In March, when I was in Kuala Lumpur (heheh!) I scoped out a local bookstore’s manga, Buddhism, and cycling sections. In the latter, I discovered the intriguingly-titled “Into the Suffersphere: Cycling and the Art of Pain”. Which I set aside because it was pricey in Malaysian ringits. However, I later requested it from Amazon.

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I wasn’t planning on repeating last year’s Akron Bike Club “Absolutely Beautiful Country” century. It was a really nice ride, but it’s a two-hour drive from Pittsburgh, which makes for a lot of driving on top of a 100-mile bike ride.

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Some interesting stuff that shouldn’t wait for the release of my 2011 PMC ride report.

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Pain. The bicycle is a pain machine.

I really didn’t know much about pain before I climbed back onto a bike in 2000 and started training for my first Pan-Mass Challenge. But the endurance athlete’s mantra of “no pain, no gain” quickly proved its verity beyond question.

It’s a strange thing: training. The whole idea is to push ( Read more... )

Of course, it’s also on the bike that thoughts like this often come along:

Seeing an object in a backyard with a rounded cover: Is that a baby carriage, or is it a barbecue grill? Wait! Why can’t it be both? A combination baby carriage and barbecue grill! Why hasn’t anyone ever thought of that? Brilliant!

Follow this link for my full 2005 Pan-Mass Challenge ride report, including writeup and photos.