Rethinking the hard parts...

[Anne-France Boyle]

Sharing this article by my coach, Samuel Thompson, on a different way of thinking about the hard parts of long-distance cycling. I thought this perspective on preparation and effort might resonate with some of you. Enjoy!

https://dotwatcher.substack.com/p/opinion-suffering-isnt-the-point

I've really enjoyed his approach to coaching. More about Samuel at acier.cc

Anne-France

[Charlie Martin]

Anne-France, thanks for sharing!

The "why" is so important. This sport can be hard, and if our efforts are not ultimately serving us in a meaningful way, the inevitable result as I see it is burnout. One of my few DNFs I can point to was on a challenging ride where I could not answer the question "Why am I doing this?"

I do think that suffering takes up more than its share of the narrative. Reflecting on my own ride reports, that is definitely the case for me. I like to document my experience, and suffering is such an acute part of it that I feel any report would be incomplete not to include it. But I think it can also provide a distorted picture to readers, who don't see it in the same overall context that I do. I have an intimate understanding of my motivations, and I am conscious of them before, during, and after my rides. At any point I would be prepared to give a serious answer to the question "Why are you doing this?" to which I would give what is quite possibly a boring and unrelatable answer for a lot of people, but that captures the deep satisfaction that I get out of all of my riding. I agree with the article that suffering cannot be the goal.

I have found that people can be very different in what enjoyment they get out of the sport, and whatever it is for someone, it is something to nurture and celebrate. I get turned off pretty quickly when I see someone projecting the "correct" way to enjoy cycling/randonneuring and I try to catch myself when I find myself doing so, lest I snuff out someone else's flame. One of the things I have appreciated about RUSA is the great diversity of ways there are to participate and enjoy its offerings.

Lots of other interesting and relatable things in the article, and I recommend the read. 

- Charlie

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