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.
He doesn't have opposable thumbs. He can't balance on two feet. He doesn't know how to use foot retention. The top tubes on all of my bikes are too long. (So, for that matter, are the seat tubes and cranks!) He's doesn't like Brooks saddles. And it's raining.
Oh, the excuses he has....
And you know why he gets away with it? Marley is just unbelievably, ridiculously cute, even when he squints.
Of course, I could say the same thing about Max.
And he has one more excuse than Marley: He's older (in cat-years, anyway) than I am.
This morning I managed to get in a ride just ahead of one of the worst storms we've had in a while.
Just after I got home, I could hear the raindrops pinging like BB's against the awning. We may have had hail, as some other parts of the NYC Metro area did.
Whatever the precip was, a sudden, fierce wind drove it. Some people on Long Island said they saw a funnel cloud; I know that a lot of trees came down.
When I'd finished riding, the temperature was near 100 F (39C). The one good thing about the storm was that it dropped the temperature by about 20 degrees F within an hour. But I could just barely see out my window, so I didn't go for another ride.
But, as brief as my morning ride was, it gave me a pretty good workout. And I felt a sense of victory, however small, over having beaten that storm!
You win a few, you lose a few...
Today I rode to the Steeplechase (a.k.a.Coney Island) Pier. For years, it's been ravaged by storms and tides; the section that meets the boardwalk literally had beach sand "growing" through it.
Well, it's been re-boarded. (Roads are re-paved; I figure that boardwalks and anything else with planks on it is re-boarded. ) Thankfully, actual boards, and not concrete substitutes, were used.
So far, so good. But I got about fifteen meters onto the pier (It's about 150 or so meters long.) when an earnest young woman in a green Parks Department polo shirt blew a whistle. "Miss! Miss!" I turned. "You have to walk the bike!"
Well, that was a first. And how did she know I'm not married, anyway?
Given that it was so hot (The temperature was close to 90F, or 32C, when I left my apartment at 9:30 this morning), I expected to see more people on the pier. If nothing else, it offers, in addition to views (and good fishing, if you're into that sort of thing), nature's first air conditioning: sea-breezes. It was--or felt, anyway--about ten or fifteen degrees (F) cooler than it did when I left my apartment.
But, in addition to the fisherpersons (Yes, I've seen women casting lines into the surf!), you see some interesting, if solitary characters:
Nothing like having the whole city--let alone the whole world--to yourself, eh?
Note: I apologize for the lack of detail in these photos. I took them with my cell phone.
