With all the high-tech ways to measure your cycling performance, it’s easy to over analyze. By this, I mean get lost in the numbers. What’s my average wattage? Where’s my threshold? What’s my red zone for heart rate? Cadence? Hill gradient? Um, shoot, almost forgot: speed? It’s a wonder the modern day roadie doesn’t crash from vertigo while peering at as many as eight — count ‘em — data fields on a Garmin 705 or 305. The act of riding the bike can almost seems secondary.
This is where being a “Soul Cyclist” has its benefits. If you’re not a hardcore racer and don’t mind finishing in the middle of the pack of your local club rides, then you know of which I write. The Soul Cyclist rides primarily based on “feel.” The Soul Cyclist understands through practice when her or his heart is pounding near maximum. Seeing a digital display of 165 bpm or 175 bpm only verifies what’s unconsciously recorded in their brain. The Soul Cyclist can ride based on physical and mental limits established and honed over time through repetition. I’m no cycling coach, and I have zero formal physiology training (in a classroom). All I know is what I’ve read, learned from serious racers or stumbled upon while dancing (The Waltz) on the pedals. The knowledge is a compendium of lessons learned, catastrophes averted, bonks survived. It can become who you are as a cyclist. A more “in-tune” rider who enjoys the ebb and flow of a ride with others or solitary. A computer is a fabulous training device, but your brain is a pretty good one, too. Sometimes, you have to disconnect and ride free of boundaries or limitations.
This is why I believe the best time to experiment is when you have a cold. Why? If you feel crummy, and sitting about only serves to intensify the crumminess, what’s there to lose other than your mind or mojo? Stay with me here. I can’t recall the last time I rode with a cold where I became sicker afterwards.
To the contrary.
The act of riding with a cold in cool climes turns your nasal cavity into a rocket launcher. You purge your body of junk it doesn’t want. You inhale fresh air and pump oxygenated blood throughout your body. So what if your lungs feel like they are working at 50% capacity. You’re not 100%. Afterward, you’ll hydrate automatically and sleep deeply. Like a Soul Cyclist. Free from data. Thankful for the bike and the places it takes you.
YTD – 7,065 miles / 502,694 feet climbed
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Jeff, You’re spot-on with this article. In my practice, I find that athletes who are in tune with their bodies get through colds, injuries, and other issues better than those who rely on number-crunching. I have to admit that I’m a data freak, but I have learned over the years to put that aside on occasion and go with what feels right. And if you’ve ever had a cyclocomputer shoot craps in the middle of a ride, you’ll still be able to gauge your efforts by listening to your body. Every athlete should know what 95% of max feels like, or 80%, or whatever your training plans call for on any given day. I have also found going wireless at times can decrease stress and increase the pure joy of training – a healthy boost for the immune system to keep you riding strong.
Thanks for the good reads!
Gina Poertner, CHES
Gina, Thanks for validating my unscientific musings. I, too, am a data freak, but find it incredibly satisfying to ride sometimes purely by the sound of my beating heart and pace of respiration — especially when I need a mental break from life’s thrills and spills. JB
I train with a power meter but race without it.