Cycling, Ultra cycling, Ultra racing, Motives and Wisdom

I've only considered myself involved with `ultra cycling' since 2008, when I first bought the Bacchetta Ti Aero recumbent bike.  The Ti Aero allowed me to ride without all the pain and suffering associated with DFs (`traditional,' upright bikes).  This excited me and I  began to push the limit on time and distance.  Ultra cycling was an obvious `open door' for me.

However, after setting a few UMCA state crossing records and participating extensively in too many ultra events to count (24 hour races, 200 mile races, RAW racer, RAAM Official, RAAM Crew Chief) I've learned quite a bit. 

The two most important learnings I've gained from ultra cycling have to do with:

1. the psychological component (`Why am I doing this?  What is my motive?'); 
2. the risk v. benefit component.

Having been raised in family whose religious tenets required `suffering' as payment for entrance into an eternity of bliss ... and survived both that family and those religious tenets ... I'm alert to delusional thinking. 

It took me some time, a lot of angst and even more money, but I am wiser and more informed as to the `why' aspect of ultra cycling.  And that has caused me to step back from it significantly, to appreciate my capacity for objective evaluation of ultra cycling events, and to be productively and constructively appreciative and critical of the ultra cycling events.

RAAM and RAW, in my opinion, is a repository of person's efforts to work through their mortality and gain self-respect.  Both admirable factors in the development of wisdom and a healthy personality. That's a `good' thing about ultra cycling.

What is the definition of a fanatic?  A fanatic is a person who redoubles his efforts as soon as he loses sight of the objective.  Much of this permeates RAAM/RAW.  As well, much of this permeates a good deal of our lives (religion, politics, sports, jobs). That's a `bad' thing about ultra cycling.

I'm personally drawn to ultra cyclists because they do no harm to others in the pursuit of their extreme goals.  Drawn both emotionally and intellectually.  And, these days, the `intellectual' element dominates.  I've seen good people doing hard work with the best of intentions.  And I see how sometimes that crosses the threshold of healthy expression to an irrational obsession.

Withdrawing as Maria Parker's RAAM Crew Chief last June after the near tragic accident (RAAM - 2013 Close Call) I concluded that I was not going to be the one to tell her parents (or her sister with terminal cancer for whom she was doing RAAM solo) that she was killed or critically injured by a texting or impaired driver.  To continue the race, in my opinion, bordered on the fanatical.

The turf skirmishes (bent v DF, sleep v no sleep, etc) that currently occupy the politics of the world of RAAM/RAW amount to moving the deck chairs on a vessel too small to have deck chairs.

I love cycling.  It is one of the most complex and rewarding and `harmless' endeavors I've ever done.  It has been a release for me at times.  And it has been a form of exquisite existential expression.  But my cycling is not fanatical.  And I am committed to pointing out the benefits, dangers, risks and, frankly, exploitation when I see it.