Wednesday, October 17, 2007

You Can't See Speed

... goes the saying in motor sport. From my experience, it's true. Watching a a car on the race circuit, you can't really tell who is fastest. The guy out there sliping, sliding, and wringing the last -ish- of traction out of his tires LOOKS fast. He looks like the guy trying the hardest. But often, he's trying so hard because, the car is not working well!

I'm finding the same it true for biking...

After tonight's ride I downloaded the data from my GPS. I noticed something odd. I covered seven more miles in my two hours than I had when I started my base miles three weeks ago. I literally *yawned* on this ride. Boring... is what I was thinking as I rode. Yet, progress has been made. The stopwatch removes all doubts...

The lesson here... speed is only a preception. With absolutely ZERO focus on speed (base miles) the speed has come - although the rides have grown progressively more boring, and more effortless. Lao Tzu would be proud of that statement. That's pretty much Daoism in a nutshell. Philosophy, athletic training, health, it's all related.... not sure how... probably never will... but the journey is fun!

RIDER DOWN!
Never a good scene. A bike, someone lying on the ground and an ambulance...



Ran across on this while riding along Heights Blvd. The rider is a regular along the bike lane. Don't know him, but seen him many times. I didn't interrupt the emergency personnel, but after the ambulance departed I inquired with one of the paramedics "Hit and Run, or fall?" He answered "Fall." Don't know what happened, and don't want to speculate, but hopefully I'll see this guy again soon!

Man, it's been a long time since I've done photojournalism! I miss it!

Be careful out there folks!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

In addition, if you are into this race, good condition of your body is truly essential. When we say good condition a body must be in good shape, enough time of sleep, should not be drunk or take any drugs. Presence of mind is needed in this game because you are running in a high speed… you have to be very quick minded in dealing with speed… fast enough to control and hurtle the wheels you are into. This will lessen accidents or injuries during the race.

Jane said...

I hate seeing bikes and ambulances together. Cycling in Houston is a dangerous affair!