The Present and Reality

I'll start off with yesterday. Truly a great day for British Cycling, Bradley, Cav, Froome, Dave B and the team! Awesome job! It's sure to have a positive impact on the sport I love, especially at grass roots level.

Rather than go out for my own ride first thing, I pottered around the house then watched the Tour triumphs. A chilled morning and afternoon helped me get over being dog tired from the day before. Being back in training though, I needed to get out on the bike for a few hours. Snake Pass seemed to fulfil the brief.

I always get butterflies heading out of Glossop as I know the 5km Alpinesque climb is never easy. Fortunately, there was a bit of a tailwind so progress was good. There are a few 8% kicks near the end though and after 20 mins climbing in hot(tish) sun, suffering is inevitable. 14km of descent followed, with added danger of the odd wayward sheep and a few temporary rivers flowing across the road. The traffic lights at Ladybower reservoir signalled the point to turn around and retrace my path.....a 14km gradual climb.

Earlier in the day, I had watched an arts programme and liked a quote from one of the artists: "if you are surrounded by beauty the whole time, you have no touch with the present and reality!" This, he suggested, is why Glasgow has such a vibrant arts scene. The quote was particularly relevant to my environment......The scenery was stunning. My legs and lungs were burning and sweat was dripping into my eyes. I was suffering. Most cyclists will understand that one of its main attractions is the feeling of being totally alive, and without the suffering that feeling would not be possible. I was at my happiest.

As I was nearing the final 1km section, the steepest part, ready for the final push, I saw a helicopter descend in front of me. As I rounded the next corner, I saw it parked in the middle of the road. There had been an accident. I stopped, dripping with sweat and hyperventilating. The chap stopping the traffic said that a cyclist had crashed but couldn't give any more details. Shit! Even though the sun was still out, I started to cool down quickly. I eventually persuaded the chap to let me past. What I saw wasn't overly pleasant, a guy on a spine board, blood on his face, appearing unconscious but he must have been breathing.

I was in a beautiful place, happy from the success of Wiggo et al, but feeling very in touch with the present and reality.... contemplating how any of us bikies could end up like the poor chap on the side of the road. I still pushed as hard as I could up to the top of the climb, descending carefully down into Glossop, especially because of the strong crosswinds whipping across The Snake.

Today was a tough one too. I was really tired from the weekend and some long-standing frustrations came out a bit more than was desirable. After work I headed off to Eighth Day veggie cafe for my dinner, a sweet potato, mushroom and goats cheese pie. Yummy! Then it was Sangha and some friendly faces. I'm not one for ritual, but I always leave the room where Buddha sits far calmer and ready to smile the following day.