After reading We Begin Our Ascent, it's downright shocking to learn that not only is Reed a novel novelist, but he's also not a bike racer. Not even a casual cyclist! This exquisite piece reads like someone who has been there and done that, at the top of his game. The details are uncanny and feel deeply revelatory, much like Tyler Hamilton's tell-all book, The Secret Race.
Kudos and thanks for this stunningly researched and gorgeously executed book detailing a season in the lives of another seldom written about profession--a genetics post doc. Had a great time living their world, enjoying passages like the one below that resonated with my very core.
I am not like Fabrice. I do not love it all. That is not me, and I have come to know it. I am another type of person. I like results, and I am good at deferring gratification. I am good at waiting, at directing my energies. This is my temperament, and it has forged me as surely as all of Fabrice’s zest and energy have made him. I know that minutes I do not enjoy ca be built toward moments that I do. That is all. My career has been built incrementally, through schedules and planning, by faith in my preparation.