Suffering

So far this season has been all about riding in harsh conditions. I look at a lot of images and envy those riders in shorts and jerseys. Today was an impossible day to be on the bike. Temps held steady all day at 38 degrees and the rain poured all day long. The wind blew in a crazed whirlwind.

I decided to take the day off and settle some chores at home. I got my watches fixed. I found stuff that I had been looking for a long time. I went and bought socks. I had lots of coffee. I like suffering, though sometimes it really tires me.

The Trans Iowa will be an epic ride of suffering. The long rains are sure to soak the gravel and I highly doubt it will be dry and dusty by months end. I will be ready. Below is an excerpt from

"The Rider" from Tim Krabbe:

"In 1919, Brussels-Amiens was won by a rider who rode the last forty kilometers with a flat front tire. Talk about suffering! He arrived at 11:30 at night, with a ninety minute lead on the only two riders who finished the race. That day had been like night, trees had whipped back and forth, farmers were blown back into their barns, there were hailstones, bomb craters from the war, crossroads where the gendarmes had run away and riders had to climb onto one another's shoulders to wipe clean the muddied road signs."

That's what I call epic times!!

Ari