Part - 2 Part - 3 Part - 4 Part - 5 Part - 6 Part - 2 Part - 3 Part - 4 Part - 5 Part - 6I learned a lot about ritual when I was in Martial Arts. I know cycling is like a religion in Europe, and these pre race and post podium rituals are central and key for a number of reasons. It not only allows all the press and fans to get photos and become familiar with the teams and riders, but it also brings structure to the race, instead of chaos for the fans and photojournalists, press, all forms of media. On the rider's side, it gives them a way to blow off steam and get rid of pre-race jitters. Recently I saw the women form an echelon at Visalia, and that reminded me of the order in the family of a whole society in the Kempo Karate demonstration I saw once, where a master and his students, even his sons did a awesome display of what I would call the sublime.
It was rank and file demonstration of combat where everyone fought to protect the next member of the hierarchy, all the way down to the sons, which were last protecting the master, and I though to myself, wow! This is rank and file, its structure, its ritual and tradition, that taught me both ritual and religion, as least in some aspects of it. I also see this in team work during a race. When I see the podium introductions, now I know how important these are to make everything about the race (Centered) and affirmative of the game of life, and not just about winners or who goes to the Olympics, but this is a whole society within itself! Probably most important this teaches women riders and really all humanity about the discipline and structure in life, and that's the sense I got being in Martial Arts for 12 years.
I hope as women's status and popularity increases at our races, that they won't hold there heads down when being introduced, but rather be proud, hold their heads up, and smile, even wave to the fans. Without fan support, without connecting to the fans and being standoffish is only going to hurt these races in the long run, and that's bad for the image of women's cycling. It's bad for our races, and its bad for cycling as a whole in a country where Baseball, Football and Basketball reign supreme.
So ladies please, be proud, be friendly, warm to the fans, warm to the press and to the cameras, and give us our money's worth, and we will support you and cheer like you have never heard it before. As least I hope they do! It may take time for it to come full circle! As they say, Quid pro quo, you give it to us, we give it to you, and the whole thing comes full circle with better races, more fans, better sponsors, more money, better prizes, and all the cool stories of sportsmanship come into play. So many good stories yet to be written in cycling, but we really need to break the ice between fans and riders, the press and even mom and pop who just want a few photos for their scrapbook.
However my heart really goes out to the race promoters who work so tirelessly all year long to put races on year after year, and I think it really pleases them when they see all is well in their races, where riders are happy, smiling and proud, and fans are rallying around the riders, and the riders are giving us our moneys worth. I would always hope that for the sake of the sport, the riders would always think in terms of the image, that's what counts. What comes though the lens and goes out to the rest of the world is what counts, and I reckon without the Internet, cycling would be almost dead in the eyes of the worldwide public.
Finally, two last things on the top pro women, is that I wished more of them raced full time, and then we would have more Amber Neben's and Kristen Armstrong's. I know many work full time jobs, and that doesn't make sense to me that Pros can work full time and still be top pros. I know not everyone can train full time, because it's a huge commitment, and teams have to foot the bill. Also training and racing full time doesn't mean just grinding the pavement, but workshops and clinics at getting better at every aspect of the sport from TT improvements in wind tunnels, climbing, sprinting, endurance in stage racing, all of it. I know Leontien was training effectively full time when she went to the 2000 games and won 3 gold medals. I think if more women trained full time, then we would see better results in Europe. However, we don't need to thrash Europe, but just prove we are good solid players and the rest will come in time.
Sometimes there are interviews of the parents of some up and coming rider on Euro TV and they talk about how their sons or daughters have said they want to fully dedicate themselves to cycling to see what they can achieve because its the dream of so many Europeans. I don't understand how American Pro women can fully dedicate themselves to achieve these dreams while working full time, it doesn't seem possible to do both. I read about rider's college career goals and dreams as if cycling is a secondary recreational weekend adventure, and that does dishearten me. Its thrilling when an athlete decides to fully dedicate themselves, giving up a slice of their life in the pursuit of greatness! However these are the ones who will be serious contenders in Europe and marked for greatness! When Armstrong and Neben retire, who will take their place?
