Hard Men and Smart Women

Joy here...One of the most epic professional bike races on the spring Classics circuit in Europe is the race known as the "A Sunday in Hell."  It's a one-day race from Paris to Roubaix.  A great documentary about this race is actually called "A Sunday in Hell" (1976...the year I was born), probably the first cycling-specific dvd that I ever watched and actually liked.

Imagine riding over that on a tiny road bike tire!!!

What makes this one-day race so epic are not just the typical hurdles to overcome in professional cycling such as the gruelling distances (this one is roughly 280kms) or the weather (who knows what April in northern France will be like?), but also the steep climbs and cobbled roads.

It's not for the faint of heart.  It's not for the dainty rider, or the spindly climber.

It is, to put it bluntly, a race for the hard men of the sport.

George Hincapie, one of THE hardest men of professional cycling, has always been a favourite of this race, but never yet been able to clinch the win.  Below, however, you can see him making his way to the finish line; he's often finished in the top 10 (2nd, 4th a couple of times, 6th a couple of times, and 8th), but even this hard man of the sport hasn't taken the top spot on the podium for this race.

No wonder it's called a "Sunday in Hell."

If you look closely, you can see the snow falling
behind The Man...but at least he's smiling (sort of).

Just outside of Ottawa on April 29th, we have our own "Hell of the North" scheduled.  The Man has registered for that one, and so nothing was going to get in the way of his training this past Sunday.  Not even the snow that was falling.  He, Superdave, and the ex-pro rider friend of theirs from the cycling shop headed out for 3 1/2 hours of riding in -1C temperatures with flurries all through country roads climbing up and down hills that reached a total incline of 22% at one point.

They rode their own epic training ride, freezing and covered in grit and grime, while I just invited The Professor to come over and ride on the trainer in my basement beside me so that we could ride in the warmth of the house, with the TV on for background noise and conversation with each other for company.

Two hard men:  Superdave and the ex-pro cyclist who
actually rode in Paris-Roubaix 20 years ago.

So while they suffered for hours out there battling the elements, their bodies, and their bikes, The Professor and I enjoyed a 1:45 ride indoors.  I've never ridden longer than 1 hour inside, and so for me, my Sunday's triumph lay not in discovering in myself an inner hard man of the sport, but in being able to enjoy conversation and friendship from the absolute comfort of my own home, complete with indoor bathrooms and running water!

And so while I congratulate the guys on being hard men, I pat myself and The Professor on the back for being, undeniably, a couple of smart women!

Over and out,
Joy