It’s All Mental (unabridged version)

Probably everything I’ve ever said about cycling involved the phrase “It’s all mental” - not that that makes it any more true. But it keeps coming up in my head, so there must be something there, at least for me. I’m going to start a little collection here, and as time marches on and the experiences pile up, I will come back and add things, as I think of them.

Biking in the rain -

After two years of bike commuting in the rain, and more and more soggy mountain biking trips in the wonderful Seattle downpour, I am fully convinced: Riding in the dumping rain is just as fun as riding in the sun - sometimes more (more epic!). I agree 100% that getting out of the house and out into that crappy weather is very difficult. But I assure you, that is the ONLY hard part. The biking part is great. So it is mental. If you make up your mind to get out and do it, you’ll love it. Making up your mind is the hardest part.

Committing to bike commuting every day -

Same as biking in the rain, often times the same thing. But even on dry days I used to find it hard to to resist that cozy car with the soft seat and the radio, heater, cup of coffee… But once again, I found that as soon as I got on the bike, no problem. The only problem was in my head. By the way, the best way to overcome this is remove temptation. I sold my car, so that problem was solved sort of by force. Maybe just park yours at a friend’s house for a week or two. You’ll see. Once your mind is made up… easy. Mental.

Hucking your first big jump/drop -

I’ve overcome many downhill/freestlye fears this year. And that’s just it: They were FEARS, not inabilities. I’ve stood at the top of the drop/chute/jump, frozen in fear, unable to make the move, over and over again. Somehow by by forcing myself, one move at a time, I’ve gotten over it and gave it a try. And what happens every time? Well shoot, no big deal. The body was more than able. It was only the mind that was weak, unable to take that first step. If you give in to that weakness you’ll never know what’s on the other side. If you push through.... you’ll see it was all mental, open new doors. For the record, I’ve hardly ever crashed on that first attempt, re-enforcing the notion that it was only my mind holding me back, not my abilities. Also for the record, I have crashed plenty, after that first attempt, usually because I was not paying attention.

Grinding up a huge hill, faster than ever -

Getting up a big hill is certainly mental. First I found that looking down at your wheel instead of looking up toward the summit makes a huge difference. One stroke at a time. You’ll get there sooner than you think. Quit worrying about it. Now go faster. I only attempted to ride up the fire road to the top of Tiger Mountain in my middle ring when I was coerced into doing so for fear of the derision of my riding partner, who could always beat me to the top. This one famous ride was 15 minutes of intense mental boot camp. He rode just behind me, watching my derailer, making sure I didn’t shift. Shouting profanities and cracking the mental whip. He convinced me that the less-steep parts were “flat” and those are the rest areas. It made me realize that the whole climb isn’t hard. It’s just some hard parts with less-hard areas in between. Awesome. Keep pushing. Recover. Push. Recover (never stopping). I got to the top in half the time I used to. Amazing. Totally mental. I think people shift into granny gear at the bottom of a hill based on fear or something. They start spinning fast before the hill even starts, what a waste or momentum. Give it a try in a bigger gear. You won’t blow up, and you’ll pass all your friends.

Racing -

My first road race I quit before it was over. My second one I finished with the pack. My first mountain bike race I quit before it was over. My second one I didn’t even get lapped. I didn’t gain any fitness in between the first and second of either of those races - in both cases they were only a weak apart. What changed then? I learned some things. Don’t give up because it seems physically difficult. The brain has much more to do with it than the body. Experience is everything. That’s mental. Too many things to list, but they are all mental. There is certainly a physical component, but hey, we’re talking about bike racing here so I’m assuming you’re in pretty good shape to start with.

Riding skinnies -

I think about 90% of the failed skinny attempts are due to bail-out, not fall-off. Your brain tells you that you might fall soon, so you intentionally bail out so that you can do so on your own terms. I don’t think people even realize they are doing this. It is sort of subconscious. And it’s not a bad policy. In fact, I’d probably suggest learning this way, working your way down your favorite log a little farther every time. Eventually you’ll have to decide “No, I’m going to stay on this damn log until the very end”. When you commit to it, and resist that premature pull-out, I bet you’ll roll right down it like it was nothing. Again, it’s a mental shift. Something changes in your brain, not your body. Make up your mind and do it. See yourself going right to the end and know that that is how it’s going to happen. It’s the only way.