Reptember Vol 5: The Pain of Perfection

“I will not roll my pencil in class. I will not roll my pencil in class. I will not roll my pencil in class….”. On and on I wrote that same sentence 100 times in my wide ruled spiral notebook. I’d finish the project, show it to the teacher, crumple it up, and throw it away. Eventually, I graduated to the chalkboard where over and over again I’d scribble out my punishment. You see, I had a game where I’d place my fingers over the top of the desk, flick the pencil out of the pencil tray with my thumb, and wait as long as possible for the pencil to make it down my desk before removing my hands from the top of the desk and catching it at the bottom. I repeatedly got in trouble at school for my shenanigans and Catholic school was a strict place. So, as many 8 year old boys do, I tested the boundaries. My dad had always said, “If you want to be good at something, you have to do it 10,000 times. Repetition builds perfection”. One day in class, as I’m perfecting my pencil catch, Sister Rosella strode by in all her glory…yard stick in hand. “SMMAAACCCKKK” across my 8 year old knuckles that black tipped thunderstick landed and I was gently reminded of another lesson my dad taught me. “Sometimes with perfection comes pain”. So, dear Plod and Pedallers….Welcome to another installment of “Reptember”.

This September find your favorite hill and do at least 9 hill repeats. You must get at least 1000 ft of vertical with the repeats (total, not per lap). Although, Josh always says size doesn’t matter, find your nemesis hill or the coolest hill in town and give it a go. This one has to be done OUTSIDE as well. You can do it on your bike or do it on your feet. Once again, tag Josh Pierce and Ryan Mellem in the comment section of your activity and sign up for the monthly challenge. We will draw one winner for the monthly prize. As always, have fun, be safe, and anything worth doing is worth overdoing.