You don’t sprint alone

I feel…

I feel positive that I can only grow as a personality by breaching through barriers. Personal barriers. That‘s something I know about life. Can cycling teach you something about life? Why do I love cycling so much? Now I come to think of it, I wonder why it is so important to me. Why is it important for me to be able to step on that bike, to practice sports I rolled into by a dull coincidence?

What do I get out of it? And what do I put in?

I remember sitting in a bar with some of my friends one night. We were talking about jazz, literature and the necessity of art. And all of a sudden I popped out: "Hey, I went 50 today!" My friends, not being very enthusiastic about my dressing in tight blue lycra, did not seem to find my remark all too life relevant and not at all a big success. "Did you go downwind?" "You did?" "Hey, I can do that too," so since that moment on there has been such a barrier. Can I go faster, maybe add 5 km/hour to that? And what is my top speed then? Trying to prove to my friends it is not as easy as some of them think it is, and that I can do even better.

I know for sure I love sprinting.

Cheeks fill with life bringing oxygen, a powerful outburst of air and I feel myself floating in that air, combustion. Feeling one with a wonderful machine that carries me on its wings. Je vliegt gewoon. Moving so fast, you feel as if time stand still, as if your mind floats out above you. And in that split second you forget everything else: you are there alone with yourself. And you don’t think about anything, you just float. You can feel the strength of your legs, so powerful. You feel wonderful, and strong in that tight fit clothing. You become one and all heartbeat, beating blood. Fearless of danger. Everything about you breathes power; toned up muscles, your arms in the braces, you feel no pain, no heartache. You are unafraid because you are in control. The road and the win are yours. Fully master of the bike and, together we lift the body and let it rise above itself.

I reached my goal the day I received the first letter of my closest friend, from Zimbabwe where she was doing voluntary work helping to fight aids. She is fantastic and I admire her very much. After I had finished reading the letter I changed clothes and stepped on. I just had to.

One hour later, confident, I jumped up, came to speed and that moment when a sprinter comes to use the full power of his upper leg muscles, when he literally, breaks through the lactic acid, I had that feeling of flying. Keeping an incredible high cadence on 52-11, I burst out shouting her name and I crossed the line on the last syllable. That was an important day for me. I knew. I knew who I was and understood that some people can determine your life. All I had to do was be myself, and be confident about who I am. And not to be afraid to admit I needed people. In their turn they need other people too. I think you gain a lot of confidence by the trust you get from other people. That is an important lesson I learned about myself that day.

A similar but different feeling I have, when I am surrounded by teammates, friends, who put a lot of energy into you. They work hard for you to succeed. It is wonderful to help them out, in your turn, altruistically: to wait, to break the wind for them, share your water, encourage them. And help them glide up the peloton in your wheel. I encourage them when they need it, and they support me when I need it. And I often do.

I’m talking about people who load your bike into the car and wrap a jacket around your shoulders, in the pouring rain after a race. Or give you their gloves when you’ve got cold hands.

But when you are at the last wheel of their train, they sacrifice themselves one by one, to get you that far, and you know you can do it, when you tell yourself "this is my win", that you’re the best and feel the adrenaline coming up. And you will make it. I experience another unbeatable feeling. Sprint comes to an end… you don’t throw your arms above your head, but put in an extra jump just to make sure… look back see that scattered train looking at you, in doubt about the winner from that distance, and only then you raise yourself and put one finger into the air. They smile.

My best guess, why I love cycling, is that it makes me feel connected to other people, great persons who inspire you with the enthusiasm you share. But also, personally, it made me realize who is important to me, and made me aware of the fact that I don’t jump the hurdles alone. But if I’m bluntly honest I must add I really like the whirling sound of aero spokes going round.