Cycling and the idea of suffering go hand-in-hand as keenly as cycling and cake.
For many of us there is a great and ironic pleasure to be had in returning from a long ride on a beautiful day and waxing lyrical to spouses, the kids, or just about anyone else who'll listen, about the depths of suffering visited upon us as we indulged in our favourite hobby.
It's all part of the psyche of the pastime, ingrained via TV footage of riders on the limit on Grand Tour climbs, and our own experiences of riding hard hills or intervals.
Boasting about how unpleasant our ride was is all rather harmless fun of course, but on occasion it doesn't hurt to have things put in perspective, which is exactly what Michael Hutchinson – our very own Dr Hutch – did for us during his appearance on Cycling Weekly's Going Long podcast this week.
"I don't like the concept of 'suffering' in cycling – because we do this voluntarily," Hutchinson said. "This is me being a pretentious arse. I kind of feel if you volunteer for it you don't get to call it suffering."
He added: "There are points in longer events where maybe it becomes more appropriate, but I think for short-distance time trials… if you think you're suffering you don't have enough problems in your life."
Hutchinson spent much of the show talking about his new book, Further, which is released today and covers, as you might imagine – the topic of riding long distances on the bike.
As well as dealing with the physiological, psychological and practical considerations of riding a long way in the saddle, Further weaves in Hutchinson's own experiences of riding the National 24-hour Championship time trial for the first time in his career during the past two years.
The 56-time national champion – "according to Wikipedia, I've never bothered to count," he says – also writes about his 12-hour rides in his early career, as well as chatting about them, and about his early days as a cyclist and racer more generally, in the podcast.
If you have read Hutchinson's weekly 'Dr Hutch' column in Cycling Weekly magazine, here on the site, or any of his other books – The Hour, for example, or Re:Cyclists or Faster – it will come as no surprise that Further is very funny as well as being informative.
The humour comes thick and fast, as too do the facts.
For any fan of his writing, his escapades or of cycling more generally, I'd highly recommend it. Dare we suggest there might even be a wee bit of suffering in there too, at least if this quote from the book, written about Hutchinson's experience in his first ever 12-hour time trial, is anything to go by.
"By the five-hour mark I'd started crying. I kept crying till the end."
Further (Allen & Unwin) is released Thursday, June 12. Learn more about it, and about Michael Hutchinson and his cycling adventures on this week's Cycling Weekly Going Long podcast.
