--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The other cyclists used to take breaks to…" description: "\"“The other cyclists used to take breaks to watch him do it. Lean their bikes against the incline and time him with the second hand of their wristwatche..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c45/zadie-smith-584_cyclists_the-other-cyclists-used-to-take-breaks-t_581702.png" --- # The other cyclists used to take breaks to watch him do it… ![“The other cyclists used to take breaks to watch him do it. Lean their bikes against the incline and time him with the second hand of their wristwatches. 62.8 every time. That kind of inability to improve is really very rare. That kind of consistency is miraculous, in a way.” quote by Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c45/zadie-smith-584_cyclists_the-other-cyclists-used-to-take-breaks-t_581702.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c45/zadie-smith-584_cyclists_the-other-cyclists-used-to-take-breaks-t_581702.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c45/zadie-smith-584_cyclists_the-other-cyclists-used-to-take-breaks-t_581702.png) > ““The other cyclists used to take breaks to watch him do it. Lean their bikes against the incline and time him with the second hand of their wristwatches. 62.8 every time. That kind of inability to improve is really very rare. That kind of consistency is miraculous, in a way.”” [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Consistent performance at a high level is rare and impressive, highlighting dedication and skill. **In simple terms:** Rare, steady excellence is remarkable. Key Takeaway Value consistency. Themes excellence consistency dedication Mood reflective inspirational Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - sports - creative work - learning new skills Key Concepts psychology of performance goal setting Questions to Reflect On - How do you sustain high performance? - What habits support such consistency? A Different Perspective Consistency can be hard to maintain over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bikes Incline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bikes-incline-4780166/) [Cyclists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cyclists/) [Cyclists Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cyclists-used-4780167/) [Incline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incline/) [Incline Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incline-time-4780168/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Second hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-hand/) ## Related quotes > [I've always been a keen cyclist, I'm very close to the world of cycling. Not just cycling really - also walking, adventures, being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/i-ve-always-been-a-keen-cyclist-i-m-very-close-to-the-world-of/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-west/progress-should-have-stopped-when-man-invented-the-bicycle/) [Elizabeth West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-west/) > [We've been trying to sell cyclists of all ages and abilities on very detailed and demanding education and training programs designed to make them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-wilkinson/we-ve-been-trying-to-sell-cyclists-of-all-ages-and-abilities-on-very/) [Bill Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-wilkinson/) > [When Cameron's Conservatives come to power it will be a golden age for cyclists and an Elysium of cycle lanes, bike racks, and sharia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-johnson/when-cameron-s-conservatives-come-to-power-it-will-be-a-golden-age/) [Boris Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-johnson/) > [It's a risky business being a cyclist in the UK, there are a lot of people who really dislike us. It's the Jeremy Clarkson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-pendleton/it-s-a-risky-business-being-a-cyclist-in-the-uk-there-are-a-lot-of/) [Victoria Pendleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-pendleton/) > [Of all the sportsmen I've ever met, cyclists are the nicest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hoy/of-all-the-sportsmen-i-ve-ever-met-cyclists-are-the-nicest/) [Chris Hoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hoy/) > [No sport is 100 per cent clean - I think 95 per cent of the cyclists are clean. In the normal world, not everybody is clean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddy-merckx/no-sport-is-100-per-cent-clean-i-think-95-per-cent-of-the-cyclists/) [Eddy Merckx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddy-merckx/) > [When my legs hurt, I say: “Shut up legs! Do what I tell you to do!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-voigt/when-my-legs-hurt-i-say-shut-up-legs-do-what-i-tell-you-to-do/) [Jens Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jens-voigt/) > [“If you happen to be out at night on the bike path without a light, ring your bell constantly. No bell? Then sing "Hotel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-petersen/if-you-happen-to-be-out-at-night-on-the-bike-path-without-a-light/) [Grant Petersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-petersen/) > [“I don't encourage blasting through stop signs or riding like an idiot. I want to make that clear. But given the number of riders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-petersen/i-don-t-encourage-blasting-through-stop-signs-or-riding-like-an-idiot/) [Grant Petersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-petersen/) > [An increase in bicycle ridership brings an increased need for measures to ensure the safety of cyclists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayanna-pressley/an-increase-in-bicycle-ridership-brings-an-increased-need-for/) [Ayanna Pressley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayanna-pressley/) > [The day I notice a cyclist obey a stop sign is the day I'll stop enjoying watching them bounce off my hood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/the-day-i-notice-a-cyclist-obey-a-stop-sign-is-the-day-i-ll-stop/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [Because of these new car models there is suddenly on the streets of Delhi a new intolerance by the motorists for both the cows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/because-of-these-new-car-models-there-is-suddenly-on-the-streets-of/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [I am kind of like a diesel. It is the cyclist in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-hughes/i-am-kind-of-like-a-diesel-it-is-the-cyclist-in-me/) [Clara Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-hughes/) > [When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-west/when-man-invented-the-bicycle-he-reached-the-peak-of-his-attainments/) [Elizabeth West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-west/) ## More by Zadie Smith > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Pretty girls lie at the centre of straight culture, dyke culture, fag culture. They sell everything, they buy everything, they ruin great men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/pretty-girls-lie-at-the-centre-of-straight-culture-dyke-culture-fag/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“I have known many true connoisseurs, with excellent tastes that range across the humanities and the culinary arts--and they never fail to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-have-known-many-true-connoisseurs-with-excellent-tastes-that-range/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I cannot believe homosexuality is that much fun. Heterosexuality certainly is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-cannot-believe-homosexuality-is-that-much-fun-heterosexuality/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Either everything is sacred or nothing is. And if he starts burning other people’s things, then he loses something sacred also. 