The Epic

I was in the middle of the commute. I was mindful of cars around me, the slope of the road and the weather conditions. Beethoven's magnificent second movement of his ethereal ninth symphony was bouncing along con brio. I was mentally aligning the shot sequence necessary to capture the media for a series of How-To videos for the new RacerMate web site. It was three in the afternoon and I wanted to make it efficient. Get in, get it captured, get out, reverse the commute. 

I was also thinking about a concept I have labeled, "setting up the epic". It is a simple idea whose sole ruling tenant calls for doing those things necessary in preparation for the moment of truth. Much like homework, a course prerequisite, due diligence or basic research, it represents the acts necessary to create the potential for a leap of quanta. The big moment. Match point. Game on the line, ten seconds to play and it's your call. The final 50 meters of a 150K stage where you look for the hole and hit the gas. You had better have done your base building, pedal tweaking, power upping FTP busting work over the winter because all that is now being called upon as setup for the progressive segue into the zone of the EPIC.

And you do. Or you do not. THAT isn't the point. The point is in the journey to get there. Because if you fail to do the work, skip workouts, make excuses, do not allow proper rest and recovery or don't have the mentality to compete with yourself at this demanding level, you will never get to experience that moment when it all comes together in a primal unleashing of maximum controlled soul-thrilling magical output.

You can stay in the stands and watch. Or let someone else tell you that you will never be good enough. Or allow someone who claims to love you keep you from other things you love. Yes, one must love the challenge of the path, the road to epic. I have no desire to stay on the mundane highway. One needs no GPS on the climb to Mt. Epic. You cannot get lost. 

Epic isn't for everyone. It takes hard work, desire, dedication and focus. It may take years. It may take decades. But if you set up the epic often enough, one day it will appear out of the fog and joyfully call your name. Because you have earned it. You have done the work. You are ready. 

Please be ready my friends.

The boys up in Van-groovy at the Peak Performance Center use the CompuTrainer for their indoor training. They use it very successfully as a set-up tool to prepare athletes for peak fitness over the winter so that when the snow melts and that fitness goes outside, the epic awaits.

They also use Real Course Videos for course recon and specific ride training. Also very epic in my book.