quantity of practice hasn't got much to do with it. There are some guys who ride Wompatuck every week, and have been doing so for years, yet are still the same moving road block every time we roll through the only tight spot on the course. Practice has done nothing for them.

OK, now I'm lost, or at least losing my way. Maybe I need a coach! One who knows everything! Oh yeah, that was another point. Nobody had personal coaches back before the internet. Which is odd, because with the internet, you'd think there'd be more information out and available for free than ever before. There used to be just a few books and that was that. Do people even read books on training anymore? Maybe they do, then quickly find dissenting opinions on the internet, and they get confused, and hire a coach to help them sort it out? Or does the internet just make it easier to be a coach?

More on fashion and bar tape coming at you soon. Now I feel like going for a ride. I'd really like to be fashionable and go without the helmet too. For some reason that's been happening to me lately. For the record, I haven't ridden without a helmet since 1985, save for a few times on broiling climbs in the high desert when the risk of brain meltage from 120 degree temps outweighed the risk of toppling over at three mph. Thanks for reading (that was just for you...), and win one for the Gipper.