I saw that I was getting a fair amount of traffic on my website from bikeforum.net and went over there to see what the link was about. It was a link to the post I did yesterday about team tactics. Some guy on the forum posted something about how I’m such a douche bag and goes on and says all the reasons he believes why. I went ahead and signed in and wrote something about how wrong he was with his statements. In retrospect, that was stupid I’m not sure why I did it.
Anyway, I was thinking that a lot of the time I don’t pull punches. I pretty much write what I think and don’t really think too much about what I write until I’m writing it. It isn’t like I do this for a job or something. Most of the time I’m pretty blunt in my observations. Observations about myself and of others also. That is how I am. Pretty black and white.
I was talking to Jimmy Mac, editor of Mt. Bike Action, a little while back and he was asking me how I dealt with all the people giving me shit all the time on my blog. I told him that most of the time it didn’t bother me much. Everyone has their own read on each subject and it is great to open the forum to different opinions. It is a free country, for the most part. He said that it bugs him a ton and he isn’t nearly as controversial as I am. That statement kind of made me think. I never thought of myself as controversial. Unorthodox, outspoken, and lots of other words would probably be accurate, but controversial seems out of place. But, I just guess it is how you define controversial. I have my opinions and express those here. I guess if you don’t agree with my observations, it makes it seem controversial.
I really don’t mind people disagreeing with my take on things. Lots of times I change my stance a little because of the comments. But when people make up stuff about me and get personal, it seems wrong. I have a pretty tough skin in this regard, but it still stings a little. So, when you’re leaving your comments all over the web about me, feel free to disagree with me, call me out, whatever, but remember I have this soft side that doesn’t appreciate the name calling, especially over breakfast.
Good morning Steve,
I really enjoy reading your blog. You’re blog is my morning “newspaper”.
FWIW.. I have always simply operated by putting my best foot forward. If people like you, fine. If not, that’s ok too. Life is way too short to get caught up in attempts to make others feel one way or the other – about you, or anything else. The best one can do is to pursue their passion for life, pursue their own happiness, trade and deal fairly with others, all else follows from that.. We all write our own books, filled with pages, chapters, twists of plot, ups and downs.. Most books are darn good, but rarely fully read or understood by others. Keep swinging for the fences, Steve!!
Just keep on bein’ Tilly! You have a pretty tough skin so continue to be the good read that you are and remember the “you can’t please all ——————” phrase. Hi to Trudi.
the nail that sticks up the highest gets pounded the hardest atmo.
PS it didn’t and won’t help anything that you reacted by registering at BF and began a dialogue based on the thread. nothing will or can come from this. you’re arguing with screen names, not people. and worse yet, there is nothing to argue.
Steve, IMO you are pretty much spot on about team tactics. There are times it can be marginally effective, in stage races for example—however, most times the best team tactic is “don’t chase down your teammate”… as you stated. Don’t let the haters get you down, bike racers are notoriously overwrought about minutia.
Steve, Just be yourself: direct, forthright, honest and respectful. Like Bill Danielson says, some will like you, some won’t — I learned that decades ago. The petty name calling or demeaning jabs get old, but they reflect more on the authors, not on you.
Cheers, Jim
Richard- I agree with you completely on responding on the forum. I regretted it as soon as I did it. There was no upside for that action. I’m not going back there again.
Screw ’em Tilly. Negativity is like a warm blanket to a blogger. It means that they’ve been reading it, even if they hate what you’re saying.
Steve, by the way, that was really awesome when you met up with those guys in Crystal Lake, IL a few weeks ago. You made their evening! I know those guys through a guy I work with. It was so cool to see the pics you took with them, beers in hand. Very cool.
Just remember that when you are being blunt that other people may have blunt responses to what you write. Also remember that most of the people who read your blog are not pro’s or former world champions or current world champions. There is a different perspective these guys have of you that you may not see yourself. A lot of these guys live through you and want to emulate guys like you. So when you say things about their level of racing it hurts them. It also makes them think that you are an arrogant person. Write your views, be blunt but remember that your readers are your “fans” and you shouldn’t insult them as they shouldn’t you. Sometimes you write stuff that pisses me off and sometimes you write stuff that motivates me. Nevertheless its always something interesting to read. Thanks. Steve Wathke
Hey! Im not just a screen name! This whole thing is pretty funny but mostly petty and sad, for everyone involved even all these little suppportive comments lol.
