pedalling in mediocrity

There has been a thaw and the snow is gone. Everything now looks grey and dirty, but the chickens are delighted to be out scratching in the garden again, and I am glad that it is a little warmer. But I haven’t been cycling, between one thing and another I have been off work for a few days.

I have been reading an autobiography called ‘Tomorrow we ride’ (Demain, on roule) by Jean Bobet, a French racing cyclist of the 50’s who rode with his brother Louison (the first man to win the Tour de France three years in succession). Jean was a great cyclist who supported his brother both physically and mentally through the trials of fierce competition. The book offers a vivid account of the professional cyclist’s life in post war Europe, and what comes across clearly is Jean’s empathy for his talented but highly strung brother. It’s a good read.

Jean’s insights into life and cycling are beautifully expressed, and I have bookmarked several passages where he has struck a chord with me. Jean says, “I can bear witness to the possibility, in the cycling world, of pedalling in mediocrity and yet generating the sublime.” Well, as a mere cycle commuter, I am the epitome of someone who pedals in mediocrity, and yet even I have had moments of experiencing the sublime when cycling.

What Jean names as ‘la volupté’ does not come when racing, as the stresses that competition puts on a cyclist is a barrier to the experience of such joy. Jean describes it in this way:

“The voluptuous pleasure that cycling can give you is delicate, intimate and ephemeral. It arrives, it takes hold of you, sweeps you up and then leaves you again. It is for you alone. It is a combination of speed and ease, force and grace. It is pure happiness.” 

Jean Bobet, Tomorrow we ride