Also I wished there was someway American women could stop the top sprinters from Europe from coming over here time and again cleaning up on these one day sprint classics like CVC and Liberty Classic, plus Visalia this year. My friends used to joke that they should just mail the check in advance to Ina Teutenberg or Petra Rossner who won the Liberty Classic seven times. I asked why is that? Why does that happen? Why can't they be stopped? Well, its much more then the old social gathering taboo, but really two things. One, riders aren't willing enough to try risking solo to beat them like Bessette did that one year. Also they haven't been effective enough at isolating Rossner or Teutenberg when it counts, which it seems to me would be on the last laps. Of course if its a showdown between the top America sprinter like Brooke Millar and Ina Teutenberg, then the fans enjoy that, and its ok, but other teams have it in mind to win, one way or another.
Lastly, enjoy your time in the spotlight. You only go round once in life, and enjoy your youthful athletic years to the fullest. I did. I quit my job during my early years and spend several years riding my bike, and it was the best time of my life. More then likely most of the pro women will settle down into careers that will have very little to do with cycling, so enjoy your riding and racing years to the fullest, and if you can, dedicate yourself to it fully. There is no way to tell how really good you can get, until you do that, and I remember the exact day that I reached the absolute limit of fitness, and I was climbing like a deer powered by a nuclear reactor! I reached the point of complete satisfaction, and you don't know what that's like until you reach it. I have! After 8,000 feet of climbing someone could of said lets do another 2000, and it wouldn't of made any difference to me, I could of done it in my sleep! I had my time in the sun and i knew it wouldn't last forever, but I wanted to enjoy those short years to the fullest!
The only limit I had no control over, is bone mass really. Your heart, lungs and muscle mass can be adjusted for years past your prime it seems, and there is this dance of life or wonderful symphony, where you heart, lungs and legs are always competing with each other trying to win out, one over the other. When you go past your 30's, and plan to start a career in bike racing or just serious training and riding for ultimate fitness, bone mass is the one limitation it seems. Like Hubbard's peak oil theory, you start to go over that hump where your bone mass won't increase, especially in your knees where its critical and that is really the limitation I reached. The bone mass in my knees couldn't keep up with my heart, lungs and leg muscles. Don't get me wrong, I still had decent knees, and anyone can still do quite well even if their bone mass won't increase, but for a top pro career, really they should start in their teens and 20's and steadily build their bone mass to its maximum before they hit their 30's as the game of life gets much harder after your 30's, and especially the 40's.
You might have noticed my site is dedicated to Nicole Reinhart at the bottom of my homepage. If there is one image I could share, that really stands out, and it's my favorite image out of thousands, it's the one of Nicole Reinhart in top physical fitness, and probably near her peak. This is it below!
"You have to work hard for a long time without results. And you'll feel like you're putting yourself into a hole, but you just have to stay focused. You have to have faith that if you're doing the work now, you'll get there sometime."
I don't know just how much exactly Nicole Reinhart was dedicated, but she was very impressive! She looks solid, that photo has professional written all over it! I do know a few things, as I have know several dedicated pro men and women who raced in Europe. The one quality I had personally was the ability to suffer. It was like a disease with me. If I couldn't do 8,000 feet of climbing and really suffer a lot, giving a supreme effort, I wasn't happy with my day. I even left friends and family on Christmas day to go climb Priest's Grade, something I never did before going up 2000 feet in 2 miles! I just had to do it, couldn't wait! The mountain called my name!
I had it in me to really get out there and suffer, and I wonder how many pro 1-2 women have that in them, the ability to really suffer during training. Of course if you want to be a stage racer, you need to have the right genes as an endurance athlete, the ability to recover day after day, something I could never do, I don't have the genes for that. Also its important if you have the build of a climber, I had that. However, you might be content to be a one-day classic rider, or a sprinter, nothing wrong with that.
A very hard day like that really breaks you down, but in three days time, your body rebuilds itself and you become extremely strong. After you have been doing this month after month, year after year, you become an incredibly strong climber with a lot of stamina, and I achieved that, but its got to be in you to really suffer, and to enjoy that, because if you are not a glutten for punishment, you may not be able to achieve the highest levels of fitness. Its take time, a very long time, years literally, but you will get there with patience and dedication.