The thing is Steve, you were right. Sure, there are sometimes in lower categories where a couple of guys get lucky and make tactics work. But most beginners are just waisting their time. Besides, why waste time in Cat 4 racing for someone else? Race for yourself and get the hell out pronto. You’ll learn more and do more good if and when you get to be a 2.
The internet’s a place for mean people to vent ugly thought without repercussion. Don’t let it get to you. You have an incredibly positive and refreshing blog, even when you’re tilting after the powers that be. No Epic, no PRO, thank God. Keep it up.
i think steve has to (or should…) write what he knows, what he feels, and what he believes, rather than craft texts that go right up to the line of offending others but don’t cross it atmo. if someone is insulted, only that person is responsible for how he feels. even if the text acts as a catalyst, the guy who is insulted needs some self-examination to determine why 1) steve’s POV matters so much, and/or 2) any words at all can make him feel the way he does.
steve’s history is being put out there for all the world to read, and he’s offering it up in daily doses. no one has to agree with all of it. but steve has a life and a lifestyle that only he can articulate. he owns his POV. if others get offended when it becomes 1s and 0s on the internet – well, if the low self-esteem doesn’t come from reading them, it will come from some other source. it’s not steve’s job to protect these readers (and their feelings) from themselves.
After reading your respose to the comments yesterday, then rereading your post, I started to get thte point you were trying to make. i think the dont bother in the title may have set the tone for the rest of the post. I think you made some valid points, some people just like to hate. Maybe your solutions arent the best, but at least you are throwing some options out there. You dont sit on your ass and call people out with little justification, rather you call it like you see it, and you arent afraid to stamp your name on it.
Steve, whether we agree with you or not, your writing is a unique and welcome change from the overly political correctness that most opinions are. You have a lot to teach that goes way beyond racing strategy. Don’t change a thing!
Steve. Although I dont agree with you all the time, you summed it up best a few days ago when you said `”I just love riding my bike”. Anyway, if someone doesnt like your opinion, they can always not read your blog. See you when the masters cx worlds come back to Europe. Where they belong!
Nice to know that you are the same honest Steve Tilford that I first met back in 1988!
Stick with calling it the way you see it, and FWIW, I agree with you.
In my experience, attempting team tactics in lower category races is futile. As you said, members on the same team vary too greatly in fitness, experience and typically there’s a dearth of leadership.
However….I can’t think of anything more fun than racing road with a properly functioning team dynamic. Thus, I can definitely see a place for an amateur masters or lower category club with a team-focused program emphasizing race-ready fitness along with expectations and training in tactics and strategy. Something like this would not only yield a good time for participants, but be a fantastic place for mentoring young riders.
Steve, I read your blog almost everyday. Usually I agree with what you have to share. Sometimes (rarely) not so much. When that happens, I try to be open-minded and ask myself what I might be able to learn from your perspective. However, I ALWAYS appreciate your straight-forward, no BS approach. At least us readers know where you stand. Thanks for telling it like you see it.
I have a problem when you start slamming the guys who don’t have the time to train and rest like you obviously do, but yet are willing to put their cajones on the line and race. That comes across as being a dick to alot of people. Alot of us juggle full-time careers with kids and don’t have the luxury of just driving to Durango one day to hang out and ride or turning around the next and heading to a race in Missouri. Respect the fact that you have a luxury few of the rest of your competitors in Masters racing have and you get respect when you post constructive observations.
Steve,
Really appreciate your insight, thoughts, and guidance in your blog. As far as someone thoughtlessly disparaging you in a forum or other blog, I’ve gotten that from folks too, and I hope you continue to pay no attention to their small-minded and cowardly approach to expressing their insecurities. You ride your bike, they run their mouth. Keep up the good work.
Don’t go changing (not that I think you would). It’s so hard to find riders who speak their mind in this sport – which, I understand, because of sponsors etc – but it’s nice to hear the straight scoop from someone who’s been there and done that.
Steve,
I don’t always agree with your opinion, but I enjoy reading what you write, and I like the fact that you tell us what you’re thinking instead of simply giving us a PR’ed version of events.
Please keep it up.
Matt
Just put those rainbow bands over any exposed thin skin, and you are bike nerd proof.
