Michael Rasmussen's highly developed body.
I have this problem. I can't climb. At least not on a bike. I have always struggled with it. I became acutely aware of this fact during my first season of competitive cycling. I spent my first Spring doing hill climb time trials every weekend, generally placing it the lower 1/3 of the field. I thought it was my weight, so I dieted. However, that wasn't exactly the problem. You see, I'm just not built for the steep grades. Let me give you some background information.
Before cycling captivated me, I was really into rock climbing. I was into climbing in much the same way that anyone, who has ever seriously pushed their limits, either physically or mentally, is into his or her passion. It was an all consuming pursuit. And as with any activity, that goes from being an interest to a passion bordering on obsession, there is a relative learning curve attached. The learning curve is relative to what's involved with, or demanded of the participant; physicality, intellect, danger, risk, dedication. For example, becoming a checkers master might have a considerably less steep curve than say, becoming an astronaut. Moreover, with activities that involve a greater deal of physicality, like cycling and climbing, there is also a continuum of progression associated with becoming "better". At one end of the continuum lie the elementary steps of ascending the ranks of gumbiedom and learning things the hard way. Further down are the stages of feeling yourself improving, doing things the right way, and in some cases, being competitive. Also relevant to this continuum is one's physique. As one dedicates himself to a certain physical pursuit, he assumes a more specialized build, one more suited to the nature of the activity involved. So, as a result of my years of rock climbing, my highly specialized build was less than ideal for competitive cycling. Note: Spandex is not just for skin suits.
Mario Cipollini lent me these.
So, as I began my bike racing career, I realized that my learning curve was gonna be somewhere around "Lunar Module operator". However, I knew what it meant to be dedicated to something, so I worked as hard as my body allowed and suffered. Also, I forgot to mention that I began riding with the FLC Cycling team. For those of you who don't follow collegiate cycling, that would be like walking onto the University of Nebraska football team, after a season of pee wee.
Needless to say, I was a bit intimidated, and got off to quite the auspicious beginning. I got dropped a lot. It was frustrating, to put it nicely. I quickly noticed that I especially suffered on the climbs. Due to a high ratio of fast twitch muscle fiber, my anaerobic thresh hold was quite low. So, I came to the conclusion that I would have to change my body to more resemble that of the cyclist. However, I didn't look much like my teammates, so I knew that I had a lot of work to do.
I won't go into all the depressing details of how bad that season was. Rather, I will fast
forward to present day. Let me tell you what I've learned. Beyond all the tinkering with diet,
calorie counting, and food weighing, there is one thing I know for sure. You have to work with
what you've got. It's not worth agonizing over. If you're not having fun what's the point? Sure, I
have learned to eat better, and know what works for my body. But all of that didn't have half the
impact of believing in myself. So I may never win the king of the mountains jersey, or even make it
to the top of Lookout Mountain in under 17 minutes. But one thing is for sure, I'm developing a
a pretty decent sprint and I'm having a ton of fun.
As of right now, I'm preparing for a more redeeming season. I have slimmed down my upper
body, but most of the weight has just migrated south. My climbing is getting better, too. Although,
there seems to be more power involved than finesse. I'm getting dropped less, and have even
passed a few people. Eddie B. was right. Just as you can't judge a book by it's cover, you can
never underestimate your fellow rider. Anyone who has ever been ridden into the ground by a
senior rider, twice his age, can attest to that fact. Now, If only I could get my bike to shape
me more like Mr. Rasmussen.
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