Hope’s Still Riding…

As Le Tour approaches some of the toughest mountain stages, I was reminded about the notion of ‘adaptation’ and more importantly ‘change’. Don’t get me wrong, by no means am I trying to draw some sort of metaphor for life through a cycling competition, but I do see some relevance of it through how the riders in the tour have changed or have changed of the past few weeks. Weathered by torrential downpour, collision, insults and injury, cyclists battled an ever changing terrain, climate. The beauty of something like the tour is most probably the fact that it is quite literally a journey, not just on the map but in all ways. Your muscles burn longer and harder, the seasons, the crowds, scenery change at every moment, at every click of the shifters, change of the tires, incline and decent. One day you’ve got the yellow jersey, headlines and reporters at the tip of your tongue. The next day, you’re the last years ‘what if’. Demented but in the best possible way I suppose. For me, thinking of it just forced me to realise how much the people around me have changed/evolved over the course of a few days, weeks, months and even years. Not just in the physical or physiological sense of the word, but I guess you get where I’m headed with this. Some have played a large role in my life. Some continue to do so on a daily basis. And some well, no longer do. Sometimes it’s as simple as their clothes, shoes and the like. For others, it’s much deeper. From the way they speak, carry themselves and address others, it’s quite apparent. And like chomping up tarmac up the Pyrenees, they’ve probably weathered a storm just as hard if not harder that any pro rider out there. I guess it’s hard to draw a real correlation between a pro rider and anyone living out their lives. But whenever I see Lance Armstrong, his body and ego battered, bruised and scarred, and steal that look on his face as he cranks cranks cranks, the revelation I get is a soothing one. It invigorates and encourages me. Because though his body has continued to change over the course of this painful ordeal, his face, focus and demeanor has never swayed. He’s prevailed in more ways than anyone could ever imagine. I know it’s fairly cliche to speak of a guy like Lance, but sometimes, it does make sense, even if it sometimes seems like a reiteration of sorts. Believe you me, there’s nothing wrong with change one bit. In fact it’s probably a good thing for most. But I suppose the day you wake up and look in the mirror and find yourself staring at a stranger, is the day you might need to take a look down at that tarmac you’ve covered, and see where you came from… With that, thanks so much to the CT guys for this. Sometimes I can’t express enough gratitude for blessings, or fail to express them well. But it’s there somewhere, if not on the tarmac then at least clapping and cheering along the side of it.

And last but not least, to my friend Chris Lim who’s been way more than that in so many ways, this post is dedicated to you. Not because you’re grinning at me from France and all that, but also because you have that ‘look’ too. Be safe on the Tourmalet today, the weather looks wet. HS signing off.

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