Regarding your comments yesterday, I do a Wednesday night training race during the summer. It is nicely run and there is an entry fee to cover insurance. Even there, people will “sacrifice themselves” for a teammate!?!! Pros only do that because they’re splitting prize money (in my day) or they are paid to (today, it seems). My Wednesday night folks are paying an entry to “train” at sacrificing themselves. Mind boggling.
Steve, don’t dwell on your reply at bikeforum. I think you were fairly short and to the point. Getting started on a back-and-forth with the guy would have been bad, but you have your right to post your paragraph like anyone else and I think you did a fine job.
Steve,
“Don’t read it if you don’t like it.”?
That’s a bit like telling someone not to order the soup in the first place when they complain it’s too salty.
This is better:
“If you don’t want a reaction, don’t write it”
FWIW the guy who drilled you is not an unknown troll looking to trash people for fun. and his post surprised me in it’s vehemence.
There’s a PM function on the BF account, which probably would have been better used than engaging in a “did too/did not” on the open board. Still might.
As far as the “Team Tactics” blog, while you gave a pretty vague and amorphous definition of what you what you meant (bike racing 101 vs. 102?) there’s often value in trying, even for a Cat4. Seen them work and seen them not work. Just like at the pro level.
For a 4 if nothing else they are learning to plan, ride, and read a race; learning what they are capable of and testing their legs but more importantly, their brain. Race awareness…why the strongest guy doesn’t always win.
If you ask a lot of lower Cat guys how they are going to ride a race you get a lot of shrugs.
Team riding also usually creates a safer/faster pace by doing something (heck, anything) other sitting in and waiting for the field sprint crash that occurs when you have 80 shaky guys all trying to hide behind the guy on the front who’s trying not to be there.
You missed the big picture on that guy who buried himself so his teammate could get 6th.
But at another level I’m glad when teams don’t ride as such. Got a couple of jerseys as a result.
Congrats on the stripes and see you out there.
Please continue saying what you think, it’s refreshing, interesting, and generally on the money. If you said what everyone else thinks, I would stop reading your blog.
Great job! Keep it up! Thanks!
“Controversy” is what happens when politically correct meets Dying Breed.
If the Dying Breed doesn’t care, there is no Controversy.
It’s only controversial to those who want to argue the point.
A compelling POV always trumps groupthink in my book anyway.
Peter-I am not sure where you’re coming from here. Could you show me an example where I “slam” riders that work and have families? I will be amazed if you could come up with one.
And luxury is a pretty narrow word to describe my life. I’ve made quite a few sacrafies, in all aspects of my life, to have the luxury of being able ride my bike on a daily basis around the world. Believe me, I appreciate my life and situation on a daily basis and if you think somehow, through my writing on this blog, that I don’t, then I think you’re missing something.
Don’t Change a F’N thing Steve. Please.
Sorry if I started something here (mine was the original post yesterday to Steve’s original article). I was trying to learn something from a cycling legend. How about we all just take Steve’s words for what they are and go ride our bikes?
Steve, would love to have a beer with you next time you are in northern IL. You should do the Tour of Galena this year.
I got a serious chuckle out of yesterday’s blog entry. Specifically I was remembering getting paid cash at the end of a Cat Three race by someone who thought I had blocked for him to help him get upgrade points.
The trouble was that I had been riding for myself every inch of the way.
I may have towed him up to an unsuccessful break once but I sure didn’t know I was doing it at the time. He got the points because he beat me and nearly everyone else in the sprint.
Bottom line is that I was so broke that summer that I took the money anyway.
All the way from Cat 5 up to the domestic pros, there is an aspect of bike racing which is bike racing and an aspect of bike racing which is trying to ‘look pro’ and emulate the guys we see on TV. For those of us who are bike racers, your advice is dead on. For those who are engaged in acting out their pro athlete fantasies, you seem rude and insulting because you are seriously challenging their view of themselves. As a bike racer, I don’t care, but I also understand the reaction.
I think it’s funny how easy it is to ride at 25-30mph in a pack on the flat. It makes the difference between riders seem so much smaller. You don’t see marathon runners thinking they are going to have a crack at the olympics or run a 2:20 marathon two years into the sport, yet I’ve met people in their mid-twenties who are riding cat 3 and will tell you they are trying to get to the pro’s. If you tell them their tactics are pointless, it would help them if they listened. But they won’t. They already know everything. And if that is challenged, well, they don’t like it.
