Beyond the Ordinary: The Suck and the Saddle

The numbers on the Garmin:

Saddle Time: 4:57:27 hours
Distance: 53.84 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,776 feet
Personal Records: 12 PRs

Maybe it is because of the book by King I am listening to, but the phrase “The Suck” has been stuck in my head. Though King’s novel uses “The Suck” to refer to Fallujah and an operation that the main character is going through as a Marine. That is something I can’t speak to; I can only talk about what “The Suck” means to me when I am out there in the saddle.

The phrase “Embrace the Suck” is something I first heard in my Team in Training days. It is from a book named “Embrace the Suck: The Navy SEAL Way to an Extraordinary Life”. The meaning of Embrace the Suck mans leaning into suffering and getting comfortable with it. That I can only mildly relate to based on my efforts in the bicycle’s saddle. I would never try to compare that to what the Navy SEALs go through.

To me, when I think of “The Suck”, it is the point while you are climbing a hill where your tires seem to get stuck in the asphalt. This usually happens when you are on the hill’s steepest gradient. For me, it feels like the road is actually trying to pull the bike into it. The asphalt acts like quicksand, trapping your tires and refusing to release them. When I hit “The Suck”, a decision has to be made: do I put my foot down, or do I keep going?

East Moore’s Creek Road has been the bane of my existence since I first tried to climb it last year. It beat me. I tried to climb it again this year, and again it beat me down. I remember turning onto Snoody and struggling to catch my breath back; it was a struggle. E. Moore’s Creek Road is something I have avoided like the plague all summer. Then only the gods know why, when I started on my ride yesterday, I decided I was heading straight for it.

I wanted to ride the East Side while it was still early on Labor Day weekend. From there I would head through campus to the B-line and then to Ellettsville. From there we would go to the airport and fairgrounds, and that should put on a collision course with five hours of saddle time. The question was, would East Moore’s Creek Road beat me or not?

You can’t bail out on East Moore’s Creek. Once you go down by the lake, you have to climb back up. Your choices are E. Stipp Road, which is steeper than East Moore’s Creek. Or Schwartz Ridge Road. I don’t know if that road is steeper or not; it just looks ugly and I don’t like the cut of its jib. Narrow, steep country roads aren’t roads I like to climb; they reek of not being safe. It was East Moore’s Creek or nothing, and I knew that as soon as I started down E. Stipp.

You hit “The Suck” right away on East Moore’s Creek. I think the steepest part is at the bottom. It always feels like it is trying to pull my bike away from me. This is when I find minor challenges to help me get up. Let’s make it to that treeline. Make it to where the gravel starts. Go until you get to the stop sign, and so on and so forth. This helps me ride through the suck. On East Moore’s Creek, putting your foot down is the absolute last thing you should do, and I did it.

I wasn’t even in “The Suck” anymore. I had made it through “The Suck” as the bottom. Honestly, I think I have a confidence issue for this climb, and I felt like I needed a break. I was thrilled to continue, yet the summit seemed very distant. Consequently, I lowered my foot and stopped.

My attempt to clip back in and start again failed. It was too steep to start up from this point. So, I duck-walked the bike 10 to 20 yards until I found a place I could get back in the saddle. Then, slowly, I rode the rest of the hill. Did I climb East Moore’s Creek Road? Some would say yes, some would say no; I will let you be the judge of that. What I can say is that I was proud of what I did. I didn’t worry about it the rest of the ride like I normally would; I just rode. I know I am so much stronger than I was the last time I rode it. When I got to Snoddy this time, my breath was with me. Whether it’s conquered is irrelevant. My improved strength and breathing led me to believe I was now a superior rider. Regardless, if I had made all the way up without stopping.

My ride took me from the East Side of Bloomington, then through Campus to the B-line. From the B-line, I went to Ellettsville. I really love riding Kart Farm Trail. I toured around Ellettsville a little, stopped for lunch, and headed back to Bloomington. Instead of climbing back home at the end of Karst Farm, I went to the west side of the city and rode E. Leonard Springs to the Clear Creek Trail. Then I climbed home from there. It was on this climb up Tapp/Winslow that I called that place on the hill where it feels like the asphalt is trying to eat your bike “The Suck.” There is one place on Tapp right after Goose Poop Point that your bike just sticks. It doesn’t want to go any further, and you have to ride through it, and that is what I do.

I was a little under my 5 hours ride time window. That was okay; I don’t think those two and a half minutes will kill me. The lessons in riding through the suck far outweigh those minutes. I will take 50+ miles and 2700 feet of elevation gain as victory.

The PRs are cool. This isn’t something I actively chase. It is something that Strava tracks. Such as it was, my best time on the E. Moore’s Creek Climb (which makes sense; it is the only time I didn’t walk most of it.). I earned many Strava medals on this ride, proving my consistent improvement, which is the key takeaway.

It was another amazing Sunday out on the bike, embracing the suck and spending time in the saddle.