Lucio Royas

Manuel Roca is not an only child. Lucio Royas is his twin brother that lives in Italy. He once lived in Mato Rujo but eventually decided to go back to his land of origin, namely Berbenno in the northern Italian Bergamo province. All he managed to stay far from the Alps was one year, then a strong sentiment of nostalgia kicked in and Lucio Royas flew back home. As well as Manuel Roca, Lucio Royas belongs to the cycling world and when he lived in Mato Rujo he strongly missed his roads. Pushed by the powerful attraction of memories he returned to cycle up and down the slopes that abounds in the area. When he recalls the first day he got home after the year spent abroad his mind is filled with thrilling emotions. He thought time had stopped forever. Nothing had changed since the last time he was there. The woodlands, the paths, the water streams, the meadows decorated with flowers, the avifauna, the peaceful animals, all had remained the same. The flow of his memories regained its right place within his soul. The inner call of his places and the desire to belong once again to his land brought him back for good. Now, he has settled down there and will not leave for any reason in the world. The love for his mountains is obviously estraordinary and gives a magic touch to the already enchanted scenaries.

Arctic polar circle

Most of the times, Manuel Rocal pedals in solitude. Often, he feels the necessity to question himself and meditate over various issues. First of all, on the extreme need to return to a more human dimension since he is convinced to have abandoned it due to this over technological world. Furthermore, he reflects on the obligation to adopt a respectful attitude towards the greatness and uniqueness of Nature. Without a shadow of a doubt, questioning and meditating serve to maintain his physical and intellectual well-being in good form. These mental exercises permit Manuel Roca to know his more hidden thoughts, to speak to his soul and, to reflect over some already taken decisions and some completed works. Manuel Roca has chosen to live in agreement with his very way of being that is generally diverse from the forms of life that are frequently proposed and imposed upon people. Surrounded by immense silence, in the infinite open spaces of his mind, Manuel Roca has found his reason of being, a manner to live which is within his human measures. People have rapidly drawn away from the umbilical cord that unites them to Mother Nature making them feel bewildered. Manuel Roca does not need to travel to Amazonia or to the Arctic Polar Circle to experience open spaces, wilderness and quietness; he is inclined to believe that immense spaces are within his mind. It is there where he wants to produce travelling, discovering and exploring sceneries. The beauty of adventure is to dream of it, to free imagination in such a way as to attempt to create the best possible reality in which to live. For this reason, fantasy needs escorting him at all time to generate inside his head a gorgeous reflexion of what happens around him. In other words, the ugliness Manuel Roca sees every day which he does not like is transformed in an attractive condition. Cheating is the only way he knows to survive.

diesel and oil levels

Living on the edge of uncertainty is not something Manuel Roca is fond of. He likes knowing that things he has planned can go ahead without impeding circumstances hindering the way. Unfortunately, for the last two days he has been unsure whether his holiday plans will stick to the program he had prepared. It will all depend on his left knee that, at the moment, is still painful. Yesterday he put some ice on it and before going to bed he rubbed some gel resulting in a less painful knee this morning. It might only be an impression and for that reason Manuel Roca is quite concerned. Effectively, the pain has not gone away and until the very moment the knee will be ache free, Manuel Roca cannot be sure of anything. He decided anyway that he will go to Pecol and see what happens once he is there. Of course he will not run the risk to start the race with a knee liable to stop functioning properly after a while. Running that risk would also imply the possibility of not being able to pedal next week in Italy. That would be a real shame since Manuel Roca has been looking forward to this for a long time.
In his head he is trying to picture out the reasons that led to this default. He is pretty sure that he was simply overdoing and that his left knee could not cope with it any longer. There were not any hints informing Manuel Roca in advance about what was going on and therefore not much could be done to avoid it. Human body is not like a car that tells the owner about diesel and oil levels at all time. Body can shut down at any moment if it has not been utilized properly or if it has been exploited. This is a matter of fact and Manuel Roca will need to learn from this experience in order not to incur another time in the same problem. He wanders now whether he should have not given to his body more time to recover between training sessions. Too late.

Knee inflammation

On the way to Pecol there has been an unforeseen event. Manuel Roca was out cycling on his bike very early this morning and after the second climb interval he did feel a stark pain in his left knee. At first he thought it was nothing serious so he did a third interval as he had planned but later he found out that the problem was not minor. In fact, after that he could not push on the left pedal as he wanted to and the pain grew acuter. It is not a good news since Pecol is only 6 days from now and it is not guaranteed the pain will disappear by then. It might be and inflammation to one of the tendons which can be curable by resting a few days. Of course, it must be said that Manuel Roca was really training hard in these days and definitely his system was considerably under lots of stress. However, this event caught him by surprise since ha has never had anything alike before. There is not despair in his mood since he understands that the human body is not made of steel and can malfunction sometimes. Also, he is well aware that this is not a big deal of a problem since real problems in life are of others nature. Talking about his building up for Pecol, Manuel Roca has always affirmed he was enjoying the actual his preparation of the race, the long hours in the saddle, the combination bike, running and static trainer, keeping very healthy, eating as an athlete, reaching the top form weight and last but not least, feeling really strong on his bike. If he managed to do Pecol and enjoyed the event, it would all be a bonus. For this reason Manuel Roca does not feel disappointed by the unfortunate circumstance. The only thing he can do now is to try to sort the pain out so he rubbed some special gel on the painful area and took a Glucosamine tablet which should help to keep his joints in good health. Manuel Roca is not superstitious so he does not need to touch wood, steel or any other object to ward off the evil eye. He takes events the way they come without holding someone responsible for that. In his view, there is not an inexplicable force directing human lives events, everything happens in a very earthly way. Manuel Roca’s knee is having troubles because is human and therefore liable to injures.

