Reader Responses to Erg Don’t Lie

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I am drawn to reading articles about rowing, and particularly the erg, because of my brother and sister-in-law, who are both lifelong competitive and accomplished medal winners whom I greatly admire. So, of course, I read the piece in the May/June BAM (“Erg Don’t Lie,” Under the Elms). I cringed, however, when I reached the sentence, “The erg—aka indoor rowing machine—is a brutal, unforgiving mistress: a source of pain, joy, pride, and more pain.” I am curious to know what the BAM means [by] “unforgiving mistress.” Were you simply trying to wax poetic?

Chantal Perrot ’78 Toronto, Canada

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