Essay: On the 400th
(2019) It is remarkable what difference one hundred articles see. Yet another numeric milestone ticked by in a sport driven by insane amounts of numbers. I think back to almost a year ago when the last milestone article was published. A lot has happened since then, to the point it gets exciting to explore what will happen over the next one hundred articles.
One hundred selections ago I was ramping up my indoor game for one final push on the competitive cycling circuit in Pennsylvania. I went outside of the commonwealth for two races I always wanted to do: Lime Rock and Tour of Somerville. Both were bombs for results but I tamed that ‘what if?’ voice by finding out. I would return to Lime Rock months later for the IMSA motorsports race; I took refuge in the parking lot of the Somerville library after being unhitched from the group.
Over the last five score articles I have acquired bits of kit I lusted after. The sock game has been significantly improved. A couple bits of base layer have been added to the closet and some great coffee has been consumed. I started this page years ago at the outset of a significant wardrobe overhaul and felt it high time to document my opinions. In recent years my cold weather gear game was outperforming my summer selections. That has since changed as well.
For the 300th article I outlined the restorative properties of cycling. I look forward to the next one hundred pieces to see where cycling takes me as well as anyone who wants to tag along. Ideas have been thrown around the creakybottombracket.com office for the upcoming riding season. Those intentions will be revealed over the course of the year.
With the ever-presence of numeric in cycling it is only expected to highlight century milestones. Since the last milestone article we even summited Devil’s Kitchen on the fourth attempt. There are many more surprises in store when a beast like that has been slain. If a self-labeled traditionalist can be convinced to add a cycling computer to the handlebars, who knows what else is possible for the upcoming season. Maybe for the five hundredth article we will be celebrating the successful completion of the Rapha Festive 500. We tried – and liked – decaffeinated coffee. Is there any limit to what cannot happen for the year? We will accept that challenge.
