10 1/2 hours in the saddle on my first long weekend back into the world of off-season training. Maybe I'm a bit over zealous? It was just a lot of long long long riding out in the Blue Ridge. I found myself spending a couple days west of the Beltway, enjoying society events by night and long rides by day. My adventure into horse country and blue blood society culminated on Sunday with me on the far side of Mt. Weather heading toward the gravel top of Blue Mountain.
I view climbing as a semi-religious experience. The longer the hill and the higher the peak the closer I feel I am coming to the All Mighty. Literally this may be true but there is also something euphoric when you look out through the trees and see nothing to the sides of you except an open expanse of air and a valley way below.
My view of the cycling landscape is shaped by the relatively flat world of Kansas. According to Ben I have waxed poetically about my origins quite a bit. I agree with his assessment, however, when you come from some place where the horizon is visible beyond the curve of the Earth and the ocean is days away you get a new appreciation of terrain and the enormity of nature.
There is also something beautiful in the sound of silence. Climbing is about rhythm. It's about finding that comfortable spot in between pain and suffering and then continuing on. When I reach that rhythm I find myself in a silent world where all I can hear is the slow ticking of my cranks and the pavement under my wheels. It's like a symphony of silence.
There are many different types of silence and each has it's own emotion behind it. There is the silence of being caught on an elevator ride with my ex-girlfriend who I am no longer on speaking terms with. The silence where you are uncomfortable and undirected emotion boils over into a reddening of cheeks and a desire for it all to end. Then there is the silence of a rush hour DC bus where 40 people can be packed in like sardines yet not breadth a word. That is the silence of motivation and determination. Of people trying to start their day in the most positive light while using the least energy possible. Then there is the silence that proceeds a first kiss with a girl who I know that I will love. The one so pretty and so smart that I can not believe she is there standing inches away from me and I find myself just overwhelmed by the situation.
The silence of climbing borrows from all of these moments and creates its own. It's a time of fire and motivation combined with passion and determination. It is a meddling of feelings and a result of desire. On top of that, the silence makes you crave it even more.
There is also something beautiful in the sound of silence. Climbing is about rhythm. It's about finding that comfortable spot in between pain and suffering and then continuing on. When I reach that rhythm I find myself in a silent world where all I can hear is the slow ticking of my cranks and the pavement under my wheels. It's like a symphony of silence.
There are many different types of silence and each has it's own emotion behind it. There is the silence of being caught on an elevator ride with my ex-girlfriend who I am no longer on speaking terms with. The silence where you are uncomfortable and undirected emotion boils over into a reddening of cheeks and a desire for it all to end. Then there is the silence of a rush hour DC bus where 40 people can be packed in like sardines yet not breadth a word. That is the silence of motivation and determination. Of people trying to start their day in the most positive light while using the least energy possible. Then there is the silence that proceeds a first kiss with a girl who I know that I will love. The one so pretty and so smart that I can not believe she is there standing inches away from me and I find myself just overwhelmed by the situation.
The silence of climbing borrows from all of these moments and creates its own. It's a time of fire and motivation combined with passion and determination. It is a meddling of feelings and a result of desire. On top of that, the silence makes you crave it even more.
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