Ever have a day when you didn’t want to ride, but got out there anyway? Those usually turn out to be among the best on the bike. I can’t explain it. Expectations are dialed back. You ride within yourself. Then somewhere along the route, your body begins to respond positively. There’s no blowing up to manage. No doubts. The tank is topped off. Your mind is clear. Your muscles working at full capacity. You feel like you could ride forever.
Of course, that feeling can’t last indefinitely. And it doesn’t. At some point on the longer rides, fatigue creeps in, unannounced and unwelcome. You try to wave it off and ignore it. The neck weakens. The shoulders yield to gravity. The quads fill with lactic acid and ask for a reprieve. The bottom of the feet might even burn (on a blazing hot day). The back creaks. This is when life begins to get interesting. If you’ve timed things right, the ride is perceived 80% effortless state-of-mind and 20% very real physical suffering. Timing the big rides to produce this human equation is hard — as difficult as timing the marathon to click off negative splits in the last 10K of the monster distance.
But the first step in testing yourself on the endurance side of the cycling house is merely getting out there. In the early morning hours on a Saturday, that door knob stares at you, waiting to be turned. Only you can unlock what’s inside yourself. Today, I wished my doorknob was a hand that would give me a firm tap me on the shoulder, or grab me and pull me away from creature comforts. But alas, my door knob is round, smooth and passive. If it were the former, I think it would be easier to cross the magic threshold this weekend and pedal into cycling nirvana, a place where the miles and kilometers fly by, where time is irrelevant, and where everything is zen. How about you? How do you get past that first long step, through the front door and onto the road? I bet we can all teach each other a few things. For now, I’m rolling. 100 miles is the goal and 10,000 feet. Solo. Chasing endurance cycling balance.
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- After the ride(s) On Saturday, I wrestled pre-ride blues in a post before logging 90 miles and nearly 9,000 feet of climb. On Sunday, I guzzled my first 6-Pack: Three ascents of the short and nasty Double Peak with Markle Needham, then three solo repeats on Scripps Poway Parkway, a more traditional 7%...
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Sounds like you’ve got exactly what it takes to get out there…even on the days you don’t feel like taking that long step. Some people have it and other have the potential for it, but generally don’t try to tap into it.
Being self motivated has got to be the best thing possible. No crutches, No excused, no lack of Desire. I’m very glad I’ve got that booming voice inside of me that always kicks me out the front door…..and you’ve definitely got it as well.
Happy Solo ride my cycling endurance friend.
Darryl