David Maltais, the relaxed cyclist
David Maltais has been involved in Quebec cycling for nearly 20 years. Formerly a fan of Mardis de Lachine, he moved on to triathlon before finally ending up with Team Gris, a team that isn't really a team. Author of the blog Le Livre gris and a proponent of fun and discovery above all else, he talks to us here about his approach, both at the keyboard and on the handlebars.
Age: 29
Job: Product Marketing Specialist at Robotiq
What bikesdo you ride?
Parlee Chebacco on road, gravel, cyclocross
Pivot Mach 429 SL on mountain bike
Garneau Gros Louis 2 on fat bike
When did you start biking?
In 2001, at the age of 12. I raced mountain bikes until 2006 before switching to road racing.
When did you start writing a blog?
In 2007, at the end of the Tour de l'Abitibi.
What was your goal?
I had just had quite an experience in my first year of road cycling. I wanted to share it. Some pro cyclists were starting to publish columns on the web, and I enjoyed reading them. The concept of blogging was relatively new. I was studying journalism at the time and didn't want to be rusty when classes started again. So I summarized my Tour in words and shared it with about 30 contacts in a chain email.
How has your blog changed?
It became much more popular when my articles started being shared on Vélo Nouvelles and with the advent of Facebook. At that time, there was little Quebec cycling content on the web, apart from laflammerouge.com, which has been going strong since 2003 thanks to the work of Laurent Martel. For my part, I didn't want to talk about equipment, training, or professional races. I wanted to tell stories about cycling, initially my own, then those of others.
The tone has changed, as have the types of stories. Today, in Le Livre gris, I write less about competitions and more about the reasons that lead us to participate in them and the experience we gain from them. I think my blog has outlived dozens of websites by elite Quebec cyclists and triathletes because I've never won a race. Most people are in my situation, since in endurance sports there is only one winner. It's often the same person, and their story doesn't necessarily resonate with us.
When did Team Gray appear?
Around a campfire in the spring of 2016. We were a bunch of old hands who had all spent years doing intervals, eating salad, and wasting our youth's evenings resting up for the next day's races. The passion for cycling was still there, but the format on offer had never suited us.
The teams that tell you to drop out of college, the pressure to win races in the middle of a field in early April, the show-offs, the rich kids, etc.: for a long time, we didn't have a group we could identify with. A few weeks later, Geoffroy Dussault showed up wearing a Jersey . I asked him if that was his new imaginary team, and he replied, "Yeah, Team Gray." It was a joke, but it was settled. We had a team name, and it couldn't have been simpler.
How would you describe Team Gray?
It's a critique of modern cycling, a fictional team that does away with all the constraints of the sport. Everyone defines Team Gris in their own way. For some, it's more old school. But in general, it's the sharing that sets it apart from a real cycling team.
Even the most underground cycling groups rarely have no underlying commercial agenda. However, Team Gris is not an anti-consumerism movement. It's just a great way to take a break from all the advertising noise. All that unites us is cycling and friendship.
True friends in the cycling world are rare. I've been involved in this world for 18 years, and I find that it has made me selfish. I realize that I'm not the only one. So we try to improve ourselves, to share the joy of riding instead of comparing ourselves to others, and to help each other in all situations in life.
For those who haven't figured it out yet, what color Jersey your Jersey ?
Great question! It's gray, but with the color and brand of clothing of your choice. To each their own shade, to each their own way of dreaming up their ideal cycling experience, then hopping on their bike and making their dream a daily reality. In fact, you don't even have to wear your Jersey. Team Gray isn't a team, it's an attitude. Our trademark is precisely that we don't have one.
What are your training patterns?
Once, an old Frenchman told me that if he didn't feel like riding, he wouldn't go... until he felt like it again. I thought he was completely stupid, undisciplined, and disrespectful of the sport. Now I'm just like him.
For a long time now, I've been doing what I want to do rather than what I'm supposed to do according to the latest training techniques. Once you've got a basic understanding of the main principles of cycling training, it's crazy how little difference there is between a highly structured plan and just riding, combining endurance and intensity on all types of terrain. Above all, you need to be motivated to succeed. And motivation is all in the mind.
Over time, I have gotten rid of all my physical performance measurement tools: I said goodbye to my odometer in 2003, my heart rate monitor in 2006, my power meter in 2013, and Strava a month ago. It helps me stay young. When I ride, I'm still 12 years old.
You often talk about the "4 pairs of Tires 1 bike" model. What is that?
It was inspired by a chick flick I haven't had a chance to watch yet, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Anyway, in the spring of 2018, I bought a Parlee Chebacco, a multidisciplinary bike that, according to the marketing blurb, can do anything. I intended to test the concept to the limit... I rode this bike in the Pentathlon des Neiges, in the Murphy ride, in senior 1-2 road races, in the Canada Man extreme triathlon, and in big mud holes in cyclocross this fall.
In the past, I have ridden many high-performance road, triathlon, and cyclocross bikes. I was able to compare the performance of my Chebacco, in terms of feel, with all these bikes in all these disciplines. The result speaks for itself. I was at the same level as usual, without feeling any disadvantage.
So, all you need is a bike and four good pairs of Tires 25, 28, 33, and 36 mm.
With the job you have and the hours you spend on your bike, how do you find the time to write?
I write every day for a living. But on my blog, I write purely for pleasure. I don't get paid, but it has opened many doors for me. It remains what it was at the beginning: a place to keep writing, without any constraints in terms of space, opinion, or type of content.
I have plenty of time to write. When inspiration strikes, I put everything else aside and write. There are many authors who inspire me. I would love to have their style, but as I go along, I would say that I continue to develop my own. It will never be great literature, but it is sincere.
What are your goals for 2019?
For now, I'm doing a little exercise each week and building up my motivation for a future challenge. I like trying new things rather than returning to an event just to improve my performance. More than ever, novelty and experience take precedence over results, but I'm not ruling out the idea of repeating some great events. We'll see.
New projects in 2019 for Team Gris?
We will definitely go on other unique expeditions, but nothing is planned yet. For now, we're having dinner together and not really talking about biking. We need to recharge our batteries. Our main goal is to have the best biking season of our lives in 2019. To do that, we're not putting too much pressure on ourselves. It should be fine.
