Running With the Foghorn Leghorn

The Heckler said:
I like to size people up at the line by trying to figure out how serious they are.

Jokes, fart noises, talk about hating bikes and questions about what 'normal hobbies' are like.

Ability to laugh and joke doesn't really correlate to speed at all but it definitely helps you figure out who's worth hanging out with after!
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we had some good front row lulz this year, good group of doods.
 
@soulchild Ahh, the classic "I did that trick the other day, there was just no one around to see it and I can't do it again".
I think some of your guys should come back and reread these posts around January and see if they make sense. You guys are counting down the days until you are done having to training and race. Doesn't that seem weird? To each his own but man, this makes zero sense. There is rarely a day where I do not want to take a ride.
 
stb222 said:
@soulchild Ahh, the classic "I did that trick the other day, there was just no one around to see it and I can't do it again".
I think some of your guys should come back and reread these posts around January and see if they make sense. You guys are counting down the days until you are done having to training and race. Doesn't that seem weird? To each his own but man, this makes zero sense. There is rarely a day where I do not want to take a ride.
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If you don’t get it, you don’t get it.


Laying it all out there to achieve a goal is an emotional roller-coaster. When you start thinking you’re going to fail, you start questioning everything and doubting yourself and if you’ll ever meet the goals you set for yourself in the first place. What @soulchild needs to do is to listen to his friends (like @pearl ) who is actual giving good, smart advice. Pearl can do that because he’s been there. I don’t think you ever have, which is why I don’t think you get it.
So you can get off your soapbox about how you ride for the simple love of it. Everybody does it for their own reasons, and yours is no better or no worse than anyone else’s.
 
Lets not forget Lou stepped up this year. The B's are crazy fast.

His results are impressive

Edit: look back at each race, figure out why you feel you failed and work on it, build on it and come back next season and throw down. If you're struggling to find answers, you have a great support group who will help you sort it out.

Always - look back at the original goals and remind yourself of your expectations. Were they achieveable knowing what you know now?

You showed up, you threw down and you now have more knowledge, wisdom and experience to move forward.

Dont beat yourself up - take some time to deal with the emotions and refocus.
 
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jShort said:
If you don’t get it, you don’t get it.

Laying it all out there to achieve a goal is an emotional roller-coaster. When you start thinking you’re going to fail, you start questioning everything and doubting yourself and if you’ll ever meet the goals you set for yourself in the first place. What @soulchild needs to do is to listen to his friends (like @pearl ) who is actual giving good, smart advice. Pearl can do that because he’s been there. I don’t think you ever have, which is why I don’t think you get it.
So you can get off your soapbox about how you ride for the simple love of it. Everybody does it for their own reasons, and yours is no better or no worse than anyone else’s.
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Never said it was better. However, tons of people have tried to get me to race over the years, often up on their soapbox, and it has come up before on here that we are just trying to get you to see why they love it. My comments now are no different and you are so quick to dismiss them as not good advice. So open your mind and displace yourself from the racer mindset, I think you may be surprised what you may find. You are not the first to do this and it has proved me to be an oddball over my numerous years of doing activities by my lonesome. @Norm tried it to some point one winter but I don't remember the outcome.
 
soulchild said:
Feeling this post? Indeed I am. Everything you described resonates 1000% with me. The hardest hitting sentiment (and most infuriating) being shitty results knowing you are better than the effort you put out.

I really appreciate the transparency of you content and direct delivery. In that spirit I want to share my own.

My cyclocross season has been abomination of epic proportions. I have not had a single race this season where felt even 85% as strong as I have in training earlier in the season (and even that was only on 2 occassions) and have been in steady decline. I casually voiced this to @pearl early in the season but kept telling myself I'm not worried believing the ship would right itself. The power is up. My weight is in check. Numbers don't lie, or do they? While they certainly don't tell the whole story, I can't formulate a hypothesis on how coming into this season, my power across all metrics is up, my weight is the same as last season and yet come race day my legs won't put it together for 45 minutes (or bother show up at all).

