Okay I’m a dude, but do you know how women say that they get amnesia after child birth pain and decide to have another kid? I think I can sort of relate…sort of.
Here’s the scenario…I’m how do I say it politely…oh yeah fat … and middle aged(48). For some reason I decide every year it’s a wonderfully great idea to do the Whistler Gran Fondo. It’s 122 km (75 miles) and Elevation: 1900m / 6200 ft. It’s the mountain climbing that kills you!
To put in perspective I’m 48, 230 lb (all Ice Cream baby). Watts/kg in the low 2s. Every year I think “hey I have a great idea…I’ll sign up for the Fondo again”. Sure I bike a fair amount each year between 3500-5000 km, but let’s face it I’m not exactly slender unless I’m hanging with sumo wrestlers.
It’s a ride with ~4,000 riders. As I was going around the final corner 2 years ago, I hear the announcer say “here’s our final 10 riders” after 7+ hrs in the saddle. Grant it was pouring rain and bloody freezing and there were many DNF. Oh and I broke my collar bone and 3 ribs and only trained 8 weeks.
And I suffered…and suffered.
And for some sick reason … even though I suck…I still really love cycling.
I was just thinking “hey I should sign up for the Fondo again”.
I can’t remember anything from mike 14 where I last saw my family to my 24 where i decided to pick up the pace to get home quicker on my ironman run. I think he mind tries to block out severe stupidity sometimes
In 2016 I ruptured my achilles and trained like crazy to ride the WGF (Whistler Gran Fondo) as soon as my boot was off.
2017 I fell down the stairs and threw my back out and then promptly got shingles. But I still rode it again… it was friggen cold ( remember the emergency blankets they gave out!?).
2018 I rode it in the cold rain, again…with a chest infection…in case it wasn’t hard enough already.
2019…of course I’m signed up!!
(I keep going back because of the rest stop that has the bacon strips)
Yep 2017 I wore a warm jacket and was thinking “I am an idiot for wearing this thing I’m going to cook”. Then I saw the blue faces and emergency blankets and people getting into vehicle quitting at the last aid station in the mountains and thought “I’m a genius for wearing this thing!”.
FYI…Its a Gore wind stopper…that sh#t is made with unicorns or something. Amazing, seldom too hot or cold! Mine is a bit torn up from when I shoved my collar bone and ribs through it (only slight exaggeration),…lol
Oh yeah and remember going down hill in the rain going 65 km/hr after breaking my collar bone thinking “please don’t crash…please don’t crash”
I’ve had shingles I think 4 times now and there are a lot of variables that determine how bad it is. If it’s caught early you can get get anti-virals that really tone it down, but otherwise it can be pretty painful. For me it’s hurt more the older I get, which I think is fairly common? I managed to do a half marathon last time I had it but I wouldn’t recommend that!
I feel like I am very qualified to answer this. I have heard the same kind of quote about marathons or ultras. I have done both (and also some long & hard bike rides) and I am a mom of four, three of whom were born at home (no pain meds) one with over 24 hours of labor. I know this quote was more tongue in cheek (at least I assume so). Here is my take: with childbirth (especially at home) you cannot bail out. You have to finish. Which sort of makes it less of an achievement than a bike race where you could bail out and DNF at any time but you don’t. OTOH, childbirth is much more painful - just in case you were wondering.
Very painful. I got it on my back and then it progressed around my side and onto my chest and stomach. And I felt completely drained. Doc was very strict that I did nothing stressful…both in terms of exercise or work related.
I totally know what you mean. I’m a 5 x starter of the now-defunct trans Iowa bike race (2 finishes). Every time I felt comfortable with “never again” but signup time would come along and…“hey, I should sign up for the TI again”
But those monster epics are the best memories. I say keep doing insane events!
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Go for it!!!
… now I’m going to hide for my personal safety 
AND child birth is more painful (can only speak from no-meds experience though).