The D2R2 as Infinite Jest

It occurred to me today, as I rode through a major summer afternoon downpour in Rutland, that the D2R2 is the gravel grinder equivalent of David Foster Wallace's sprawling epic masterpiece, Infinite Jest. The D2R2IJ.

The ride, like the novel, is LONG and difficult. It is sprawling, fascinating, relentlessly brilliant and absurd. In the middle of it, you wonder how you got there, and why.

There's nuance and pathos and humor. Belly laughs and tears. Ridiculously hard ascents. Dangerous descents. The satisfaction of making it through gut-wrenching passages. The what-the-fuck?! moment ... after moment ... after moment. The very real bewilderment of why you've chosen this particularly sadistic and ecstatic narrative over all the other story lines out there. You could do any ride. But you chose the D2R2IJ.

When was the last time you read a 1,000+ page avant-garde novel and were elated? When was the last time you rode an excruciatingly arduous but jaw-droppingly gorgeous century? These are rare pleasures, rare amazements exploding out of nowhere, wild divergences from the day-to-day.

Rare exquisite tortures for Dubstoevsky's betterment.

Ah, Shad. It's time to get serious now.  Dubstoevsky has been off the bike since Monday, August 8th for reasons that cannot be divulged (CLASSIFIED).

Post-downpour style

Today's Downpour Ramble is likely the final training ride before the D2R2IJ on Saturday.

A long puddle shy of 30 miles. I felt strong. I imagined my quads as Shrek-sized root beer barrels. I envisioned my engine devouring the fuel I overstoked it with this past week, churning and grinding and hurtling forward like Smaug's wrath. *

I devoured the slick black licorice line of tarmac alongside deluged Holden Reservoir, and raced in haste toward Tatnuck.

Dubstoevsky kicked it with the Niceness and the exuberance of Myth.

And wither Wing Nut the Stalwart? Tuning up in the raw hills above Conway, steadfast, laconic, a veteran. He'll be ready. Like a landing craft on D-Day. Like Teddy Roosevelt. Or Eddie Merckx. A honed beast. Indiscriminate. Certain. Marauding. The perfect teammate.

* Smaug the dragon from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.