On places (yet another interlude)

It has come to your author’s attention that there has been some lamenting of the absence of pictures on this blog. Naturally, with its literary pretensions, this absence has been largely deliberate as its preference is for long passages of text where one single image would do. But that’s not entirely true, and below you …

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November 15, 2011 – 7:52 pm | By Guy WR | Posted in Classic Climbs, Climbers | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

On religion, sociology and cycling (another interlude)

Like any good religious devotees, roadies have their rituals. One such ritual is the formulaic way in which training is discussed. These discussions typically take place when greeting old acquaintances at races, notably in the springtime when racing resumes and winter training results are in the minds of many. A typical discussion might begin with …

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November 10, 2011 – 7:23 pm | By Guy WR | Posted in Posts | Tagged | Comments (6)

On fall (a short interlude)

The English writer George Eliot lived just long enough to witness the invention of the bicycle, at least its early manifestations as a velocipede, variously invented and improved in France and in England from the late 1860s. Whether she had any interest in cycling is perhaps up for debate, but she was a fan of …

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October 20, 2011 – 8:23 am | By Guy WR | Posted in Climbing Skills, Local Climbs | Tagged , | Comments (1)

Sport as spectacle

Our guide to all things philosophical about sport, Roland Barthes, wrote that: “[Professional] wrestling is not sport, it is a spectacle.” As Barthes has written elsewhere, though, sport always has an element of spectacle – what otherwise would so completely capture our imaginations? Cycling, of course, is full of spectacle. The Tour de France, for …

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October 4, 2011 – 6:41 pm | By Guy WR | Posted in Doping | Tagged , | Comments (2)

The meaning of cycling: introduction

The May issue of Bicycling magazine ran with a cover photo of a grim looking Lance Armstrong and a provocative headline: Lance retires – he’s done (but is he finished?). Inside, writer Bill Strickland penned a personal piece on Armstrong’s ‘endgame’, with the standfirst, “It’s time to stop arguing about whether Lance doped and start …

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September 7, 2011 – 7:45 pm | By Guy WR | Posted in Doping | Tagged , | Comments (4)

A change of seasons

It was a sunset befitting the end of the season. The sky was orange like a wildfire with wisps of clouds rising like smoke above the mountains. To the east, even Mt. Baker – distant across the American border (and the venue of this year’s ‘epic’ ride for your author, thanks to the excellent team …

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August 26, 2011 – 8:58 pm | By Guy WR | Posted in Local Climbs | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Samuel Sánchez has no shoulders

The Euskaltel-Euskadi boys look pleased. It’s the end of another stage race and they can board their bus, forget about their bikes for a few hours at least, and head for home. The team prize for the race is in the bag, and even the mechanics and soigneurs have an extra jauntiness about them. Samuel …

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August 18, 2011 – 9:21 pm | By Guy WR | Posted in Climbers | Tagged , , , , | Comments (1)