Some would say today was a perfect cycling day in these parts. It was certainly one of the prettiest we've had in a while. Nary a cloud hazed the blue sky; the air was warm and dry. The sea was calm; by the time I got to Point Lookout, the tide was out, but not did not leave us.
I can never get over those long sandbars exposed when the waves recede. The tides usually leave things, and sometimes people, to the sand or rocks. But when they leave, those people can roam, and sometimes play.
When the tides retreated, Arielle and I came in. We'll be back. And so will the tides.
In a previous post, I mentioned that a new edition of John Forester's Effective Cycling has been published.
Not long after learning that, I stumbled over an essay he wrote but which, to my knowledge, isn't in the book. It's about a topic that I have never heard discussed in any English or Literature department--or, for that matter, in any educational institution.
In his essay, Forester asks why cycling has played only an incidental role in literature, and why there are so few works of literature about bicycling or cyclists.
This is not to say, of course, that there is little writing about pedaling two wheels. As Forester points out, there are any number of "travelogues" about bike tours and races, most of which center on the locales rather than the rides. There are also any number of books, magazines and blogs, some of which include some very good writing. However, as he points out, they are not literature because very few, if any, non-cyclists could find anything of interest in them. That is because none of them connect cycling to the overall human condition and quotidian life as most of us know it. Plus, most such works "get it wrong" about the way cyclists actually ride. Even the "major" authors, some of whom make cycling a part of some of their stories.
If you were following bike racing in 1974, when this photo was taken, you'd know that the racer in front is none other than Eddy Mercx. I mean, who else had muscles like that in his legs?
Now, the question: Was this photo taken in le Tour de France, which he won that year?
Well, from what I'm told, the fans were shouting "Allez! Allez!" to Eddy. That would probably rule out le Tour, as French cycling fans actually weren't very fond of him.
So let's see...Where else would people have been shouting 'Allez! Allez!" ? Specifically, where would they be directing it at Eddy?
Hmm...His home country of Belgium, possibly? Of course, it would mean the race was in Wallonia, or possibly around Brussels, which is a bilingual city. Either one is a possiblity: He seems to have been popular in those areas, though not as well-loved in his home region of Flanders.
Switzerland is a possiblity. After all, there's a mountain in the background. And, he seems to have been more popular in the Francophone Helvetian provinces than he was in France.
We could rule out the French-speaking African countries, as Eddy never raced them. Ditto for French Guiana and the departements in the Caribbean.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon? We're getting closer: At least we're on the right continent (more or less). If we go a few hundred miles west, we come to a city whose flag is a white field with a clover, thistle, rose and fleur-de-lys.
You guessed it : Montreal. A few weeks after his fifth (and final) Tour de France victory, Eddy won the first World Professional Championship held in North America. In the photo, he's ascending Mount Royal (for which the city is named), a climb he described as one of the most difficult of his career.
Now that we've placed it geographically, there are a few clues that tell us that the photo was indeed taken in 1974. One, of course, is that Eddy is still young. Also, the bike he's riding is a give-away. But most important of all, in my opinion, are the clothes of a fan near him. I mean, he wouldn't have gotten away with wearing them--especially those pants!--a year or two earlier or later.