Then there was another summer when I had one foot out of the sport and hadn’t renewed my USCF license.
I did four citizens races against a bunch of NCAA Division One rowers who could definitely operate effectively as a team. The trouble was that there were no other “teams” to compete against.
By the time I showed up the other
“citizens” were starting to complain but these guys had never held licenses and there really wasn’t much that an organizer could do about it. Their team kit would have done any regional USCF team proud but they didn’t have team bikes or anything like that.
It was pretty disgusting really, for that level anyway? I would imagine that they discouraged some of the newbies from moving on in the sport too?
They were always doing the Team Cinzano thing to me which I thought was absolutel absurd at that level. Until I beat them all in a Time Trial despite dropping my chain right after I had caught one of them for a minute, (so they all knew back at their honest to goodness team van-which was actually the University’s rowing team vehicle-that they had all of them really been beaten for 15-20 seconds more.)
Things got a little more cordial between us after that. Mo moral judgements here, it’s a free country after all? You could even say that I was more of a sandbagger myself than they were. I was kinda motivated for that TT because one of them must have been able to dead lift close to 600 lbs and he was always going to beat me in the sprint unless it was seriously uphill.
The last time I was in break with you you went off on Pete Grieg for not being able to take a pull, even though he was a 3, racing for a different prize list, holds a full-time job and has two kids he only sees every other weekend. I haven’t forgotten telling you to shut the f up in that break. Fortunately, Stolte was in it and kept things cool. That was the Lawrence RR a few years ago. By “luxury” I mean you have an inherent advantage over alot of guys who can only dream of being able to get those kinds of miles in on a bike. You CHOSE your path, and others CHOSE their path. Whatever your “sacrifices” are, they have helped you because alot of your competitors can’t make the same “sacrifices” ie, time on the bike. And what Kurt Bickel says has alot of merit. I admire your results but when you dog the guys who can’t put in the time on the bike you do, it lessens my respect for you. It’s all f’ing amateur racing anyway.
I agree with you on the teamwork thing. I think it is stupid. Why work for someone in the lower categories? Unless you are happy with working for others and staying where you are at you need to ride for yourself. I know of guys in cat 3 races always working for their teammates. Why? If he somehow would turn pro is he also going to get you a contract cause you were his leadout man. Yeah right. I didn’t ride with a team until I turned Cat. 1. I wasn’t paying money and training to help other teammates reach their goals. Cycling is a very selfish sport if you want to turn pro. Now once you get to an elite level I’m fine with teamwork. It doesn’t work for 99% of elite teams. Back in the day I beat every member of over half the teams at Mclane Road Race which was Pro 1. A lot of good their teamwork did.
riding around in a molester van and focusing on masters racing? Peter may be on to something. I will take your tactics premise one step further. Personally, I feel that USAC and the UCI should not spend one cent or electron on masters racing and focus entirely on those categories that have the opportunity for growth
Hey jt, that crack about “riding around in a molester van” … Dude, that is *really* over the top, it’s totally uncalled for, and you should apologize for it. That *really* sucks that you or anyone else should make a comment like that.
As for Steve being blunt, yeah, he’s blunt. The first race I saw him in when I came back to Kansas after living in Atlanta, GA and down south for a while, I was yelling “Go Steve, Go Steve” and he came up to me after the race and said, “you know, I already know about the ‘Go Steve’ part … it’s not really helpful. If you want to yell something, yell out the splits, that’s something that will help…” and so that’s what I do now. He doesn’t do it to be offensive, he’s just plainspoken about things.
JT
Put some clothes on,get out of your mom’s basement and go ride
JT-This is the shit that I was writing about above. You have no idea what you’re throwing out there and it’s completely off base. Molester van, I won’t even address that. And focusing on master’s racing. I’ve raced exactly 2 masters races in the last season. Cross Nationals and Worlds. I wouldn’t call that a focus.
And Peter, why don’t we ask Peter Greig how much I went off on him? And the race was in Topeka, not Lawrence. Wow, you must have some pent up anger towards me or something.
Jeez, I went over to the BF thread, unfortunately. That guy has over 18 thousand posts! Must’ve run out of things to say a long time ago and just makes shit up.
Bet he and jt sleep in the same basement.
