Spinning India into my legs

Ride24 Leg 14 Day 5 - Jaipur to Tijara Fort

Ride25 Leg 14 Day 4 Puskar to Jaipur

Ride25 Leg 14 Day 3 - Kimsar to Puskar

Ride25 Leg 14 Day 2 - Desert Camp to Khimsar

Why the obsession with speed…

It's post ride I'm feeling reflective. Today was a cracking ride, I’m new to Leigh Phillips and Victor Pettersson, but both rode hard all ride. Always great to ride with other members of Dad Power, James Hadley | Le Col RT and Andrew Cocker  - LC RT both had their moments bossing it – we just missed Stuart Coleman ONYX, Le Col Freeride, SW19MAMILS. Jonny Smith | LC__RT  seizing the attack on the climb and digging deep for the rest of the ride, and Ian McCaul | Onyx RT  consistently strong all the way through. 

But I think more than anything what made it so good today was the collective effort, the commitment, the willingness, the refusal to shirk a turn, or soften up before the end.

When I talk to people about these rides there's an underlying question that bubbles up. Why. Why I get up so early (4:30am today), why wear ridiculously tight clothing (can’t hide much in a speedsuit), why have an obsession with aerodynamics, why compress yourself into a tiny position, why push yourself so hard. 

A lot of it comes down to speed, at its most base level going fast is exciting, for those of us who race speed, amongst several other attributes, speed is key to winning. For me it's about feeling alive, it's about having a place in my life where I can turn my volume up to 10, where its acceptable to go 100% to shout to scream to push each other to do the same.

But it is more than that. There is rising to the challenge, hanging on, pushing each other, one more turn, a bit more power, going over the top of someone else’s break, finding the way to get back on when you've lost the wheel, hiding behind your teammates out of the wind trying to be as efficient as possible, even the collective awareness to call holes, traffics and other dangers to keep each other safe at speed. All of these little victories, these perfect moments add up to a feeling of worthiness, success, and achievement and even if you do get dropped knowing you've given it absolutely everything quite simply makes you feel great, makes you feel good about yourself.
 
Perhaps it’s being the person you’d like to believe you are. In our daily lives it’s rare to be pushed to our limit, with this team it’s going to happen week in and week out. I think that is where the magic is, the willingness to take yourself to the limit over and over again, sometimes making it, sometimes not, but regardless of outcome, it’s that willingness that defines us.

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Anthony Levy

WWC - G2 - Harry's Game.

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Spinning India into my legs

Ride24 Leg 14 Day 5 - Jaipur to Tijara Fort

Ride25 Leg 14 Day 4 Puskar to Jaipur

Ride25 Leg 14 Day 3 - Kimsar to Puskar

Ride25 Leg 14 Day 2 - Desert Camp to Khimsar

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