GRIT

Barry-Roubaix 2016

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

-  The Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear, "Dune"

It's tough. You have to fight your way through loose gravel, deep sand, dust clouds that hang over the never-ending line of racers.  It will scare you. You might lose control of your bike. You will feel like you're going to slide out into thick gravel at the bottom of a fast descent and break something.

You'll swear you'll never do it again.

But then, with time and rehydration, you'll see things more clearly.

Like, how just being able to do this kind of thing is a privilege that few are granted. That life is either a daring adventure, or it's nothing. That, with a little practice and determination, this becomes less intimidating and a lot more fun.

Show a little grit. The object isn't to get to the finish line as fast as possible.

The object is to never arrive.