Speed is relative
Are we sure we’re each of us dialed in on the topic of SPEED?
Do we have it or does it have us?
It almost seems like you can start with first principles: since
speed is relative, it doesn’t matter how fast you go. Since placings
are relative, how can they matter either? If you say “As long as I keep
getting better or keep moving up, that’s what makes me happy”—it
almost sounds like “As long as I’m distracted I’m happy” since there’s
nothing real involved with either the speed or the advancement.
It seems like it’s easy to get caught in the rat race of high tech
with XC racing. We get ‘serious’, treat it like professionals instead
of amateurs. Easy trap to get in. Easy rat race. Easy treadmill
going up that is hard to get off of. Easy addiction. —Hot new stuff
comes out, we all buy it like what? …Lemmings!
It almost seems like the basic fact is that better equipment REPLACES
true ability improvement in some ways.
If I use my old stuff and ski better from one race to the next,
then I’ve gotten better. If I buy all new stuff and fancy wax,
have I gotten any better?
It would also seem more accurate to KEEP ones placing static
and add HANDICAPS and have that be real improvement, compared
with buying new stuff.
If you want to impress those around you, it seems like you could
do it just as easily by going backwards, by using old, bad stuff as
by getting the very latest. Wouldn’t it REALLY get someone’s goat
to have someone beat them on wood skis and bamboo poles, striding,
while they’re doing the HRM cera skating thing? Of course, it’s helpful
to remember that most SERIOUS folks aren’t really paying attention to
anyone else. How you do is REALLY relative to them. You’re just another
notch to them. Except if they can stand back enuf to enjoy your actual
personal company—if so, what does the rat race have to do with that?
You can have a very good time on average stuff.
So if this is all about *quality of experience*, the gear matters even less.
I mean, you want gear which works well, which doesn’t break (how well does
the fanciest meet that standard?), but otherwise?
I don’t want anchors on my arms, so I go with light poles. But our forefathers
simply adapted technique to match their heavier poles with all those
PENDULUM strokes. Anyone still know those? They’re fun! They’re slower,
but what the heck.
I recall being very pleased though with lightweight poles and with proper skate
skis (in doing skate races). I did ten yrs of pretty decent racing with the
same outfit! It really seems like you don’t need the ‘nth’ degree to have
a good time. (However, those skis are WORN out! No good on hardpack,
no edge! But I still got 7th in my last hardpack race. So what is up here?)
So what if you’re off the back without aero-poles…there’s another pack to
draft right close behind you. They’re quite similar.
Also, you don’t want wax that sucks. But there’s HOURS and DAYS and
WEEKS of study/research/application-time difference between NICE’N’FAST
and fastest. Since it’s relative, why bother? I tell ya, I had the very fastest
skis one day by a long shot and I almost felt like I was cheating. To win that
day all I had to do was stand up. I FELL! Joke on me since I hardly ever fall,
but I still did fine. Even so in addition to the thrill of perfect wax I had
a bitter taste realizing how impt/chancy wax was.
Sometimes we get on the treadmill but we don’t realize
what it’ll be like IF we ever get where we think we’re going!
It’s usually almost exactly the SAME! Except if you did something
untoward on the way. (Like be gruff, rude, selfish…)
Not that I know the answers here, but they seem worth pondering.
What part of the culture benefits from such questioning? What part
might suffer from it? Whose in charge of the type of encouraging
we hear most? How do they stand to benefit? It’s good to remember
whose interests are where.
May the best man win! 🙂
