Some times it takes doing something to know if it is right or not. Even when one can probably deduce the outcome mentally. Compelling reasons were sparse but effective.
That said. I was going to talk about how to make a killer soup out of the chicken broth... but, well, It'll wait.
I was thinking tho, on the ride in, about actions that stick with you. And how they make up your personality. Do you vividly recall every mistake and the emotional flood you went through? Do the opportunities you missed, that you didn't see until far too late come back to haunt you? Or are you driven by the good things in life? Do you work towards the positive fighting in that direction but are weighed down with the baggage of growing up as the sharp tempered easily provoked awkward self conscious skinny kid?
A bit introspective I guess this morning.
Pretty mellow, tired, what not. Surprised it is thursday. Certainly feels like it I guess. And yet, one more week gone almost. One week closer to Battenkill and Burlingame.
I did think about goals last night. And in a very positive re-affirming way. When I really just thought about it all, (goals on the bike) I'm pretty happy with the way things are going. No I'm not getting the ft+10% intervals in on a regular basis, hell at all. But, I am riding most everyday, I am focused on going hard, medium and easy. Balancing the riding so I'm not all one speed. I am more often than not leaping on the bike cross style still with perfect form. And that's a wonderful feeling. I'm still unclipping at stop lights so I can practice my Cross starts.
Cyclocross still dominates my focus. There is no way I can compete on the road against guys riding bikes 5-7 pounds lighter than mine, with aero wheels and 10 speeds and all that technology. Guy weighting at least 10-20kilos lighter than me. I'm not saying it wouldn't be possible to overcome all those obstacles. many people find mental fuel in riding crappy equipment. Every person they beat who has a bike worth 4x more than theirs is fire enough to train their ass off. To suffer just that much longer in the break. Then it gets to a point where that isn't fun anymore. Cyclocross is different. Mtn and Road are pretty similar, driven by what is new. Yes there are always exceptions. Always someone bucking the trend in equipment, riding something old, but that's really an exception. Being the exception your whole life is a challenge. Esp when even after over three and a half decades ya still haven't figured it out yet.
eat well, eat smart, eat real food
heddwch
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10 comments:
i'm with you on that one. i cant get out of my own way on a road bike, even more then 20 years after my first race. I still suck.
That said, it aint the bike, so dont go there. And it aint your size either (well, maybe on a hilly road race). I always feel to small to be able to hang in a road race, you think you are too big. Its all just a mental block. I know, cause I am in the exact same mental place that you are.
Maybe we ought to do a couple road races together, as long as we promise not to drop the other guy. Pack finish as the goal.
i know - it ain't the bike - it ain't my size...
well - considering there is ONE dude my size in the PRO road scene and he's a genetic monster (Magnus) that's not a good sign.
Yes.
Mental.
Too bad U ain't riding with the team at battenkill!
Mtn and Road are pretty similar, driven by what is new.
Mtn might be dominated by what is new, but I get beat by rigid singlespeeders pretty regularly. You certainly don't need the latest and greatest to hang on a mountain bike.
maybe ya forgetting that rigid singlespeed is new
it IS the trend.
not just 10" of travel on a XC bike
come on G. do you think a rigid singlespeed is providing a competitive advantage over a decent mountain bike from 1998?
My point was that if you can go fast on one of those, you can compete on anything. It's not like a road race where your $600 bike means you need to be 5% stronger than everyone else just to sit in.
oh and colin - ya just driving home the point and perception - it really aint about the bike - but the bike is a key mental aspect - huge boon to those with an equipment superiority or inferiority...
all about your mental framework...
it is just kinda sucky that so much baggage is carried around about the equipment... people worrying about matching and pristinely clean drivetrains or bar tape or ... ... ...
competitive advantage on a single speed?
Depends on the geometry/weight/gearing...
like i just said - it ain't about the bike - but the perception of the best...
or maybe it is the opposite - some things are accepted. Other stuff isn't. Grip Shift, 8 speed, high pivot URT full sus, any URT for that matter.
ah what ever...
it really aint about the bike - but the bike is a key mental aspect - huge boon to those with an equipment superiority or inferiority...
all about your mental framework...
it is just kinda sucky that so much baggage is carried around about the equipment... people worrying about matching and pristinely clean drivetrains or bar tape or ... ... ...
So why do you care about what other people worry about?
i dropped HR monitor, bike computer, everything. Just a watch. Get some hours, you will be fine. the terrain dictates my rides around here.
But i think people like Ge and I who have been into competetive biking for 20 plus years, unfortunately without much natural ability (in my case anyway) get this huge mental block.
Then you put in enough work to hang, but you have the mental block from all those years of failure and mental scarring. sniff, sad really, sniff.
i cant do battenkill, i have not been on a bicycle since cross nats dude.
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