I Get Mail

I purchased a new video from the Sufferfest. And this was the thanks I got.

They say that inspiration is to be found in simple gestures.

Now, here was a champion!

Here was courage!

Here was someone willing to be put to the sword for honor, for glory!

Into the distance we stared, forgetting our daily work for a moment.

We imagined you filling your water bottle, adjusting your heart-rate strap, stepping over your bike. And we imagined you starting, legs spinning, mind finely tuned, spirit focused on one goal: suffer like a greased pig at a rodeo.

We reflected on your incredible determination during the intervals, and your peaceful tranquility during the recovery.

One of the more literate members of staff, paraphrasing Plato, jumped up and shouted “For one to conquer oneself is the first and noblest of all victories!” And another responded, in the words of Proust, “We are healed from suffering only by experiencing it to the full!” A raucous cheer went up and there was some chatter about you, your vast potential as an athlete, and the rumors of you being ”˜the next big thing.”™ A wishing to be more like you crossed the faces of a few.

And then – pity. An instant when we thought of your riding buddies. Of how they go about their innocent ways, how they delude themselves that, on the next ride, they will be the stronger. Oh, the fools! Do they even comprehend the kicking they are going to get when you”™re next out with them? Do they have even the briefest inkling that you will not be the same rider? We shuddered.

Our bodies turned back to our work, but our minds lingered on your commitment.

You have inspired us.

Thank you.

David McQuillen and all of The Minions at Sufferfest Studios
Official Training videos of the UCI and the UCI Women”™s Road World Cup
Proud sponsor of the The Sufferfest-ACE Lesotho Pro UCI Team, BikePure-Lemond, OCBC-Singapore Pro, MuleBar Girl, Scott ProMTB and many other teams around the world.