Try Googling ‘quotes about quitting’ and you get a torrent of crap telling you stuff like:
Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit. – Vince Lombardi
It’s always too early to quit. – Norman Vincent Peale
and there’s a bunch more here. Go on – gorge yourself, you’re a winner right?
I used to believe all this winners never quit, quitters never win rubbish too. Then one morning in May 2009 I found myself sat on the highway at about 6am somewhere near Horsham in bits (mentally) with my time trial bike beside me. And I finally had the good sense to quit. How did I come to be there…?
I started time trialling in 2006, and boy did I suck at it. Imagine turning up for a competitive sporting event and knowing you weren’t gonna be last cos Mr Hopeless is in the house. Yeah – that was me. And I kept going. And I found a coach. And I got better. In 2008 I set personal bests at all regular distances up to and including 100 miles. I won the Southern Counties 10 mile handicap and came fifth in the Southern Counties 100 mile handicap, and achieved a placing in the Southern Counties Best All Rounder. I was a winner, yay me!
Then in 2009 on an early season ride I lost control of my bike on a steep descent. I wobbled into the path of oncoming traffic at about 40mph and somehow, managed to avoid a disaster. I arrived at the bottom of the hill dazed and confused. I continued and finished the ride, taking all the downhills veeeery gently. I didn’t realise at the time, but something broke inside me that day. I’d lost my bottle – [noun] British informal the courage or confidence needed to do something difficult or dangerous.
I started to DNF (did not finish) in races. I’d never DNF’d previously, winners don’t DNF (apart from when their bike falls apart), right? I found myself no longer able to ride at speed. As I accelerated the road in front of me, which I knew to be a level strip of tarmac, would appear to change so that I saw myself riding along a razor sharp ridge with a huge drop either side. The faster I went, the steeper and crazier I saw the angle. I kept entering for races, and with one exception, I kept DNF ing.
What followed next was a stupid crash. A school boy error. One evening as I rode my bike through a local tram station at around 20mph, my front wheel snagged in the tram tracks. I was catapulted over the bike and used my arse as a brake. Ouch! This crash compounded the problem. I had hypnotherapy to try and help. Winners never quit right?
I decided to take a short break and targeted the 2009 Southern Counties 10 mile time trial as my come back event. I know, the course, no big hills, I’d won the handicap the year before. What could possibly go wrong? I could go wrong. About a half mile into the race I broke down and that’s how I came to be sitting on the highway near Horsham.
I quit.
The next time you need inspiration and you Google stuff about winners never quit, go waaaay down to the bottom of the pile. Down there you will find a handful of stuff like:
Of all the stratagems, to know when to quit is the best. – Chinese Proverb
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no point in being a damn fool about it. – W.C. Fields
Yes it’s a fine line. Yes most people quit too soon. And yes, WC Fields was right.
Epilogue:
Nowadays I prefer to ride offroad where in all honesty I probably take much bigger risks bombing down muddy trails than I ever took while racing. But hey – I’m riding my bike and I’m enjoying it. And in case you are interested, I always used to stick my tongue out when I raced.
