Music Selector is the Soul Reflector

When preparing for a ride the night before, I have sort of a mental checklist that I go through: riding gear – check; helmet, shoes, gloves – check; tires pumped – check; fuel / hydration – check; IPOD charged – check. The last item may seem insignificant but it’s not. While I could complete our training rides without music, it’s much more enjoyable with it. Not only is it nice to have some music to break up the hours of riding, it really helps you to push yourself when you thought you had nothing left to give.

Being out on the bike in 85-90 degree weather for 6 straight hours, climbing hill after endless hill, is a humbling experience. I have a habit of building things up in my head, visualizing what an awesome experience will be – the thrill of it all – without thinking of the pain and sacrifice it will take to get there. The thing that excited me most about doing the Giretto was the opportunity to ride 415 miles in 4 days. Who knows what it will actually feel like on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th days. Will I be as excited about it then?

At some point you need to prepare yourself mentally for the point when it gets hard, really hard. Just the thought of the next hill in the distance is demoralizing. Music plays a huge role in keeping me motivated. I always bring my IPOD with me on rides but seldom use it, reserving it for when I need it most; when my body wants to give up by I need to force my legs to keep moving. The rhythm of the music helps to improve consistency in my pedal stroke, rather than focusing all my mental energy on how hard and painful the climb is. It helps to get me through that last hill, or the last 20. It’s amazing how a change in your attitude or mentality will change the way you approach every hill.

My biggest concern on Saturday was that I wouldn’t be able to live up to the standard I set for myself the week prior. I felt great that week and was really attacking the hills at the end, but what would happen this week? Would I be as strong? Would I be able to keep up at a higher pace? We had upped the anty by adding 20 miles to the ride and were also going to try to maintain an average speed of 15-16 mph. All of this with 7200-7500 feet of climbing. The previous training ride left me confident, which is a great thing, but overconfidence can hurt you and you can be broken down easily. It’s important to stay confident but to remain humble at the same time.

I started to fatigue both mentally and physically towards the end but knew I had to keep going. I knew my body could do it; I just had to get my mind wrapped around it. And when it became too hard, and I started to break down, I threw in my ear buds and just enjoyed the ride.