You complimented me on my persistence early in the year and I never thought about it until that day. I have always had it in my mind (and believed with 100% certainty) that that breakout performance was just around the corner. I absolutely know that I have more in the tank than I have been able to put out on race day. That thought is what keeps (or kept) me moving forward and whole heartedly believing that 'the next one' would be the one where it all comes together. By the numbers, however, I am a terrible cyclocross racer. Still as I look at the field I believe I am (at the very least) just as strong as most just not when it matters. Maybe I've just been delusional, I mean you are what your results say you are right?

At this point I've done something I have never done in the time that I've been doing this and decided to just mailed it in. I'm completely exhausted both mentally and physically. I'm stressed, putting weight back on, and look like shit. Showing up and consistently underperforming, being disgusted during and after the race, then training angrily to rinse and repeat. I mean what's the point? In that spirit, I decided last week to put the Garmin away and get back to riding for the fun of riding.
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You'll get it Lou... If you can find the strength, don't beat yourself up. That negative creeps in and it will be a hard battle man. Keep up the good work my guy.
 
@pearl, thank you for that. You really hit the nail on the head with a lot of how I have felt and still feel at times. Also, I do remember that recap and race you are talking about vividly and how it felt when it all just seemed to click and make sense. I am sure that will be the case here as well as time goes on and more experience is gained. That being said however, these are not necessarily the things I take issue with. I'm referring solely to the lack of strength, fitness, or combination thereof on race day.

@jShort, @Mountain Bike Mike, and @The Kalmyk thanks for the positive feedback too. I do want to clarify, however, that this was truly not a 'woe is me' post. I'm very happy with where I am. I'm in great shape, I'm stronger, I'm faster and many things have in fact improved this year.

I felt drawn in by the honesty of Norm's post because it hits home on many levels. It was something that made me want to say 'hey man, I totally understand how you feel' for no other reason than the fact that it's the truth. My post was me co-signing his sentiment with no equivocation. The act of recognizing one's shortcomings is something so simple that I'm sure resonates with many of us (albeit on different levels), and while we seldom discuss them (mostly for fear of ridicule) this deserved an honest reply. I'm just glad I'm comfortable enough with myself to to provide one. Honest content; nothing more, nothing less.


Then we have this clown.

stb222 said:
@soulchild Ahh, the classic "I did that trick the other day, there was just no one around to see it and I can't do it again".
I think some of your guys should come back and reread these posts around January and see if they make sense. You guys are counting down the days until you are done having to training and race. Doesn't that seem weird? To each his own but man, this makes zero sense. There is rarely a day where I do not want to take a ride.
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You know, I was going to ignore this since we know you like to be a douche for the sake of being a douche and we take you with a grain of salt but this is more offensive than your usual asinine banter that screams hey look at me, I need attention too. "I did that trick the other day, there was just no one around to see it and I can't do it again"? Really? I'll feed your need for attention. Are you listening? Fuck you Kevin. You're the court jester. No one gives a shit what you have to say.

I'll say this as clearly as I can... don't you ever again try to inject your bullshit rhetoric at my expense. I'm not the one.
 
pearl said:
About the mailing in part, I have circled this upcoming Sunday on my calendar ever since the calendar was released. I don't want to dig too deep into my personal story (6 days) but I'm certain you have been on the grind since January, like me. It isn't easy. I am completely drained as well. We need time to rest. I recall some of my Strava rides a couple of weeks ago, counting down from 20 days. It makes me sad to hear that you are completely off the wagon with 1 week to go. I understand though.

I see a Wissahickon or White Clay trip happening soon. I hope you will be with us.
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Yes, it's been a long and arduous year my man. I registered for the remaining NJ races like 3 weeks ago so there is a slim chance I show up this weekend, but probability is low. Either way, I am very much looking forward to your story and BOTH Wiss and WC soon!
 
