An Addiction to History - Why we do it?

So here it is my first blog post! I'm going to write a few more over the course of the summer but for now I wanted to share my thoughts on why so many have such a passion for the sport.

And what a time to begin writing, the start of a long summer comprising of: my 30^th birthday, my first ride up a French mountain and hopefully lot’s of sunny coffee fueled rides with my usual riding buddies.  Moving from the classics of the spring to the Grand tours of the summer has got me thinking about why the sport of ‘Le Peleton’ becomes such an encapsulating, dramatic and inspiring spectacle?

© Ben O'Meara - Taken at the 2012 TDF on the Peyresourde - Basso, Nibali, Wiggins & Froome

Today is the start of the Giro D’Italia, a race which although unequal to my pure un-adulterated passion and excitement for the Tour de France is a close second (well maybe joint second with Paris-Roubaix).  Little by little I’m being exposed to the history of the likes of Bartali & Coppi then to the Mercx and Hinault era on to the sad story of Pantani through various books/ magazines I’m seemingly constantly buried in.  I’m gradually beginning to get sucked in to the Giro just like I was with ‘Le Tour’ just prior to my first visit to see ‘le Grand Boucle’ in 2012 on the Col-de-Peyresourde (also the start of my love hate relationship with ‘Monsieur Bradlee Weeggans’, something for later...).  This similarity lets me understand why fans of cycling are caught in a loop of perpetual self-generation of their own passion for the sport.

You see cycling becomes an obsession; playing on the pitch at Wembley stadium, kicking a drop goal a Twickenham, feeling the roar as Mayweather enters the arena in Vegas – all of these are landmark events few  ever experience- in cycling the road is the stadium!  Each year thousands cycle up Europe’s various mountains getting closer to understanding the pain, dedication, elation and disappointment the male and female pro-cyclists put themselves through to write either their teammates or themselves into cycling legend.

© Ben O'Meara - taken at the 2012 TDF Mark Cavendish giving me evils from the center of the autobus!

It’s only through a combination of understanding this legend and continuously challenging yourself to push your own limits that you generate and addictive a passion for the sport of cycling that for me is incomparable with other sports.  It’s a feeling you enjoy watching cycling which is comparable to the feeling you get when riding; when everything is perfect, when you feel like you can ride for 35kmh for ever – I've heard this called 'equilibrium’ before and is something I’ll write about in my next blog post!

I’m still on the upward curve of this journey of understanding but I know this summer when I reach the top of Le Tourmalet, I’ll only experience a fraction of the emotions the likes of Froome & Contador will feel only a few hours later, maybe this time next year I’ll experience the same feeling as I inch up ‘La Passa del Stelvio’ shortly before spectating from the Coliseum of the Italian road side.

That feeling (accomplishment?), that’s why we do it!