Time Travel [bicycling, art]
Feb. 27th, 2023 01:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rebeccmeisterOn Saturday evening, after a lovely day's expedition to Troy, we said a hasty farewell to my mother, and then S and I watched the fourth and final program for the Bicycle Film Festival, the "Adventure Longs." (It was called something else, but "Adventure Longs" is a more fun name, to better contrast with the "Adventure Shorts" program). In this program, we got to witness the experiences of people on bikepacking adventures and races, and riding the End to End in the UK. It was both wonderful and terrible to watch.
The wonderful part was witnessing so many people express joy at the beauty and simplicity of being out in the natural world, riding their bikes, and getting to see some phenomenal scenery. The East Texas Showdown brought back memories of so many rides and adventures in eastern Texas, with the added bonus element that it was about a bikepacking race, which means more time on peaceful trails and less time onspeed-sucker the coarse chipseal found on many Texas farm roads. I'm also grateful they highlighted a bikepacking race that sounds daunting but is totally achievable and structured to be feasible for people who aren't so much looking to race as to just get out and have a fun adventure in the woods.
Two of the films did an incredible job of showcasing what it's like to ride through the night on some of these long adventures. One followed participants in the last running of the Day Across Minnesota race, where a small but tough handful of people apparently decided that crossing all 240 miles of Minnesota in one day off-pavement wasn't enough and they'd rather turn around and head back for a 'double-DAMN.' The other one featuring some incredible nighttime riding was about the Atlas Mountain Race, which is in Morocco, and includes rugged terrain, arid conditions, and resupply points that are few and far in-between.
The guy who won the featured run of the Atlas Mountain Race was a French guy named Sofiane Sehili; as he was riding, there was mention of the fact that one of his superpowers is his ability to function on shockingly little sleep. If I'm remembering right, he slept all of 1.5 hours across the 89 hours it took him to finish the 1300km race. It was helpful to get to hear his wisecracks and also how well he managed to keep himself together at a point where I know I'd be dropping from an unbelievable level of fatigue.
The terrible part: it is far, far better to actually be out riding one's bicycle than to be sitting indoors, watching other people riding bicycles. It was also interesting to reinforce for myself that there are definite limits to the type and distance of endurance events I'm willing to consider. I have no taste for riding over rocks, although I do appreciate the ability to travel through areas with amazing scenery.
I am also glad that screen time was given to both men *and* women completing the Atlas Mountain Race; the woman who finished first commented on how she is fairly slow compared to the men she's riding with. She said her strategy was simply to spend longer days on her bike: start before the men, keep pedaling after they'd catch up to her and pass her, and keep going after they'd stopped for a nice bit of food and some sleep. Sounds familiar. I do need more sleep than that French cyclist or the featured woman, but I am also a relatively slow rider, so the 'just keep pedaling' strategy is important.
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On Sunday afternoon, I rode back over to Troy, an hourlong jaunt, to finish glazing the last of the pottery pieces I threw for the Beginning Wheel class. I'm going to miss having the time and space dedicated to creating art each week. It is difficult for me to carve out an equivalent for myself at home, especially in the middle of my busier semester. The time spent dealing with tangible and practical things continues to be a good contrast to the abstractions, repetitiveness, and intangibles of teaching.
Here's hoping at least a couple of pieces make it out of the kiln in good shape, such that I have something to show for the effort.
I have a feeling I'll be signing up for more pottery in the not-too-distant future, but maybe with a bit more emphasis on handbuilding and slightly less emphasis on throwing. In the summertime, at the earliest. I have more ideas I want to pursue, once I see how the current experiments have turned out.
The wonderful part was witnessing so many people express joy at the beauty and simplicity of being out in the natural world, riding their bikes, and getting to see some phenomenal scenery. The East Texas Showdown brought back memories of so many rides and adventures in eastern Texas, with the added bonus element that it was about a bikepacking race, which means more time on peaceful trails and less time on
Two of the films did an incredible job of showcasing what it's like to ride through the night on some of these long adventures. One followed participants in the last running of the Day Across Minnesota race, where a small but tough handful of people apparently decided that crossing all 240 miles of Minnesota in one day off-pavement wasn't enough and they'd rather turn around and head back for a 'double-DAMN.' The other one featuring some incredible nighttime riding was about the Atlas Mountain Race, which is in Morocco, and includes rugged terrain, arid conditions, and resupply points that are few and far in-between.
The guy who won the featured run of the Atlas Mountain Race was a French guy named Sofiane Sehili; as he was riding, there was mention of the fact that one of his superpowers is his ability to function on shockingly little sleep. If I'm remembering right, he slept all of 1.5 hours across the 89 hours it took him to finish the 1300km race. It was helpful to get to hear his wisecracks and also how well he managed to keep himself together at a point where I know I'd be dropping from an unbelievable level of fatigue.
The terrible part: it is far, far better to actually be out riding one's bicycle than to be sitting indoors, watching other people riding bicycles. It was also interesting to reinforce for myself that there are definite limits to the type and distance of endurance events I'm willing to consider. I have no taste for riding over rocks, although I do appreciate the ability to travel through areas with amazing scenery.
I am also glad that screen time was given to both men *and* women completing the Atlas Mountain Race; the woman who finished first commented on how she is fairly slow compared to the men she's riding with. She said her strategy was simply to spend longer days on her bike: start before the men, keep pedaling after they'd catch up to her and pass her, and keep going after they'd stopped for a nice bit of food and some sleep. Sounds familiar. I do need more sleep than that French cyclist or the featured woman, but I am also a relatively slow rider, so the 'just keep pedaling' strategy is important.
-
On Sunday afternoon, I rode back over to Troy, an hourlong jaunt, to finish glazing the last of the pottery pieces I threw for the Beginning Wheel class. I'm going to miss having the time and space dedicated to creating art each week. It is difficult for me to carve out an equivalent for myself at home, especially in the middle of my busier semester. The time spent dealing with tangible and practical things continues to be a good contrast to the abstractions, repetitiveness, and intangibles of teaching.
Here's hoping at least a couple of pieces make it out of the kiln in good shape, such that I have something to show for the effort.
I have a feeling I'll be signing up for more pottery in the not-too-distant future, but maybe with a bit more emphasis on handbuilding and slightly less emphasis on throwing. In the summertime, at the earliest. I have more ideas I want to pursue, once I see how the current experiments have turned out.