I will say that I didn't take up cycling and climbing because someone said to go try it, but I was caught by it, and then hooked on it, as climbing quickly got in my blood. If climbing gets in your blood, there are no limits to what you can achieve on the mountain. When I did one of my first major climbs as a teen, 3000 foot climb from Lee Vining to Tioga pass, my parents started out in their truck with heavy camper shell at the same time I did, and I beat them to the top! I knew right away that I had a gift for climbing, and getting in your blood is really a metaphor for something that aligns so deeply in your center, physchie or genes, or all of them, really words can't describe what the feeling is of being so completely in tune with something, and in that sense, there are no limits to what you can achieve.
I know there are really important key things beside the obvious, good coaches, managers, good team support. Some riders have to go it alone for years before getting on a good team. Two things, eating right, juicing, and good sleep is critical. Have a hubby or a personal coach to take all the stress out of your life so you can fully focus on training is really important if you can afford to do that. If you are serious about training full time, and just eat, sleep and ride, with someone else taking care of all your problems, that is super!
Its also nice to have someone with you on your training rides, or there waiting for you at the top of the climb for motivation. Good for morale. Big problem with training is burnout, and it comes and goes in cycles, mental burnout that is. When you reach a superior level of fitness, there is a tendeceny to reward yourself by taking breaks from your training. It gets tiresome mentality sometimes, and great to have a motivator to help you stick with it, and push you out the door for your ride, when instead you have a devishlish desire to take the day off and go shopping!
Also use an Ipod or CD player on rides, with your best upbeat tempo music for the climbs, and other types of inspirational music for long rides, but beware of cars at all times! It may still be illegal to use headphones, but I have never been pulled over. I slip the wires inside my jersey hidden, and it only comes out at the neck to my ears and I use the tiny little ear inserts, so the cops can't really see it, but you might even be able to get wireless ear pieces now for you Ipod or CD player! I used to have to carry tapes around, big pain changing those every 45 minutes, now one CD can hold 8 hours of MP3's or an Ipod even better!
Another motivator is to watch cycling videos during rest periods and also learn from them. I have probably more then anyone in the world on women's racing, and really there ought to be a women's clinic where these videos have critical analysis taught to serious women pros here in the USA so women can learn about racing in Europe, as well as here in America. Everything from climbing, stage racing, sprinting, time trialing, all of it. Just like professional football teams use game videos to learn from the mistakes in football games, these same race videos could be used as a learning tool to help women learn from mistakes made in races over the last 20 years.
My library goes back almost 20 years, and that's all that matters really, anything before that wasn't really considered professional enough on video to learn much from except the general stuff. There should be a top pro women's cycling university, something even better then clinics nationwide which all the top professionals could be brought in, and classes could be set up, with a track, and build close to the mountains with both flats and good climbs, first class place, kind of like what Colorado does, but even better! Notice how that so many top riders come from Colorado? I was at Idaho Springs once, but Mount Evans opening was canceled by one week, so I couldn't stay to climb it! I really wanted to!
However, if you have the right stuff, genes, the right stuff mentality, the desire to suffer, and the right people taking care of all your problems so you can fully focus on training, the sky really is the limit, as you might be surprised to see how far you can really go, and I think Nicole's statement above is spot on! As they say, brick by brick, and follow your bliss! When Bill Moyers interviewed Joseph Campbell before he died, he asked the old sage about Bliss. How do you know what it is, or when you have it? Campbell said for him personally, it was when he was in his college days at Columbia University, Joseph Campbell was a runner.
At times, on the track, he felt at one with the universe. It was a physical sensation. For Campbell, experiencing the ultimate bliss in life was when he was at the peak of fitness during his track days as a runner. This goes for cycling too, as I experienced the same thing, and that's nothing to do with winning a race, which is certainly a huge high in life, but just the complete satisfaction of the highest level of physical fitness you can reach at the peak of your life has to be the greatest bliss one can achieve as an athlete. Campbell talked about the radiance of being alive, following your bliss and peak experiences in life, and reaching that level of fitness has got to be one of the most blissful experiences in life.
