One Of The 3% Men

Bob Roll is a former pro cyclist & "Tour Day Frants" rider. He is from Oakland and was one of the original members of the 7-Eleven cycling team formed in 1981. He also raced for Motorola in 1991 before switching to the French Z team and taking up professional mountain biking in 1992. During his career on the road he raced in 4 Tours, 3 Giros, 8 Paris-Roubaix races & 8 World Championships. Although he was racing mountain bikes in 1992, he did ride in the Corestates Pro Championships that year and I had the pleasure to cheer him on and meet him briefly after the race.

He has written several books and now does commentary for the Outdoor Life Network. He is renowned for his sharp, witty sense of humor and his ability to uniquely describe the lifestyle & experiences of a pro bike rider. He seems to also be the one who persuaded Lance Armstrong to give cycling another chance when he had given up after his illness and resigned himself to being fat & eating burritos for the rest of his life.

I recall reading an interview with Bobke in a cycling magazine when I was in college. In the article he describes himself as being a "3% man" on the bicycle. When he was asked to clarify what that meant he explained the fact that most of the time he was racing in Europe he felt like total shit. He recounted races where he spent endless hours at the very back of the bunch: suffering, groveling in the gutter and barely hanging on to the wheel in front of him. However, he said that he did experience that rare occasion (roughly 3% of the time) when he was strong, had good legs and could make everyone else suffer.

This has me thinking as I try to maintain a decent level of fitness in my life & prepare for a half marathon at the beginning of April: If this guy was a professional, dedicated his entire life to cycling and only felt really good 3% of the time what chance do I have at EVER feeling good?

The answer is not very often. I have spent the last 16 months in Madrid where it is difficult to run & nearly impossible to cycle. In two months time I will be 36 years old. I work hard, enjoy going out and like to drink beer. Given all of these factors, I can probably count on both hands the number of times in the last 16 months that I have felt really, really good physically & mentally at the same time. Normally, I struggle through every step / pedal stroke of the way in my training sessions.

Why, you may ask, would I possibly want to put myself through such frustration & torture on a regular basis? The answer is simple - I love the sports of cycling & running. I love the feeling of being able to challenge myself & push myself to new limits. And, I am addicted to the sensation that occurs every once in a great while when I can go as fast as I want, or as hard as I want, or as far as I want and I don't feel any pain at all.

Let's hope I have one of those days on April 2nd when I attempt my second half marathon...