To ride; to be

Over the last five years since I bought my first road bike, my love of cycling had grown to be more than just training for long distance triathlon, more than improving fitness as originally intended; it had become my release from the mundane. My sense of independence and a vehicle, literally, for my need for achievement: cycling allowed me to achieve, and regardless of how far you rode or high you climbed, there would always be another strava segment out there – thank you Monty for the introduction of strava to our sandpit!

Cycling can be about goals and targets, but, as is nearly always the case, it is the journey towards the goal that is so much more rewarding for me.  And so my goal, and my journey, my rides towards my target, my idea: live the dream. Go Pro. Be a professional – or at least pretend!  Dedicate a year to cycling: a season in the life of a pro.

The Spring Classics: Milan – Sanremo; the Tour of Flanders; and then the Queen of the Classics, The Hell of the North; Paris – Roubaix before Liege-Bastogne-Liege.  Then the summer brings the grand tours: the Giro, le Tour, maybe the Vuelta too, before the end of season Monument – the Race of the Falling Leaves, the Tour of Lombardy.

To ride a season of races as close to the pros as possible.  To experience the thrills and spills; the blood, sweat and tears; the highs and lows; the sun and the rain; the ascents and descents: to follow in the Slipstream of the Giants of the Road.  Bartali, Coppi, Kubler, Koblet, Bobet, Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, Fignon, LeMond, Indurain.  And then the EPO generation (who was the first?), to now, while the London 2012 and Sky euphoria is still fresh: Cav and Sir Wiggo.

To ride; to be.  A challenge, a target – a journey.