@Norm, thanks for validating why i dont race.: it wood take all the fun out of riding, for me; and thankfully i have always known that. but, just like many others, i still enjoy reading your posts, and sometimes only read your posts, so keep that up, 'cause bikes
 
Cmon now... This is BS

Lou and Kev are both good guys in my book.

Take it offline and hug it out. I know that if you guys hashed it out, it will be clear that there was no harm intended.
 
I think what @Norm and @soulchild wrote here will hit home for just about anyone who races (and both posts are really, really well written, by the way.) And @stb222 , I think I see what you're saying (even though I think you have to admit that opening that post the way you did was a categorically dickish way to go about it. I mean, go back and read it. Is there any way to read your first sentence where it doesn't come across as a jab?) Racing is, on very simple level, ridiculous. Over the course of a season, we pay a not insignificant amount of money in fees, hotel rooms, equipment and gas to go ride in circles and try to minimize the time we spend doing it by going fast enough to hurt ourselves. So, we pay money to get less of what we are paying for than people who finish after us, and we are compensated in pain. Kind of crazy when you really think about it. But I think that's missing something, too. You imply that riding just for the sake of riding doesn't lead to the kind of burnout that you read in @soulchild 's or @pearl 's posts, but that's got nothing to do with it. I can't speak for them, but as I see it, no one is burned out from riding. They're burned out from spending a season pushing on the higher edges of their skill and fitness to get stronger. For most of us who race, we do it because it's an opportunity to find out if the efforts we've made to improve are paying off. And you could ask why does it matter to push to improve so much. I don't know - why does anyone ever try to get better at any activity? It seems a logical part of being involved in something to want to do it better. And racing is just a no-BS way of finding out if those efforts are paying off.

Not everyone needs or wants to race. I'm surprised to see you write that people try to talk you into racing. Really? Who would give a sh*t? I don't mean that against you personally - I mean, really: who cares if anyone else races? But questioning those who do makes no sense either. On the most basic level, it's a personal choice to try to answer the question of how good (or bad!) we are at this thing we all do. There are plenty of other benefits (meet people with similar interests, find new places to ride, take a road trip, etc.) and a few drawbacks (the expense, the time away from home, the fact that when you commit to it you either put the time in to get better or accept that you're going to be back of the pack, and then there's what I think Norm and Lou are referring to - the tendency to focus only on the guys who are ahead of you and lose sight of that fact that because of the work you've already done, there are still plenty behind you.) You may not need to race to test yourself, but it's an unambiguous way to do so if you choose.

Oh - and @soulchild and @pearl : I want in if you guys are heading to my hood! It's been a while since you've graced the shores of the mighty Wissahickon Creek!
 
1speed said:
I think what @Norm and @soulchild wrote here will hit home for just about anyone who races (and both posts are really, really well written, by the way.) And @stb222 , I think I see what you're saying (even though I think you have to admit that opening that post the way you did was a categorically dickish way to go about it. I mean, go back and read it. Is there any way to read your first sentence where it doesn't come across as a jab?) Racing is, on very simple level, ridiculous. Over the course of a season, we pay a not insignificant amount of money in fees, hotel rooms, equipment and gas to go ride in circles and try to minimize the time we spend doing it by going fast enough to hurt ourselves. So, we pay money to get less of what we are paying for than people who finish after us, and we are compensated in pain. Kind of crazy when you really think about it. But I think that's missing something, too. You imply that riding just for the sake of riding doesn't lead to the kind of burnout that you read in @soulchild 's or @pearl 's posts, but that's got nothing to do with it. I can't speak for them, but as I see it, no one is burned out from riding. They're burned out from spending a season pushing on the higher edges of their skill and fitness to get stronger. For most of us who race, we do it because it's an opportunity to find out if the efforts we've made to improve are paying off. And you could ask why does it matter to push to improve so much. I don't know - why does anyone ever try to get better at any activity? It seems a logical part of being involved in something to want to do it better. And racing is just a no-BS way of finding out if those efforts are paying off.

