Teddy Would Have Raced Cyclocross

Lets face it, he was after all the original Rough Rider.

While doing a little research for the Bicycling and the Presidency series I found this quote:

"Far better it is to cycle all winter … even though pelted by sleet and snow, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they ride their trainers in the basement all winter…"

Now admittedly, there is some paraphrasing from the original ("Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat") by the All Seasons Cyclist, but the sentiment is surely straight from the mind of Teddy. After all, this is the man who (I believe I previously noted) said "nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well."

If that stuff there isn't the spirit of cyclocross, I don't know what is (he says as he suffers through another mid-70s, sunny November day).