Wow–check out Een dagje in het wiel van Patrick Cocquyet on youtube…it is in Flemish but he says that he is 5o, now 51 yrs old and combines his full time job at Assende metal with racing and that it is not easy to do. All his vacation and free time is spent racing/training. He mentions how his wife complains about why he is gone all day racing on saturdays etc, etc He rides against PROs and twenty somethings all the time….he may have lost his marrige over bike racing but it is his passion, its in his blood since he was 15 yrs old…..
Holy shit, this is entertaining.
I think the “luxury” to ride, race and travel is worth a post. I have the luxury to ride about 7000 miles a year an take care of a three year old. There are other luxuries I have had to miss out on. I often long for the luxury of stting at a desk all day and being productive, creative…. getting paid. We all have incredible opportunities in this country to live different lifestyles. What we can’t do is live them all. We each make choices.
All that said who would what to race but be babied because they have made other choices in life like family, work,…. I don’t see them sharing there family or income….. (being a little sarcastic here)
I don’t have one cent of pent up anger at you. I just don’t get off on you whining about stuff like how the starting grid at MASTERS worlds cyclocross was being decided when you damn good and well you get to train more than 99% of the 50+ guys you lined up against. Congrats, you won MASTERS worlds. When you give a dime back to the sport, like the 1000’s of dimes I given to the sport as a sponsor/racer than come back and tell me I have some “pent up” anger. I don’t so don’t go there. Just show some humility when you kick the shit out of guys like me on the bike. And by the way, the anonymous slam by “JT” of the “molester van” was lame. If you want to go there have the balls to state your name.
Peter-I’m sorry you have no idea about what you’re stating here. I realize that I have a bigger voice than many guys out there. So I used it to help facilitate the a correct run race. Most the riders that raced in Louisville have spent a fair amount of time, energy , and money towards racing MASTERS cyclocross worlds. And nearly all of those riders that went to the race wanted the races to be run fairly and with the same effort as all the other World Championships held throughout the year and throughout the world.
I’m sorry you don’t have enough knowledge of the sport to realize how important that start of a cyclocross race is to all the competitors .
You make your choices on what you’re going to do with you life and I make mine. Sorry, but I don’t think I owe you a thing, let alone any humility.
I think we are getting off topic here, but it is interesting how seriously some people take things. I think one thing to remember about the opportunities Steve has is that these are built on thirty something years of earning the opportunities to train the way he is able to. Talent and ability has afforded him opportunities that few of us can relate to. That being said, there is some merit in showing some understanding for those who are less talented, less experienced, or even less devoted. We all make choices in life, Steve’s have allowed us a window into a lifestyle and perspective many might envy on some level. As far as arguments about tactics go, I have competed in races where tactics have been successful and many that haven’t. One thing about this sport compared to others is that it isn’t like team sports where only two teams compete, the tactics are fluid and multiplied by however many people are in the race and their tactics may interfere with your tactics. C’est La Vie. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try them IMO. Each to their own.
Hey Steve, saw a lot of blow back from that post.
If you don’t mind me taking a stab at it, I might recount in my words your idea.
I remember one time that you told me it was way harder to win a race than get second. You said: “It takes something special to win, whether its the town line sprint or a cat 1 criterium.” I stewed on that, and took it with me. When I took the job at Roswell Velo running the U23 team there(Subaru/Deutche Bank), I turned down a lot of promising Cat 2’s that had several podium finishes, but no wins.
My answer to them when they asked why there were not selected was always the same: show me you can win. I only take winners on the team, because you can’t help someone else win, if you don’t know how to win yourself. That choice brought us over 100 Cat 1 wins in 3 years and I rarely had problems splitting the cash at the end of the race because everyone knew everyone else was a winner and could win on their good day. And even though the team was labeled a development team, you can only develop riders for the pro ranks once they are as good as they can get by themselves. This is the process of turning the expert into a craftsman. I think of all the riders I turned away, I only missed one rider that went on to good success.
Young riders, lower level amateurs go on a group ride and just try to ride hard, instead of learning to ride to win. Tactics emerge everywhere and in every riding opportunity, and its not really something one can plan or tell someone how to do, they have to sense it by being exposed to it and failing, then having the retrospective discussion with a mature rider to understand how they might have done it better. Riding for a teammate requires the ability to pick out the critical moments in the race, not just for one’s self, but for one’s teammate as well. That can’t be done without just experimenting a lot and learning from the mistakes.
