on the third day, as per tradition, the body rises and makes peace with the mind. yesterday he was reluctant, he didn't understand why his mind was still asking for that effort, for the second consecutive time. today the body is tamed, he has understood that this is so, that every day the mind will ask him to pedal all day, and in return he will give him food, drink and rest, at will. in exchange the mind asks him for work, rhythm and speed, those three things which, combined, empty and relax the mind.
so I begin to take two breakfasts, to stop and eat every time I think about food, to rest every time I feel exhausted, to drink continuously. so after some up and down in narrow streets in the middle of the wheat fields we arrive in Lyon (me, my mind, my body and my bicycle). Lyon's cycle paths are perfect, even better than those in Paris. we should tell Beppe (the mayor of Milan, for not Italians) to send someone here, to study how they are made and to copy them.
after Lyon we go up and down several times, we climb among cherry trees full of fruit and we go down towards meadows crossed by flowered bridges.
the last climb worries me, it looks very high on the computer, in reality it is not steep but it is long and sunny, and absolutely constant. did the ingegneur decide that the slope had to be 4.5% from beginning to end? here, ten kilometers to 4.5, all the way. I know, it's not so much, but with more than three hundred kilometers in the legs already, and with 600 others in front, and with luggage, they become challenging. but body and mind have made peace, I keep the constant pace, regular beats, my body makes them rise as soon as it is needed, makes them go down when it is no longer needed, mind promises not to pedal downhill any more, and the descent will be the reward, after the last real climb of the trip.
to Roanne I arrive just in time to take the usual nap, and get out exactly when the storm breaks out. we sleep tonight. from tomorrow there is the Loire.
day 4
rode 135km (472 total)
height difference 1527 (4967 total)
total collected 1407 (703 km donated)
drunk 5.5 liters
pissed three times.
so I begin to take two breakfasts, to stop and eat every time I think about food, to rest every time I feel exhausted, to drink continuously. so after some up and down in narrow streets in the middle of the wheat fields we arrive in Lyon (me, my mind, my body and my bicycle). Lyon's cycle paths are perfect, even better than those in Paris. we should tell Beppe (the mayor of Milan, for not Italians) to send someone here, to study how they are made and to copy them.
after Lyon we go up and down several times, we climb among cherry trees full of fruit and we go down towards meadows crossed by flowered bridges.
the last climb worries me, it looks very high on the computer, in reality it is not steep but it is long and sunny, and absolutely constant. did the ingegneur decide that the slope had to be 4.5% from beginning to end? here, ten kilometers to 4.5, all the way. I know, it's not so much, but with more than three hundred kilometers in the legs already, and with 600 others in front, and with luggage, they become challenging. but body and mind have made peace, I keep the constant pace, regular beats, my body makes them rise as soon as it is needed, makes them go down when it is no longer needed, mind promises not to pedal downhill any more, and the descent will be the reward, after the last real climb of the trip.
to Roanne I arrive just in time to take the usual nap, and get out exactly when the storm breaks out. we sleep tonight. from tomorrow there is the Loire.
day 4
rode 135km (472 total)
height difference 1527 (4967 total)
total collected 1407 (703 km donated)
drunk 5.5 liters
pissed three times.
also check my instagram page for daily pics
No comments:
Post a Comment