Efficiency

I like to do things right the first time, so that I don't have to repeat them. Also known as "I hate to do things twice". Efficiency appeals to me. Maybe it's genetic- I am of German descent. We all have a limited amount of energy and resources we can devote to a task. Budgeting these resources can be one of the most difficult things we do as people. Even time devoted to writing these words could be spent in other ways, but it's hard to tell which would be the better pursuit. Cycling appeals to me for many reasons, one of which is its' close relationship with efficiency. With relatively little wattage to work with, a human body strapped to a machine with wheels and gears can accomplish much more than the body on its' own. Still, the rider is faced with many choices and must decide where and when to expend his energy. In a race situation, this can mean enduring painful feedback from the body for a certain amount of time, with the knowledge or belief that the pace will eventually ease and recovery will be possible. There are some events where this is not possible, where a rider must exhaust himself completely, and one of them is cyclocross. When I line up at the start, I know that approximately one hour of pain is about to be unleashed upon me as my heart rate and energy expenditure flirt with red line for the entire duration of the race. Minimizing mistakes through smooth technique over the barriers and difficult sections of the course can help make you faster, but you will always be bouncing off that virtual barrier of hurt. So why does cyclocross appeal to me? For me, it eliminates that extra choice of when to spend my energy. The time to spend is NOW- and for the next hour. No budgeting needed, other than to last for the duration of the race. No matter where I place, I know that there's no need to go back and do anything again, because there is no energy left to do it with. That's when I know it was a good race.