The Ronde Van Vlaanderen

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Guest Blogger: Nigel Manson

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,
ché la diritta via era smarrita.

Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost.

From the opening lines of Dante’s Inferno.

A few years ago, when I was in my late thirties, I found myself in my own ‘forest dark’. Restless at work, lacking focus, and feeling empty and lost, I could feel midlife cloying around me like an itch I couldn’t scratch. The crisis was sure to happen, but what would it be? I could leverage up and buy an Aston Martin… or I could dye my hair back to the colour of my youth, wear black jeans and a leather jacket, and have a ridiculous affair with an inappropriate 25yr-old dirty blonde? OR, I could take up a ridiculous pasttime where I could set myself some ridiculous goals, obsess about data to the nth degree and equip myself with some hi-tech, weapons-grade kit. And so I found cycling. I honestly thought I’d made the choice that would be both better for my marriage and cheaper. In hindsight, I was probably wrong on both counts. (more…)

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