To do anything really great, you need a team. Sure, there are the clichés about the power of one, but it’s only when that singular energy is reflected and amplified by others that great things start happening. Whether it’s activism or athletics or art, the inspiration and support we take from others allow us to do far greater things than we can do alone.

A lot of us ride bikes for fitness or for our commute. But for a few of us—like our friend (and Nau-alum) Otis—they’re something to be taken much more seriously. Beyond the skin tight kit and chiseled calves, cycling introduced him to Rapha Racing Northwest, the tribe that he’s been riding with for almost twenty years. They don’t get out as much as they used to, he writes,

But we remain connected to the core of bike racing, to a collection of friendships that now outstrip many of our childhood and school-day ones, and to the passion that kicks up every time we wheel the bike up the stairs or out the back. What we think of most are the coffees before the Sunday ride, the beers after, and the buzz that combines from long days in the saddle with old friends.

Check out his complete post on the Rapha blog, where you’ll find a collection of writing, photography and film evincing the same attention to detail as the British cycling supplier’s classically styled on-bike apparel. For anyone who’s sweated or struggled with like-minded friends, it’s a well-timed reflection on the lasting rewards of working together.

(photo—by motofish—and link via Rapha)