Disclaimer: I fully understand, and am acutely aware of the sacrifice in the sport of cycling. I have the utmost admiration for those who define themselves as "cyclists" over "'triathletes - For they can do what I can only dream of.

I came into multi-sport as a runner. Plain and simple.
My weakest discipline was my first fear: water

I suffered, and then began to enjoy the idea of flowing through the water, as I had come to adore the idea of running through open space.

Yet long before I reached this point of enjoyment, I tried to forget about swimming, and put in more time on the bike. Albeit, I internally knew that running was my deepest and most profound passion.
Lately, this love has transcended cycling duties more than normal.

Cycling - to me - is a maintenence endeavor. Things break.

Chains de-rail. Brakes need replacement. Tires blow up. I feel as if I'm driving a car, not enjoying the inherent freedoms of moving through space.

On land and sea, I am free. I am moving myself, freely, without all these greasy, titanium demons testing my joints. Frankly, cycling makes me more stressed upon completion.

My bike is in fine working order, just tuned up, and equipped to handle the rigors of long-course triathlon.

Those of you who are cyclists, what perpetuates your passion for the bike? Why not running or swimming? How does cycling define you?

Let me be clear: When someone who is a cyclist, tells me about the beauty of moving through a crisp spring day, on the open road, in perfect harmony with the peloton, or in the case of our hero, le train bleu, I can only nod and trust their testimony.

If one told me that the July 4th, American bi-centennial performance of Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture, performed at the esplinade at Boston, was the genius of all orchestrated music in human history, I would not have the education nor the inclination to agree, though I could appreciate their passion for such a peerless exercise.

If I were to explain to the arm-chair generals of the fields and stadiums, how after six miles of distance run, you can become more human than you have been in the culmination of your varsity-leter careers, I would surely face antagonism, perhaps even hostility.

But at least I would be acutely certain, of what I was articuling.