About
Octave Lapize was a professional French cyclist riding in the 1910 Tour de France. Two years before the sinking of the Titanic, bicycles were notably heavier than the wispy creations of today, and lacked the wide range of gearing to be available years later. This, combined with the Tour promoter’s decision to add several climbs of the almost impassble Pyrenees mountains that year, would soon turn more than one hardened competitor into jelly. As Octave surmounted the mighty Tourmalet, walking his bike and near exhaustion, he saw several race officials and screamed at them, “You’re assassins, yes, assassins!” He then said to someone close by, “Not to worry, [at the bottom], I plan to quit”. But, ironically, a rider often has his mountaintop experience at the bottom of the descent, throwing off despair and finding his second wind. Octave Lapize went on to win the 1910 edition of the Tour de France and to contest the race four more times in the years following.
I’ve pondered these words many times as I’ve ridden, and determined that a competitive cyclist at any time rides somewhere between conquering the world and just plain quitting. Since the race promoters don’t force anyone to ride their races, the real question to be answered is why do we keep doing this to ourselves? Come along and find out…