The realization of wonder, or ultimate bliss for athletes is probaby similar to what they sometimes call the zone. Its a place where an athlete goes to experience his bliss during peak performances. As a runner, Campbell called it being on the beam, and you will know when you are on the beam or off the beam. Its a place in the center of yourself you can go, the zone or the place you can fully focus and achieve greatness. When you hear that its not winning that counts, but the participation, that's the realization of wonder that it is now, not at the end or winning so much, but being in the zone is bliss or the realization of being alive, so you know, oh, ah, aha, I see! Regardless of opinion that if cycling is considered an individual sport or a team sport, you still experience that bliss either yourself or through your team mates!
For us as photographers, if we can capture those rare moments, then they are priceless timeless snapshots that will last forever, in our hearts, and certainly in archives of history and sports museums, no matter how big or small they might be. You never know until 20, 50 years later how famous any one image might become, so even decades later, people can still go oh, ah, aha, I see!
Probably very few women could suffer like Leontien, if any, she could really suffer! Leontien has every single gift, a cyclist could have, she lacked nothing! Leontien at the top of her game, winning the worlds solo in 1991 at Stuttgart Germany! She was in the zone, depths of suffering that can't be imagined, and only a great champion possesses! Why doesn't Leontien look so bad that I cannot show her suffering since she suffers more then others? It's because she makes it look easy! Why are Pro 1-2 riders so much fun to watch and top pros sometimes less interesting to watch? Because average pro riders show their suffering much more and top pros make it look easy!
They say the eyes are the window to the soul, and even Leontien cannot hide what is in her eyes, and that's tremendous suffering, and there is no way to fake this! Any dedicated professional who can really reach the depths of suffering can tell you that you will know the real thing when you see it! It's deep, and comes right out of the soul! I have photos I can't show; they are of the tremendous depths of suffering by some top pro women in stage races. We have decided not to show them, but make no mistake, the top women can really suffer! Some hide it better then others and the masks come into play!
Suffering is the affirmation of the pain of life, and its central to the experience of feeling alive! Leontien had a mental toughness, which few others possess, and she had such a strong willpower that no amount of suffering would stop her from reaching her goals. This is big, big, stuff! She was the real myth incarnate! This is where ethics about how much suffering is enough and what are the safe limits, and all this goes out the window, because her love of the bike and desire to achieve greatness! She took the cycling world by force, and put her body under subjection, and she blew through every obstacle set before her. No amount of suffering was too much, and she systematically slew every dragon set before her, from first the worlds, then the grand tours, the olympics, track, everything, and like the heroes in the myths, either these races will submit to her, or else! Or else what? I'll let you fill in the gaps!
This is the stuff of legends and dreams, way beyond the normal range of achievement and experience. This was all consuming taking her health in the short run, but being put back on the right track by her husband Michael, she focused all her tremendous physical and mental toughness anew coming back from the verge of death to become the greatest female Olympic cyclist ever in history! She was literally the living myth incarnate, and that's why they built a statue of her in Holland, and that's why she was a superstar in Holland, because she achieved as the mythological hero semmingly superhuman accomplishments beyond what is considered humanly possible.
How did she do this? How is this possible? Well, this goes beyond what can be logically explained! The best example perhaps in history is Gino Bartali in the 1948 Tour of France. After the war, there was turmoil in Italy over the government, and the Italian Prime Minister had asked him to win the tour, so that the people would have some hope in the future of the country and thereby saving it from civil unrest and decay. Bartali had told the Prime Minister that its a huge burden to carry and that I am not God! Ten years later after winning his first tour and being in his 30's, this was a great burden to carry as the big layoff from the war, and then being thrown back into something as big as the Tour De France is simply too much to ask!
One might think so, but Bartali being a deeply religious man, and one of the few back then known to not use drugs because of his deep convictions, went on to do superhuman feats in that tour which is considered even today to be beyond any reasonable explanations. It simply transcends way beyond the normal range of achievement, and cannot be explained! Gino Bartali came from being 21 minutes behind to win in the mountain stages on the final GC with a comfortable 26 minute victory margin in what is considered a tremendous testament to a man with incredible stamina and endurance, being beyond the peak of his career.
