Read the title of this post and think about it. Our modern society has forced us to be in touch with our feelings and has caused us to become overly concerned with how we "feel" about things. These feelings run the gamut from the clothes we wear to the food we eat. I keep hearing if you lose weight and eat right, you'll feel good.
So, I was reading an article on active.com on Friday about how cycling is a great way to beat stress. In the article, the author talked about how stress is what keeps most people away from exercising, because the stress has made you too tired to perform the exercise your body needs.
A year and a half ago, I was under a tremendous amount of stress. My wife was going through the toughest time in her life having been laid off in the pharmaceutical industry's downward spiral and also having a complicated pregnancy. She was at home at the time and had already been to the hospital once. So, everyday was a gamble on whether or not we would have our daughter. Finally, the doctors admitted her for constant monitoring, because her body was not providing a suitable environment for the fetus. My mind was just clouded with all the bad things that could happen.
I couldn't think about anything else and how hard it must be and what did we do to deserve this? I thought I was going to explode, because I couldn't get any straight answers from these damn doctors and experts. We just sat and waited.
I started riding...
I would cram my bike and portable shower into the Explorer and I would go ride after school, then go to the hospital to be with my wife. I realized how much I needed the heat and sweat and pain of riding the mountain bike up and down those hills. My total outlook changed as we neared the birth of Sophia. I became stronger in my thoughts and I was able to cope and when I needed some correction, I went out and pedaled that bike. I rediscovered the joy of cycling and the reason it's such a great sport.
In the Active article, I read where people who cycle and exercise regularly perform better at work and at home, because their body doesn't hold stress like non-exercisers. I'm still a fat ass, but the less fat I get, the better I "feel." I feel less like I want to drink and use nicotine to calm down and cope with regular BS. I feel like I can handle things in an appropriate manner. The best part about commuting is I don't feel mad at the world because I couldn't get outside.
COMPETITION IS HEALTHY!!!
For me, every ride is a race. On Thursday, a little storm was coming when I left school. I raced it home and literally landed in the garage about five minutes before the thunder and lightning started. That felt great. But here's the reality of things: I'm extremely competitive and that derails my good intentions most of the time. I think that fear holds me back in riding with others because I'm afraid I either can't keep up, or they won't keep up with me and that my competitiveness will ruin things. On the other hand, I think it's OK to have that. Otherwise, how do you improve? I try to ride with people faster than me, even if only for a minute. Or, I surgically dismember some poor bastard and leave them in the dust.
I got this hot rod Carbon racing bike on employee closeout, which is a really SWEET deal. Thanks Performance! I love that bike and I named her Freedom. On this bike, I feel like I can just go and go and go with no pain or bodily discomfort. I rode it 40 miles the first day I had it with no problem. Instantly, my mind turns to the notion that I could race again if I wanted to do so.
I watched a lot of videos and bike races when I was learning the art of the sport and I learned to be a surgeon on the bike. Now, I say surgeon, because that's what I am: a bike doc. But, when I ride, I consciously THINK about how I'm riding and what I'm going to do to beat the other person. I feel my RPM and watch my heart rate and I train in the high 160 range. I'm at maximum output at 185 for a steady effort. So, the other day on the bosque trail, I employed my strategies...
There was a guy in front of me in a read jersey riding a blue road bike and I was on Freedom. I was pacing at 85 RPM and 165 BPM. Right on track. I got within about a mile of this guy and started amping up my effort, little by little. I started my pursuit and calculated my gap to this guy at about 6 minutes. Here we go: I shifted gears and cranked it up to 90/172 and started thundering on the pavement. I passed some guy on an old Schwinn hybrid and he said "damn." as I went by.
I'm a really stable rider, because I spent so many years and miles on the white line in rural eastern New Mexico.
So, I'm watching this red jersey get a little closer and as we near the Rio Grande Conservancy State Park area, I'm within about 250 yards of the "catch." Somehow, this guy knew I was on then hunt for him, because I was him turn around and look at me. Right then, I gained about thirty seconds on him, because every effort not dedicated to turning the cranks, costs time. Thus, I hammered it. I sprinted up the hill and the heat because intensified and sweat was poured from my helmet. The red jersey's demise is now imminent. I got within about fifty yards and he turns again to look at me and he starts pounding the pedals.
I sit back and continue my steady effort of 90/172, which is hard, because now I'm into this speed mode for about the last fifteen minutes. The red jersey sees that I'm just going steady and something in me snaps to realize that there's no way this no-technique bum can continue with his pedal pounding for any distance. I start creeping up so that every time he looks back at me, I'm right there, like a bad penny. I gain on him and wait for him to turn around and look at me. Im' praying I don't get a flat, because if I pass him, I'm sunk and he'll lose respect for me. So I just continue my surgery.
I watch his shoulders start to sway and his muscles swell with fatigue, but I'm feeling great. I round the curve to Montano and I can see that I'm on the ticket for sure and this win is mine. I look at the speedo and I'm right on track at 21mph, HR looks good and cadence is awesome. The red jersey's head goes down in utter defeat and victory is mine. I give him a nod as I pass him on the left, giving him a standard courtesy of three meters so that he knows I never once drafted hi,, even for a second.
I feel Freedom take the lead and we ride off. We arrive in the parking lot and five minutes later, the red jersey pulls in. He rides up to me and and says, "Damn, that was amazing," and turns his bike toward his car. I said, "Thanks, it was."
and THAT feels good...
Cheers!
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