Not everyone needs or wants to race. I'm surprised to see you write that people try to talk you into racing. Really? Who would give a sh*t? I don't mean that against you personally - I mean, really: who cares if anyone else races? But questioning those who do makes no sense either. On the most basic level, it's a personal choice to try to answer the question of how good (or bad!) we are at this thing we all do. There are plenty of other benefits (meet people with similar interests, find new places to ride, take a road trip, etc.) and a few drawbacks (the expense, the time away from home, the fact that when you commit to it you either put the time in to get better or accept that you're going to be back of the pack, and then there's what I think Norm and Lou are referring to - the tendency to focus only on the guys who are ahead of you and lose sight of that fact that because of the work you've already done, there are still plenty behind you.) You may not need to race to test yourself, but it's an unambiguous way to do so if you choose.

Oh - and @soulchild and @pearl : I want in if you guys are heading to my hood! It's been a while since you've graced the shores of the mighty Wissahickon Creek!
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Damn - Nice! Queue the @Norm clap gif
 
Stones, Sticks and Dicks
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I took a solid 5 minutes to noodle over @soulchild's response to my response to his response to @Norm's post that was in response to his performance of his last race. I will ignore the threats and bold text because, if I am not mistaken, he took offense to my comment about the trick no one saw and may have been a tad enraged at that moment. Sure I threw it out there and have zero issue facing the consequences of such actions but all I did was put together what he was saying and said it differently in a way , as I have come known to do.

@1speed makes some solid point and I actually read an entire post of his as a result. He did mention that i missed that they were saying that they weren't sick of riding, they were sick of training, but my point was the sick of training was making them not enjoy riding Who the hell knows but I do know riding everyday doesn't make me not want to ride. We discussed offline and I understand his perspective and I think it gets mine and I think he gets it just in general. Well, except for concise posts, but everyone needs something to work on.

I can appreciate all of the comments that are provided but friends are typically going to tell you want you want to hear, so salt as you like and maybe point the Looking Glass Self on yourself before you drown in your own seriousness.

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I don't take offense to being called the court jester, hell, as per below, it is a compliment depending on your perception:

In literature, the jester is symbolic of common sense and of honesty, notably in King Lear, the court jester is a character used for insight and advice on the part of the monarch, taking advantage of his license to mock and speak freely to dispense frank observations and highlight the folly of his monarch. This presents a clashing irony as a "greater" man could dispense the same advice and find himself being detained in the dungeons or even executed. Only as the lowliest member of the court can the jester be the monarch's most useful adviser

Author Alan Gordon also writes about jesters as advisers to the king, who actually make up a super-secret spy ring that try to keep peace and control the leaders of different countries. The Fool's Guild of these novels is portrayed as a mockery to the church, and they refer to Jesus Christ as "Their Savior, The First Fool."

License to mock and speak freely to dispense frank observations and highlight the folly of his monarch. I would say that is pretty damn spot on to the role I fall into here and kinda just in general. Does that make me a dick? I think we figured out I was not here but I guess I will have to ponder that out myself since no one will care about this post.
 
I feel compelled to add to this... I don't know, I just do... so here it goes... right form the top...

It may seem that I would take your side on this because we've become, shall I say it... Friends. Am I biased? Maybe... but I try to see it from both sides. To clarify, I'm not taking sides on this because I know you and Lou are truly good people and this is just another thing where you made a sarcastic comment at an inappropriate time. Threw some salt in...The timing to create some drama was spot on. But that's you're thing, some get it, some don't. Me personally - it's entertaining even when it's at my expense. I can appreciate good quality sarcasm. Shit, on more than one occasion, you got me real good.

I will say this in support of your forum persona and character - There is a need for that type in everything in life to maintain a healthy balance. This forum would lose something significant if it didn't have the @stb222 and @pooriggy to name a few. Since I've been on the forum, you've toned it down but it comes out from time to time and for the most part, when you peel away the sarcasm, the message is, 99% of the time, pretty accurate. I say keep at it but if someone get's pissed, make it right.

Who wants to be in a world where everyone was blowing smoke up everyone's ass all the time?
 
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