How good I was

Hello Everyone,

Sorry for the delay in posting. I'll have two original pieces this week, today and tomorrow.

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When I tell people that I used to fence competitively, I sometimes get asked if I was any good. I like to answer that I was good enough to know what 'good' really was. Unlike, say, basketball, which I don't play and thus have a limited understanding of how good the top professionals are, I was a decent fencer at the international level. That meant that I some sense of how insanely good the top guys were. I put in a lot of hours in training, had developed some skills, and yet these guys were still miles ahead of me. I could also appreciate the minute elements of their game that escape casual notice, but are nonetheless incredible.

I had a similar experience over the weekend. Once again, some friends and I entered the 24 Hour Summer Solstice bike race. As the name suggests, it's a race that runs for 24 hours, meaning it's a big test of endurance and fortitude, as well as being a lot of fun. Our team of 5 managed 20 laps of a 17km course. It would have been 21, but I nixed the last lap given incoming rain and potential lightning. There is a solo category for this race, where a single person races non-stop for the full duration. I've written before about this group of people, but they never cease to amaze. I've always thought this was one of the most impressive physical feats I'd ever seen, and this year may be the best ever. The winner did 23 laps of the course. By himself. Just like in fencing, I have some appreciation of just how insane that is. I'm a decent biker, and have pretty good endurance, and I have no idea how someone is able to maintain that pace for so long. It's not just physically impressive. Mountain biking requires paying attention to the route in a way that road cycling does not. This was a twisty, winding course. It was buckets of fun, but if you are tired and cycling in the pitch black at night, one wrong move and you hit a tree at speed. Again, like fencing, I won't ever get to that top level. But I'm happy that I both got to witness this physical achievement and that I'm 'good' enough to appreciate that level of mastery.

wes