Actually a bit of both....
From this Saturday 6th I shall be participating with up to 3500+ (I think!) other individuals on the annual Tour of the mythical land of Sufferlandria (ToS)
This is a not so mythical tour (because it most certainly is a physical one) around the mythical land of Sufferland where Grunty von Agony (GvA) shall be whipping us on our way.
“Give me your tired, your oxygen deprived,
Your huddled minions yearning for the end of the interval,
The shelled remnants of your teeming peloton.
Send these, the quad-blasted, grovelling wretched to me,
And they will wish they played it safe and stayed outside.”
(From the Poem, “Suffer, Little Minions” by Grunter von Agony)
Over 9 days I will be attempting to complete numerous indoor turbo workouts; some days multiple workouts back to back... and then there is the day of double revolver - I can't articulate my fear of this - every time I think of doing this workout, twice, brings me out in a cold sweat (or maybe that is just the lack of central heating at the moment)
A fellow Sufferlandrian has done a good graphic of what the tour entails:
It will be epic... and I hope I make it through to the end... I've done over 3 hours on a turbo before now so the length of time on any one day is not the issue; but the repeated efforts days in a row will be new to me. It's definitely going to be a test, especially the last 2 days.... assuming of course I survive the first Sunday (double.. gulp... revolver... wth!)
BUT WHY DO THIS TO YOURSELF?
Well yes it's going excellent training - but there's more to it then that. Anyone can participate in this event from anywhere in the world which is great and creates a fantastic online community for support... but there's more then that.... the event is sponsored by several companies creating a pool of goodies, then the riders who can afford to (min is $10) "enter" the Prize Tour by donating to The Davis Phinney Foundation... which makes them eligible for a virtual ticket in the prize draw. Here's something about the Davis Phinney Foundation them;
"The Davis Phinney Foundation was founded in 2004 by Olympic medalist and cycling great, Davis Phinney, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2000 at the age of 40. Today, Davis is both a role model in the cycling community and an inspiration to the estimated 1.5 million Americans and estimated 10 million worldwide who are currently living with the disease."
Their missions is simply put "to help people living with Parkinson’s to live well today "
So there is more to this event that myself and many are doing; there will certainly be Pain Misery and Agony on the way but we, as a community (both those whom can afford to donate to this cause and those that can not, we are in it together), shall embrace the event and do our best to finish. We ride together, virtually speaking, as a community of cyclists supporting one another for a great cause close to the hearts of many in the cycling fraternity.
Many sufferlandrians having "entered" are asking for sponsorship either for the Davis Phinney foundation or other causes close to their hearts which is a great thing. I could at this stage ask for further sponsorship - but that isn't the intent if this post - I'm fortunate that having donated my company has also matched the donation. I will be doing a lot of endurance events this year and will at some point make a post about what I may wish for from you.... as I said, right now I just wanted to tell you what this lunacy is about over the coming week!
