The Lessons of Cohutta

“But there is suffering in life, and there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it's better to lose some of the battles in the struggles for your dreams than to be defeated without ever knowing what you're fighting for.”

-Paulo Coelho

My most sincere appeal to endurance mountain biking are the lessons in humility that come about from it. No matter how on top of your game you are, you can always be knocked down to size. Endurance cycling promotes the stripping of self-indulgent ego feeding and calls you to look inward. As a result, this introspective glimpse allows for an outpouring of everyday life applications in other facets. I cannot speak for all endurance junkies, but for me, this is what it’s all about.


The 2010 Cohutta 100 was a healthy dosage of humility for all its participants. With everyday rain drop, lightning bolt, thunder crack, elevation change, and position battle, it proved to be well worth the price of admission. Every race has its variables, be it stronger riders, challenging terrain, ominous weather. Cohutta this year seems to have all of the above.

Amongst the 133 elite open finishers of this race I managed to squeeze out a 16th place. Initially I was a bit discontent with the result but all in all I am satisfied and content that the venture was worth while.

Sometime around mile 80 or so when I was descending at 40 mph in loose gravel with lighting and thunder surrounding me and squinting my eyes to try and keep the mud and rain from severely distorting my vision I distinctly remember thinking to myself, “In this moment, I am alive”.

Photos soon to some…

Props to fellow Michigan riders Mike Simonson, Christian Tanguy, Greg Kuhn, and Robert Herrimen for representing that despite optimal resources, physical and intestinal fortitude is strong in the Motor City!!!