the face of tough guy points

many riders have been asking me all fall and winter about "tough guy points."

it's a lot like the supreme court's view of obscenity: "i'll know it when i see it."

[former u.s. supreme court justice potter stewart, 1964]

it's like this: you've gotta have several of the following factors:

1--below freezing;

2--windy;

3--long ride [certainly more than 2 hours--that's not even a warm-up];

4--unusually harsh road conditions [soft gravel, muds, ice or such];

5--very brisk pace throughout;

6--you shall NOT use the word "epic" to describe the ride

[penalty: forfeiture of all accumulated points];

7--"precipitation" is a bonus;

8--"someone on the ride vomits or bonks" is a bonus.

. . . . .

bottom line: it's gotta hurt; you've gotta feel it the next day--or no points.

[otherwise they have no redemption value later in the actual season.]