It’s a legit question.  Some people may look at the title of this website and wonder to themselves, where does he get “shut up legs?  What a strange phrase…”.

Well to the uninitiated it may sound like just a cool little phrase that encourages you to push a little harder, but to a cyclist and a fan of the sport, its got a little more depth.  It’s a phrase attributed to Jens Voigt, the legendary hardman of cycling who at the age of 42 is about to start his 18th year season of professional cycling.

Riding a bike is easy, but cycling is hard.  Anyone who has spent time training for competition and spent time on two wheels know this.  Whether through mountain biking, road biking, triathlon, cyclocross, or any other, they’re familiar with the long hours in the saddle soaking in the rain or baking in the sun.  Guys like Jens remind us of the hardship and struggle that somehow draws us back again and again.

Myself, I remember once having to pull over on a training ride in Penticton to place my bottle against a misfiring sprinkler to fill it up and quench my thirst in desperation.  I had been in the saddle for 5 hours in 35C degree heat and hadn’t drank a drop in an hour.  Another time, during an early season ride up Highwood Pass I found myself shivering and cold at the top of Canada’s highest paved road, freezing my ass off, but knowing that there was almost no place I’d rather be at that moment.

I guess guys like Jens, who keep coming back again and again, teach us something about cycling and sport.  That its not just about winning the race, but its about coming back to the fight, telling your legs to shut up and do what you tell them, and showing yourself and everyone else that no matter how heavy the grind or how steep the hill, nothing can hold you down.

So that’s how I got the name for this site.

Cheers Jens.