Riding v. Racing and Training
Ben rode that Tarmac super fast and hard, but doesn’t “train”
Wish I would’ve recorded and Instagramed, Ben Delaney’s morning dissertation on “training” v. “riding” during the Spesh New Tarmac event. It was almost mystical and predictive. During the presentation of his thesis while sipping on espresso Chris Reikert poured, I was reminded how some of the fastest dudes I ride with, don’t put a number on their back, they just ride. Hard, like on lunch rides.
An Equator Coffee pour
A couple of them wrote articles for our magazine this month and it could’ve been an op/ed on just riding or flying across the Pacific for a stage race.
Matt got super fit once
Anthony is in top form, don’t know when he’s not
Some get motivated by the challenge of a race or a long ride. I make room for both ways, but this season have gravitated to finding the perfect ride, like a surfer after a wave, and got into a zone on the Santa Cruz twisty descents. Here are excerpts from Matt’s take and Anthony’s race report…
I spent a year and a great deal of money on training seriously. It took its toll on my body, on my marriage, and on my family. By the end of the season and the year, I kind of hated cycling. Mostly it was the gruelling way I felt forced to be out there on my bike punishing myself and suffering 6 days a week when I had a family to take care of as well as a business to run. My cyclocross placings in lower category racing went from bottom third to firmly middle, sometimes better than mid-pack, but never on any podium. – Matt from My Not-Getting-Gapped Year
As he disappeared up the road, I switched to “remora mode” (a remora is a fish that attaches itself to a shark for a free ride). Chasing, sitting on, patrolling, disrupting, etc. With two guys up the road, my duty was to protect and serve, while not completely pissing the rest of the peloton off. From that point on, it was accelerate, and cover. – Anthony from Tour of Friendship
So what did Ben say? It was something like, “just ride man,” but said much more eloquently.