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I don't like them around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-don-t-keep-any-copies-of-my-books-in-the-house-they-go-to-my-mum-s/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [But it makes an immigrant laugh to hear the fears of the nationalist, scared of infection, penetration, miscegenation, when this is small fry, peanuts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/but-it-makes-an-immigrant-laugh-to-hear-the-fears-of-the-nationalist/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Oh, I know that. You know me, baby, I cannot be broken. Takes a giant to snap me in half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/oh-i-know-that-you-know-me-baby-i-cannot-be-broken-takes-a-giant-to/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“In short, it was precisely the kind of friendship and Englishman makes on holiday, that he can make only on holiday. 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We have to state sameness to understand equality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-can-t-state-difference-and-also-state-equality-we-have-to-state/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“(Unlike many others around this time, Joyce felt no shame about using the term 'middle class'. In the Chalfen lexicon the middle classes were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/unlike-many-others-around-this-time-joyce-felt-no-shame-about-using/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [A lot of women, when they're young, feel they have very good friends, and find later on that friendship is complicated. It's easy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/a-lot-of-women-when-they-re-young-feel-they-have-very-good-friends/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) [Explore all 457 Zadie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) ## More Cyclists quotes > [I've always been a keen cyclist, I'm very close to the world of cycling. Not just cycling really - also walking, adventures, being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/i-ve-always-been-a-keen-cyclist-i-m-very-close-to-the-world-of/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [I am kind of like a diesel. It is the cyclist in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-hughes/i-am-kind-of-like-a-diesel-it-is-the-cyclist-in-me/) [Clara Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-hughes/) > [Because of these new car models there is suddenly on the streets of Delhi a new intolerance by the motorists for both the cows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/because-of-these-new-car-models-there-is-suddenly-on-the-streets-of/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [The day I notice a cyclist obey a stop sign is the day I'll stop enjoying watching them bounce off my hood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/the-day-i-notice-a-cyclist-obey-a-stop-sign-is-the-day-i-ll-stop/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [An increase in bicycle ridership brings an increased need for measures to ensure the safety of cyclists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayanna-pressley/an-increase-in-bicycle-ridership-brings-an-increased-need-for/) [Ayanna Pressley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayanna-pressley/) > [“I don't encourage blasting through stop signs or riding like an idiot. I want to make that clear. But given the number of riders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-petersen/i-don-t-encourage-blasting-through-stop-signs-or-riding-like-an-idiot/) [Grant Petersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-petersen/) > [“If you happen to be out at night on the bike path without a light, ring your bell constantly. No bell? Then sing "Hotel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-petersen/if-you-happen-to-be-out-at-night-on-the-bike-path-without-a-light/) [Grant Petersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-petersen/) > [When my legs hurt, I say: “Shut up legs! Do what I tell you to do!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-voigt/when-my-legs-hurt-i-say-shut-up-legs-do-what-i-tell-you-to-do/) [Jens Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jens-voigt/) > [No sport is 100 per cent clean - I think 95 per cent of the cyclists are clean. In the normal world, not everybody is clean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddy-merckx/no-sport-is-100-per-cent-clean-i-think-95-per-cent-of-the-cyclists/) [Eddy Merckx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddy-merckx/) > [Of all the sportsmen I've ever met, cyclists are the nicest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hoy/of-all-the-sportsmen-i-ve-ever-met-cyclists-are-the-nicest/) [Chris Hoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hoy/) > [It's a risky business being a cyclist in the UK, there are a lot of people who really dislike us. It's the Jeremy Clarkson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-pendleton/it-s-a-risky-business-being-a-cyclist-in-the-uk-there-are-a-lot-of/) [Victoria Pendleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-pendleton/) > [When Cameron's Conservatives come to power it will be a golden age for cyclists and an Elysium of cycle lanes, bike racks, and sharia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-johnson/when-cameron-s-conservatives-come-to-power-it-will-be-a-golden-age/) [Boris Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-johnson/) > [We've been trying to sell cyclists of all ages and abilities on very detailed and demanding education and training programs designed to make them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-wilkinson/we-ve-been-trying-to-sell-cyclists-of-all-ages-and-abilities-on-very/) [Bill Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-wilkinson/) > [Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-west/progress-should-have-stopped-when-man-invented-the-bicycle/) [Elizabeth West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-west/) > [When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-west/when-man-invented-the-bicycle-he-reached-the-peak-of-his-attainments/) [Elizabeth West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-west/) [Browse all 58 Cyclists quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cyclists/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The other cyclists used to take breaks to watch him do it. 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