It's been a few weeks the conclusion of the annual Tour du Rwanda. Not exactly a race that dominates the headlines of the major cycling media, that country's national tour is as tough as its startlist is eclectic. But the second and third tiers of pro cycling have always interested me, where life a few rungs down the ranking ladder seems to be as interesting as it is stressful. Real "seat of the pants" stuff if you like, and I was fortunate to experience some of that in a working capacity on my own European foray this year.
So it was with much enjoyment that I followed one Edward Greene's Rwandan exploits and his chase for the KOM title. While I've never actually met Edward, his name was a familiar one in South African and, more specifically, Western Cape cycling circles pre-2011. I think he might have ridden for a local team sponsored by RSA-WEB and Swift Carbon around that time. Anyway, one look at his palmares on the comprehensive cyclingarchives.com speaks volumes of his character. I mean, who has ever heard of Team Marco Polo (OK, a few current World Tour South Africans have ridden there), Lowestrates or the Kuwaiti-registered Nice Cycling Team? Not many I suspect but there is a whole sub-culture of elite riders making (scrounging) a living (some hand-to-mouth) on anonymous race circuits that run concurrently with the World Tour. And some might scoff at these riders, dismissing them as desperadoes or journeymen, drifting along a road to nowhere. But that's not fair. It takes balls to follow your true passion or vocation in life, however bumpy the road. Added to the fact that lower divisions of cycling actually help make the top-level what it is.
It's easy to romanticize hardship, and I'm sure we've all heard our fair share of hard luck cliches. Yes, life on the road is tough, and a statement like 'if you want to learn a lot about yourself, pack up and move every six months' is even tougher in reality.
Read this blog post by Edward's better half Sarah to get a small glimpse into the bigger picture.
Good luck on your journey guys.
