Why the Hour?

For someone who hasn't raced in years, never raced above a cat 5 level, doesn't much care for time trialing, and has never ridden in a velodrome, describing the decision to make an attempt at the Hour Record as "a stretch" would be an understatement.

To be clear, I don't harbor any illusions that I can go out and automatically put my name next to the likes of Eddy Merckx (the namesake for this project). But I still want to try. Unfortunately, in the words of Yoda, "Do or do not, there is no try." So then why even bother?

Really, the answer is a two-parter. The first part of the answer is "to why do it at all?" Quite simply, everyone needs a challenge. Many of you probably know someone who has challenged themselves to become better at something, to go on a diet, to learn a new skill or take up a new hobby. A few years ago my wife challenged herself to run a half marathon. After completing it, she challenged herself to do it again and took over thirty minutes off of her finishing time. But thirty-five thousand people challenge themselves to run that particular half-marathon and hundreds of thousands more run in other half-marathons, or even full marathons every year. Many others, including some of my college friends, have gone beyond that to compete in triathlons. Triathlons that ranged from sprint distance to full Ironman.

It is probably a little self-centered, but for me the challenge is to experience something that so few other have. I wanted to do something relatively unique, that few in the world have attempted, and that certainly even fewer in my social networks could claim.

Which brings me to the second part of the why answer: "Why the Hour?" After accepting that I wanted to seek out a way to challenge myself, the bicycle seemed like a natural avenue. Most of the things I could do with or on a bicycle either weren't that unique or didn't, to me at least, seem that spectacular. It was then that I happened to catch "The Flying Scotsman" on television, and was reminded of the hour. I became intrigued by Graeme Obree's story, the story surrounding the hour, and had my general interest in the history of cycling reignited. I followed this up by watching documentaries like "A Sunday in Hell," a mid-1970's documentary about the Paris-Roubaix bicycle race. All of this piqued and further fueled my interest in committing to do something as bold as taking on the hour and possibly writing myself into the history books.

I know it won't be easy to manage my life around doing something ambitious like this project. That is part of the challenge that is motivating me to do the hour record. I have a tendency to give up or lose interest in something. Even more so if the outcome looks futile. I don't want to start this process and give up over the winter before my attempt. I don't want to get on the velodrome when I finally make my attempt and quit riding after only 30 minutes.

So in response to that, I want to get myself so deeply involved into this project that my only acceptable outcomes are to "do" or "do not." There will be no "try."

Explaining the Hour Record

While it should seem natural that most people who read this blog already have some understanding of what the 'hour record' is, it did occur to me that not everyone will know of it. This may include even fellow cyclists. Wikipedia pretty much covers the basic definition as 'the farthest distance ridden on a bicycle in one hour.' At the end of the day that is pretty much it. How far can a person ride a bicycle in 60 minutes time? For the purist among the cycling crowd it is the true test of one's ability to ride said bicycle.

No other sport has anything quite like it. For them it is all about how fast can a specified distance be covered. The Indianapolis and Daytona 500's, the runner's mile, a marathon, the mile and a quarter of the Kentucky Derby. Even within cycling everything from time trials to the Tour De France is about how fast a rider can get from point A to point B. Those competitions are also based on how fast others can complete the same course against you.

But with the hour record it is you, the bicycle, a track, and a stopwatch.

Part of what separates this event from others, even within the context of cycling, is the use of the velodrome and the type of bike. The use of the velodrome is critical for side by side comparison's of one rider's ability to another. Throughout all other sports, especially ball sports, there is always a debate about the greatest ever. And no true conclusion can ever be made because with those competitions, you are not only comparing competitor versus competitor, but also the eras in which they competed. The use of a velodrome and a track specific bicycle* both bring the playing field to level. (*More on the bicycle debate below.) The purpose of the velodrome is to take out all of the factors that can affect a rider's performance, as well as their shortcomings.

If you take three relatively equally matched professional riders and run a time trial on three different types of courses, you are likely to get three different winners. This is a result of the three riders each having different talents and deficits that can be hidden or exposed by the type of course ridden. But with the velodrome, there are no hills, no descents, no rough pavement, no rain; all things that can adversely affect a result. While there are different types and sizes of velodrome tracks, all are a flat track with two turns.

Taking the course out of the debate leaves us with just the rider and the bike. In the last 30 years; however, the bicycle had become a larger part of the discussion than the riders themselves. Advances in technology, materials, frame designs, and aerodynamics started to push the Hour Record into a competition over who could innovate best. And while yes, the first Hour Record was set using a penny-farthing, the debate was still about the man and his ability.

Controversially, in response to all of the innovation taking place within the sport, it's governing body the Union Cycliste Internationale, or UCI, set to eliminate the equipment advantage out of the equation. It mandated that attempts made on the "Athlete's Hour" follow a strict set of rules regarding frame materials and sizing, tube shapes, wheel design, handle bar shape, and rider positioning. The common terminology for the record attempt and equipment specifications used is know as the "Merckx Hour," or "Merckx Rules." This is drawn from the rules being created to match all future attempts at the hour on using essentially the same specifications used by Eddy Merckx for his successful attempt in 1972. Innovated attempts are still recognized, but they fall into different classifications outside of the Athlete's Hour.

These rules are part of the reasoning behind my naming this The Merckx Project. I don't doubt that I could achieve better results with a lightweight, aerodynamic frame, wheels & helmet, and optimized body position. But I want to find out what I can achieve using essentially the same set of tools as Eddy Merckx. A steel framed, non-aerodynamically enhanced bike, using standard spoked wheels, a single gear, and drop bars with no brakes. And minus the juiced bloodstream, of course.

In the Benginning

Welcome to the Merckx Project. In the coming weeks, I will introduce you to my attempt to ride what is known as The Hour Record. Stay tuned.....