What you didn’t say in your post that I think is critical is that post race retrospective. I learned so much from you driving home from the race talking about how the race went, what happened, how my actions either hurt or helped our efforts. That is where tactics are sealed into memory. Tactics are important at every level of the sport, but you have to travel through all steps of mastery to gain the knowledge.
So next time you (readers) are on a group ride, instead of showing everyone how good you can break the group apart on the hills, try to set yourself up for the town line sprints. Get you buddy to lead you out. Sit out a rotation and play tired. It doesn’t matter, that is where learning happens, not a pre-race meeting for the Cat 4/5 Spring Crit series. When winning the town sprint is easy, work on winning the next small challenge. You will never be bored, you will always win to the best of your abilities, and your tactical knowledge will grow.
But, if you want one tactical piece of tangible advice it is this: people do what they believe is in their best interest.
“When you give a dime back to the sport, like the 1000′s of dimes I given to the sport as a sponsor/racer than come back and tell me I have some “pent up” anger. I don’t so don’t go there.”
Steve doesn’t need defending but Pete sounds pretty darn angry his dimes are lining Steve’s pockets. Maybe Pete should reconcile himself to being pack fodder. It’s what most of us are, after all.
I’m actually surprised at the amount of blow back from that post. I read it and was like, yeah 100% right. No brainer. Now tell me about when your van caught on fire.
I guess the cat 4 forum readers have their panties in a bunch.
@Jed, great post….when i raced in Belgium there were riders who had won 30-40 kermis races a season as elites went on to race PRO for a few years and went back to working in plastic or sugar beet factories….because they were realistic about their ability, they could not win classics or place in the top 3 on a regular basis. Life as a PRO cyclist is harsh and cruel at times and it doesnt pull punches….you have it or you dont….that doesnt mean you cant riding your bike fast…very fast, but to make a decent living wage from it you need to have something special.
Mr. Tilford,
I too am surprised about the team tactics response as I agreed with your train of thought.
After some consideration I believe the real answer to the controversy lies with your fredly helmet positioning on the big day. A week prior and not single person would have disagreed with you. ; )
Even though you displayed very good humor with the helmet post the sweatband and yamaka tilt has undermined your credibility it would seem. Good thing Worlds wasn’t in France you would have been DQ’d on fashion violation!
What is the most amount of responses you’ve had to a post? Curious as this one is at 50 in short order. Must be in the running for the most?
Keep doing your thing.
Some very good comments in here too.
Thanks folks!
Funniest comment I’ve seen in a while. If there were UCI points for blog comments you’d be starting on the front row.
Well this thread went all Housewives-n-shit.
Steve, I like you and your blog. I’ve met you after races a couple times and I’ve felt a little privileged, to be honest. As for you goin’ off on people during races, well I’m pretty sure we’ve all done it at some point. I have and I’ve never won a damn thing. Everybody’s blood gets up and things get testy sometimes. Hell, this ain’t no squaredance and we’re all adults. Shake hands when it’s over and we’ll see ya the next time around.
JT, I’d say your remarks were cowardly. And, Pete, let it go, man. We’re all racing toward the same finish eventually.
cowardly, nothing. you guys are a bunch of girly men, I could say a lot worse about a person who focuses/ obsesses on “masters” racing (and the starting grid) yet has no vocation. It is like Hilton Clark turned 50. Point of the post originally was being blunt, if the shoe fits? You have been trolled by a most awesome and beautiful man….me. Buy a Ford Courier, less conspicuous as I have counseled you before. Anyone I know who drives a full sized van is accused as a creeper. Off to watch the boy whip a$$ in supercross. John Tomac
Wow, jt. You’re lare a Dr. Jekel/Mr. Hyde. One minute you are lauding Steve (Talent and ability has afforded him opportunities that few of us can relate to). The next minute you’re just plain mean and sound like a total nut (cowardly, nothing. you guys are a bunch of girly men, I could say a lot worse about a person who focuses/ obsesses on “masters” racing (and the starting grid) yet has no vocation.) I can’t even stand it. It’s pretty obvious Steve’s done a pretty outstanding job with his choices. Could we just leave it at that and glean what insight we can from his musings?