In his 30's when most riders careers are over Bartali raced through mud, cold, (minus 10 degrees) ice, snow, wind and really badly washed out roads in what is considered the worst weather ever in the history of the Tour. When he was climbing, being a catholic, he was climbing as if he was doing it for God, so its the experience of the sublime and cannot be explained how he did it. He put himself in another dimension, another place, and no amount of cold, rain, snow, or climbing was going to stop him from winning that tour. Its the experience of the sublime or the eternal experience and can't be explained. Its the same with Leontien, and once they enter that place, no amount of pain or suffering can stop them or frighten them off, and they win or die trying, and this is the mythological hero where ethics goes out the window, and its a statement that transcends the human experience.
Perhaps today's closest example of the heroes journey is Fleche Wallone. Look at Nicole Cooke passing out at SFGP and Fleche Wallonne, but I have come to admire this, that these are the heroes in women's cycling today. All these riders like Cooke, Vos, all the women who pushed themselves beyond the ethical limitations in the final ascent of Fleche Wallonne are themselves living the heroes journey, pushing themselves into oxygen debt, risking life and limb to win the prestigious title of Fleche Wallonne, the most cherished one day classic in Europe!
For me personally, being in the zone is like flipping a switch on the wall, the revelation came to me one day when I got on the bike after years of training. The feeling that came over me when I got on the bike was really a conformation that this is where I live, and that's where I need to be. That's where the zone is, nowhere else, and it starts the moment I get on the bike. Not the full depths of it, but its like being in another dimension, and If I didn't get out on the bike and really suffer, then my day was wrecked! Its like having a bad meal or a bad day, a really depressing day, because missing your ride was like not eating, something I also did to lose weight during rides living on Cytomax and granola bars, not the best idea!
However being in the Zone, and the ability to suffer is part of the experience of being alive, because humans are painful creatures!
One thing I did learn from Yoga and Martial Arts spending many years studying oriental disciplines under many gifted oriental instructors was to control my breathing, so I went back into cycling, I was able to gain control over my breathing on the big climbs, instead of gasping for air, even in the thin air over 10,000 feet. When Kim Anderson passed by at Pine Flat Dam this year, that reminded me of that, and perhaps she's been into Yoga or Zen, maybe both. She's really had control over her breathing because that was 15+ percent climb, and I couldn't even hear a sound out of her! She has really matured into a solid world class rider, and more then likely its because she has fully dedicated herself to cycling. Kim is a super domo, and that's worth it's weight in gold, on any team!
I know some women lack general physical fitness, as serious training on the bike seems like enough, but I used to generate more power on the climbs by doing a lot of sit-ups in the old days, much better machines now for the mid-section. Leontien used gym workouts as a regular part of her training, so I know this along with her hubby Michael guiding her through every aspect of training made her the great champion she was.
I actually snapped off a stem once from the power I used on the climbs, which I generated with the help of sit-ups, which I could use to help my legs out, leverage from the power of my arms, down through my guts to my legs, getting the extra kick on the climbs so much so that I actually snapped the stem off, scary that this happened but impressive! I could use my whole body to generate extra power on the climbs, as where a lot of riders are dead from the legs up. Some riders let their legs do it all, and don't have anything extra in the tank to work the upper body for extra power like track riders. I often admire the fact that track riders seem to do so well or are so confident when I see them in criteriums. Many of them seem to have excellent full body fitness.
I do think American women will get better soon, because there is a buzz in the air. I think most want to get better and move the sport forward, and I also think that America women want to go to Europe and not just prove we can beat them, but prove we are good players, and build the kind of relationships Greg Lemond had with Europe in the old days. Europe loved Greg, and that's a healthy state of cycling worldwide, and I know America women can achieve this, I have no doubts about it! I'm not really sure about the sentiments in Europe about Amber Neben or Kristin Armstrong yet, I haven't heard anything negative, so I think certainly the Europeans admire these women, and in time, much more so!
It could be that this current era could be the era of women now to become the new heroes of the public. The men's side had the last 15 years, good and bad, sadly though plagued by too many doping scandals, so now the women have a chance to show us how it's done. I think this could be their time now, the coming years will tell the story, but there certainly is a lot of buzz and people worldwide who are getting behind them. The ball is in their court as they say! Wait and see!