Don’t worry, I’m not bored yet. However I met a guy on Friday last week who runs a cycling club here in Ukraine (Actually the national association of cyclists) and unsurprisingly he’s done quite a lot of long distance cycling.
Dealing with boredom he’s said was one of the challenges. Getting bored during training (or bored of training) and getting bored during long days of cycling.
He has a point.
OK, I’m hardly going to suffer Terry Waite-style and I’ve done enough solo travelling to know that I’m quite comfortable with long days without company, but during my only previous experience of anything that could be considered an ‘endurance’ sport (two 10-day mountain hikes) I learned that once exhaustion sets in – it’s a whole different kettle of fish.
Being able to lay in bed and sleep when you are tired is perhaps one of the most enjoyable aspects of modern life. I’m quite delighted that, should I wake up feeling lethargic, I don’t have to go out to chase, kill and then cook my breakfast. Mattresses and fridges don’t get the recognition they deserve these days, but I’m a big fan.
On the other hand, waking up when you’re knackered after a full day of physical abuse and hauling yourself out of bed for another day of physical abuse, day after day, messes with you. In my case it leads to bouts of serious grumpiness and this in turn leads to the inevitable “I’m bored of this now”.
The fact is that being super-f-ing-exhausted on some distant path or mountain really doesn’t compare with laying in a sauna, scratching your belly and thinking about dinner.
Thankfully though it is way more memorable, you tend to meet more interesting people and it is the end result that matters. For some reason we have evolved to enjoy suffering and overcoming exhaustion as strangely rewarding activities if you achieve your ultimate goal.
So, I will try to remember these thoughts when the thoughts of “I’m bored of this/I can’t be bothered/I’d rather be relaxing in a sauna drinking a watermelon smoothie” start to kick-in.