Brazilian nuts

The static trainer has been one of the best buys for a long time. This morning the wind blew strongly, the trees leaned over farther and farther. In this condition Manuel Roca does not like cycling thus he put his bike on the static trainer and started his training session. For the first 25 minutes of each 30 minutes session, Manuel Roca read a book whilst spinning his legs. In the last 5 minutes Manuel Roca likes pushing his limits so he has to put the book away in order to concentrate on the effort. At around 7.00 Manuel finished his training and after a quick shower he set off for work. In the office he had his rich breakfast consisting of cereals, nuts, banana, kiwi, milk, Ovaltine and a coffee. He cannot think of something better as far as the first meal of the day is concerned. When cereals soak in the milk swell and the bowl gets full. Even the banana absorbs milk and increases in size. All the ingredients together form a thick dough which Manuel Roca spoons to his mouth with great pleasure. He takes his time to eat it because he wants to enjoy the moment as much as he can. There is something magical in having breakfast which is not delivered by any other meal. Possibly, it is the time since he has had the last meal that makes it so pleasurable, or maybe it is the combination of all the ingredients that sublime Manuel Roca’s palate. For example, when he gets a spoonful which includes a Brazilian nut he closes his eyes waiting to bite it. He sucks it for a while, plays a little bit in his mouth like he wants the desire to mount and then finally he munches it. As the nut gets reduced into crumbs Manuel Roca feels a sentiment which is close to happiness.

lightening and thundering

Needless to say that Manuel Roca necessitated some rest after 6 days of heavy training. The preparation of a sport event like the one in Pecol is constituted by time in which the system needs stimulation to gain form and time to recover energy. Without rest the system will not be prepared to accept and absorb other stimuli. Manuel Roca woke up at 7.30; the rain could be heard against the window glass whereas the wind howled through the trees. He slept the sleep of the content warrior. So the day went by, filled with some strong storms that brought lightening and thundering which finally cracked the air. ‘I need to accept absurdity to reach the sublime’ Manuel Roca thought as he observed two cloud fronts collide. The roof of the clouds rose, the sky was torn and a pure blue colour exploded. He contemplated this beauty convinced that it was worthy to be mistreated by such a spectacular event.
Anytime he can, Manuel Roca sets off on his bike at dawn, when everything still sleeps in the surrounding calm. He wants to dodge all kinds of distractions that could slow down his training, when his body and mind are well rested and the concentration is maximal. Sometimes, he feels a bit sleepy and starts seeking the trail of an image that would shake his awareness. Something that would assure him he is not dreaming anymore but would bluntly tell him he is riding his bike on yet deserted roads. As soon as he reaches the woodland, Manuel Roca can hear the birds’ twittering. Sometimes, he is overwhelmed by the nice avifauna singing which instantly settles inside his soul like a blind gaze. Manuel Roca loves it in the same way he feels an aversion to barking dogs which he considers brutal and unpleasant.

Woodland ghosts

Manuel Roca walked down the shopping mall main aisle observing people in search of another useless item to buy. He noticed that most of these shopaholics bore a suffering facial expression like they were going through their hundredth day at a loss. Maybe, he thought, their entire lives are at a loss. He walked on only to lock himself away inside his ‘sacred spatial bubble’ which he has crammed with books, radio, music, writing, hours of sport and delicate nostalgia for the beauty of Nature. In his bubble, Manuel Roca holds conversation with the books’ authors; he feels that what he reads could be more than a means to know and express the real. Sometimes, he thought that words from books described the only reality. He could certainly affirm that an ever increasing solitude constituted the fundamental aspect of his life. He acknowledges that the term solitude occurs many times when he writes. Manuel Roca wanders whether there is a good solitude and a bad solitude. He is convinced the two types exist. The bad solitude can kill. The good one helps to live, in a different manner, but it does. It permits to come across life moments and sensations that only the lonely person can experience; to fill a white paper of writing; to listen to music; to read a great book or walk in woodland accompanied by one’s ghosts. Ultimately, Manuel Roca asks himself, why is solitude considered so fearful? He is the only inhabitant of his own body; outside him the soaking wet fog breath has erased the surroundings. He does not fear to adventure himself in the urbanity of the society. He feels repaired and sheltered behind his very eyes.
Not many days left before Pecol. Manuel Roca is exhausted after days of hard training. Soon he will begin the recovery period; when his body will absorb all the recent heavy training. He is only a dabbler but he is acting the part of a pro. He completely went off the few bad habits he had to focus on the cycling event. Flirting with his bike daily has turned into an exciting custom that he will not barter for anything else in the world. This is the period of the year in which Manuel Roca is very aloof. He does not want to see many people in order not to lose concentration on his prime objective; Pecol. He is not self-important; on the contrary, Manuel Roca is a very modest person. The reason behind his behaviour stems from the passion for his bike and for his love for the physical exercise.