Vincent Van Einstein

Working on a new 2x20 video. I am amazed at how didactic they are. All along I assumed that the big draw was in the entertainment arena, that or motivation, or even in course intel. Perhaps it is because we are re-purposing them for this specific use, and not for 'the experience' of viewing and riding every meter of the course. Granted there is always benefit from doing a long, steady attack of a stretch of highway (or trail) on which you intend to compete, but for our current purposes, having five minute samples from many of the races I have shot over the years allows us to see how others ride and race. In other words, we can go to school on them. Do the ape. Learn by watching. Become inspired to use the visual to augment the physical. I can tell you without hesitation (watch) that when I see someone with less-than-perfect form, my own is reinforced to the positive. Saddle height, cadence, areo positing, balance, handling skills, line hold, even breathing rates are all on display. Yeah, OK, even kit assessment. You have to be color coordinated or in B&W. This goes for helmets and socks. Must match your dominate frame color. 

We talked this morning, the first session after Labor Day, about the importance of structure. How, and this is my commitment to YOU, that when we schedule sessions, that means no matter what. Snow, sun, too much fun, lack of rest, post test, makes no difference, when you walk in the HoM, you are going to get in a quality work out, with a substantial ROI. But you have to commit. You have to show up and benefit from the structure. It doesn't work if you only train when you feel like it. You need to have bad days, hard days, tough days, miserable hours and painful moments. DOES THAT SOUND A LITTLE LIKE LIFE? That is how we grow. Getting through all that is what makes us stronger. As in What Doesn't Kill Me………

Afterwords I was thinking about the difference between riding indoors and riding out. Between training and racing. Spinning and riding. How power thresholds manifests as speed. About the awareness necessary to convert science to art. Or the presence required to invert, to use art as science. Moreover to have the skill, confidence and power to combine them. We train to preform. We ride to celebrate and we race to test ourselves. To keep the graph trending in a positive direction. 

There is time to smell the roses, and time to simply notice their magnificence as we speed past. There is a place to work, a space to take it to the limit, a path towards something gleaming, yet obscure. It is your health and fitness. If the science tells us we need work, invoke the artist to color your motivation. If your inner artist is suffering from writers block, dial up some data and get some algorithm. 

When those two meet for lunch, join them. If they happen to show up on a video screen, learn from them. Take the best and leave the rest. 

Pix: Cleaning up around the cabin seems to be sending the fire metaphor towards the PO. Bernie bought me a yummy birthday beer. Battle Point Park just before sunset on Trixie, going very slow…..