Saturday, June 20, 2009

What Would You Do?

If your knees were throbbing and Achilles was aching?

You rode 16 hours a day?

And averaged five hours of sleep a night?

If you scaled mountains, but couldn’t enjoy the views?

If you had to repeat the cycle for two more weeks?

I heard from Justin today: The pace is too fast. The days are too long. The nights are too short.

What would you tell him?

15 comments:

  1. that's a real tough one. I rode with Justin during crush the commonwealth so I know he can hold his own but everyones got limits. it's just such a pisser that after so much prep, the body can't keep up. it's hard to admit, but the trail will be there for another attempt. and pushing on regardless could ruin the rest of the year with recovery time. when the funs over and done, it's time to head home.

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  2. i say with all that do your balls still hurt? Maybe he should take a day off and chill. Ride to a town if posible and chill. See what happenes after a doy off the bike.

    PS Quiters never win.

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  3. Keep riding ofcourse! Well sorta, he needs to ride less, sleep more (at least 8 hours of sleep). The mental anguish from quitting last a lot longer than the physical pain from suffering (speaking from experience). Mail him some XL balls and tell him to man up :)

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  4. If it ain't fun, it ain't worth doing. But I do hope he picks up that accent that Steve wikinson had

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  5. Tell him that if he quits he'll be absolutely miserable and to keep on truckin'... but if he can't go on let him know Georgie's easter egg hunt has been rescheduled to June 28th :)

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  6. I think we got a new quote for the ages:

    "Stop and smell the flowers, instead of looking at them, pissing on them, and keep riding" - Justin Kline, June 2009

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  7. We are all now *very* curious - what decision did Justin make?! I really think Jassli's advice was the best, although I was under the impression that Justin's balls were pretty swollen (and bruised up) already...

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  8. I commented on his call in from Idaho. Jassli is so right. He should take a breather and reflect why he wanted to do the race in the first place. it is a race, not a vacation. aside from the pain and the physical anguish, the regret of not trying to finish would hurt much more. i know he can do it.

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  9. the bloody gramace is right behind you *****
    dont confuse me withe the other anonymous talking about some stupid easter egg hunt
    ******who would be dumb enuff to put $5 eggs in pine trees

    the dark helmet

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  10. tell everyone you re name is *** pepsi ***
    whos pepsi?

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  11. ver said... it is a race, not a vacation.

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  12. Lately while walking the dogs my two kids (4 and 2) started racing home the last half block. The same thing happened every time. The younger one would take off first, but would soon be passed by the older one. After being passed the 2 year old's little shoulders would droop and he would turn around to me with his lower lips quivering and his eyes welling up with tears.

    This went on for almost 2 weeks. One night I heard him say "go ahead, you can win Oona", which she did as usual. But no crying from him. He ran for a bit, picked up a stick, squatted down to look at some bugs, jumped over some cracks in the sidewalk and walked up to his sister with a big smile.

    I think Justin is making a fine decision that he won't regret.

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  13. grandmom and granddad would be proud of you

    the dark helmet

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  14. I would refer him back to his letter of intent. For Justin, the "race" might be over, but he never seemed to want to challenge the "greats" anyway.

    According to his letter of intent, "I can no longer resist my urge to participate so I will be on the starting line in Banff come June. I do not intend to challenge the masters of the divide, but rather follow in their dust. I will be out there to challenge myself, take in the majestic scenery, and experience all that the grand tour of mountain biking has to offer."

    He's gonna keep going, but what he's done so far is nothing short of, well, ridiculous. Perhaps he's got to time his rests better, ride when conditions are fast and don't be afraid to rest when they're not.

    Hang in there Justin!

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  15. Damnit, didn't realize Kim had a google page open. That last comment was really me, Jake Peters.

    Go Justin!

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