Not so glamorous

I got an interesting response to a Facebook post the other day that got me to thinking about the glamour of cycling and the lack of it in my version of the sport. For anyone who has watched the track and road cycling this year will have seen the fancy bikes, riders with immaculate kit and the support cars etc. And, above all, the riders look so comfortable on the bikes often riding along like it is the easiest thing in the world. Of course occasionally we see a long break or some serious effort on a hill, but again it still looks pretty good. Maybe it's all the sunshine they seem to get.

Compare this with my efforts. And perhaps yours especially if, like me, you are relatively new to this lark. I make my own flapjacks and prepare my own drinks. If I'm out for a long ride I have to carry replacement energy powder and find water supplies and more food (or carry it with me). The shopping cuts into the riding time I assure you. Comfort stops are ok, they are relatively short but shops take time. I carry tools and spares just in case I have a "mechanical". Or I find a bike shop as I had to when I broke a spoke.

And then there's the actual cycling. A mate of mine said he'd seen me the other weekend. Actually he said he'd seen me working hard. When I asked where he'd seen me I didn't remember working hard there at all. So goodness knows what I look like when I am working hard. I'm guessing it doesn't look good. Let's be honest looking good isn't easy when there's some spit dangling from your mouth as you put in a hard effort. And I bet my face is red too.

That brings me to the subject of food. Easy to carry. Less easy to eat. I'm fairly adept at getting it out of my pockets and unwrapping it. I can even rip the top off a gel and get the sickly liquid out. Not so skillful(and the subject of the above Facebook post) is my ability to breathe in what feels like large lumps of flapjack and then spend the next mile or so coughing until it pops out. Or doesn't as it goes. That probably makes my face go red too.

And at the end of it all, I come back home and have to clean my own bike, put it on the stand and fix it up as best as possible so I can do it all again. No racks of replacement bikes and parts with expert mechanics for me.

Definitely not glamorous, is it?

However, I was made to feel happier when I watched the excellent documentary about Bradley Wiggins, A Year in Yellow. He still has to get up and go out training on his own. He suffers away on the turbo trainer in his shed. It didn't look so glamorous either.

Fancy that, I may have something in common with Bradley Wiggins. I'll take that.

Disclaimer

I have to make it clear that I have excellent home support. My Significant Other much more often than not provides recovery drinks, food, clothes washing services and great, great encouragement. And I was humbled by the support she provided on my trek across Scotland earlier in the year. A couple of days when I did feel a little like a pro. The support car had just about everything I would ever need in it and even a spare bike on the roof. So I really can't complain on that front.

And I love being out... If you don't do it already, try it and find out if you can find your own love for a lack of glamour.