Fun & Fitness over 50

Having just got done grousing about (perceived?) elitism amongst cyclists in my last post, I would like to, perhaps, offer some justification and even admiration for a particular type of exclusivity amongst serious riders.
A blog that I like and follow, "Jeff Kerkove, Endurance Mountain Bike Athlete", recently posted a series about an endurance race of 100 miles, the Moab Rim Ride. Jeff actually came in 3rd on this race only because of a mechanical breakdown and 2 of his teammates placed 1st and 2nd. What pertains particularly to today's post, though, are a couple of riders, Adam and Tom, referenced in Jeff's blog, who did not finish high in the rankings but posted inspiring stories of how they struggled to just finish and spurred each other on. In the comments for each of their posts, I noticed how much praise and encouragement they got from other riders and it occurred to me that in certain instances respect must be earned and it is right that it is so. In this case, fellow riders understand, as only they can, the suffering and ensuing mental struggle that must be overcome in many cases just to finish such an undertaking as an endurance race. Similarly, in the book I just finished, Heft on Wheels by Mike Magnuson, the author, even though 5'10" and 255 pounds, eventually gains the respect of fellow cyclists because he just WILL ... NOT ... GIVE ... UP!
These riders all earned their way into the Fraternity of Suffering!