I'm Not A Patient Person.

Cycling Is So Hard, The Suffering Is So Intense, That It’s Absolutely Cleansing. The Pain Is So Deep And Strong That A Curtain Descends Over Your Brain….once; Someone Asked Me What Pleasure I Took In Riding For So Long. ‘pleasure???? I Said.’ ‘i Don’t Understand The Question.’ I Didn’t Do It For The Pleasure; I Did It For The Pain.

The Idea That Anybody Was Forced, Or Pressured, Or Encouraged, Is Not True.

But The Fact Is That I Wouldn't Have Won Even A Single Tour De France Without The Lesson Of Illness. What It Teaches Is This: Pain Is Temporary. Quitting Lasts Forever.

It's Frustrating In The Sense That I Still Think I Could Be Competing At Some Sport At A Fairly High Level, Which Nobody Cares About. Nobody Wants To Hear Me Say That.

A Bicycle Is The Long-sought Means Of Transportation For All Of Us Who Have Runaway Hearts.