The protocol these days calls for a twice- or thrice-weekly run in addition to the time spent on the bike. This isn’t for reasons related to triathloning — the protocol calls for no time spent in the water — but for cyclocross. The mad dash across brown leaves, cold wet fingers and toes, the smell of hotdogs grilling by the sandpit.

Longer posts about the sport of cyclocross and the culture surrounding it are forthcoming, so in the interim, I only bring you this photo, taken by Naz, the other half of The Super Tempo.

Three cheers for the coming fall.

Yesterday, the doctor prescribed big gear, long hill climbs. Today was long climbs as well but super intense hard 20-30 second sprints in sets.

There’s a remarkable feeling that comes with training. It’s this feeling of knowing the pain you’re about to suffer when heading out, mixed in with the pain you are suffering while doing the workout and then the small relief once the workouts have been performed. There’s also a not so remarkable feeling that comes with the workout, and that one is the pukey, dry-heave feeling. No need to explain that one.

There’s the hill in sight, a quick glance at the computer or watch and ATTACK! Away you go, mashing or spinning your heart out until you instinctively know that it’s time. The sand has run out and it’s over. For now.

The one feeling that trumps them all and is its very essence primal and instinctual, an indicator of pure work, is The Burn. It digs in right into the legs and knees. Always in the thighs just above the knees. During this moment, you have tunnel vision, in some cases not even that. You see nothing and you only know, you do not think, about the goal, the end. It is white hot and raging for relief but you give it none.

We’re quite fond of Stevil Kinevil, who quite recently was Avoiding the Bummer Life. We’d noticed that he’d gone quiet — perhaps on a trip somewhere to ride his bike in manners and ways not possible to most but the word came back that in these times Swobo just couldn’t hold on to a talent that big.

So on to bigger and better, Stevil is back at All Hail the Black Market. The same quality, the same Stevil. Hail!