10/11/2008

Can You Feel the Pain? Pain, Suffering, and the Test of Metal

Once you've raced the Test (TOM or Test of Metal, see www.testofmetal.com, a 67 km cross-county mountain bike race in Squamish BC, hosts 800 riders) the only thing left is to do, is to do it all over again the following year and beat your previous time! The funny thing about letting year go by is that you really forget what it's all about. But, it is all coming back to me now…after that first training ride of the year…the Test of Metal is about pain and suffering.

At the start line

During a sweaty SORCA (Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association) spin session this winter in the Pac West warehouse, I noted that humans are one of the few species who deliberately make themselves work through pain and suffering to achieve a goal other than pure survival.

I was originally inspired to train for the Test of Metal when I read about Tyler Hamilton in the October '03 issue of Bicycling Magazine. James Startt write about Tyler's experience when he broke his collar bone in two places after a 35 mph pile up in the Tour de France then continued on to finish the race.

Startt writes,"…he refused to quit and rode all 20 stages with a fractured right collarbone but he also finished fourth overall, attacked the leaders in the mountains, finished second in the final time trail and won a stage with a solo breakaway-near the end of the race so punishing that the common cold or single day with a bad stomach often forces riders to abandon. Hobbled by agony so intense he vomited at the finish of some stages, and the inability to pull on the handlebar or attach forcefully out of the saddle, Hamilton uncorked not just his best performance in seven Tours but also one of the most courageous exploits in cycling history.

Hamilton from Marblehead, Massachusetts is no stranger to out riding adversity. He finished second in the Tour of Italy in 2002, after fracturing his shoulder in Stage 5; he was forced to recap 11 teeth that he'd ground down while grimacing through he race". (You can read more about Tyler's story at Guardian Unlimited)

Seeing how Tyler pushed through his pain and suffering was incredible, but it wasn't quite enough to get me started. I continued my search for inspiration, and a friend recommended a book by Lance Armstrong, a five time Tour de France winner, and cancer survivor. In his novel, " Every Second Counts" Lance explores the topic of suffering.

Angie, putting her inspiration and training into practice during the Test of Metal

He writes, "Suffering, I was beginning to think, was the essential to a good life and as inextricable from such life as bliss. It's a great enhancer. It might last a minute, or a month, but eventually it subsides, and when it does, something else takes its place, and maybe that thing is a greater space for happiness. Each time I encountered suffering, I believed I grew, and further defined my capacities-not just my physical ones, but my interior ones as well, for contentment, friendship, or any other human experience. The real reward for pain is this: Self-knowledge. If I quit, however, it would have lasted forever, that surrender, even the smallest act of giving up, would have stayed with me for the duration. When you felt like quitting, you had to ask yourself which you would rather live with".

These quotes from Tyler and Lance put me onto a path that would require a commitment to pain and suffering.

One race in the early stages of my cycling life I 'DNF'ed a race. At the end, in the parking lot I felt so miserable that I wished I could crawl under a car and cry. I wished that I hadn't given up. I wished that I had finished the race no matter how hard it seemed at the time. I felt like a failure and quitter.

Over the years I have found more self control and determination to achieve my goals, whether it's getting to the top of a hill climb, finishing a race, or giving absolutely 100% during my work outs. Despite the pain and suffering, making that decision was an easy one because the pain of failure is worse.

To experience triumph of achieving a goal is the best reward anyone could experience. The knowledge that you dug down into the depths of your soul, persevered, and gave it your very best shot is an incredible prize - regardless of where you place or if you podium.

I would like to wish everyone a great season on there on the trails, have fun and ride hard!

- Angie Ho
Pioneer of mountain biking protective wear since 1996.