Training with The G.O.T. Bike
Training is not a four letter word (trust me, I counted), but I still have my reservations about using it. No, not the word, but the actual act of training. Differences between training and just riding-your-darn-bike can be huge: for example, the former often involves a lot more numbers, but I'm not so sure it has to, or at least not for everyone. I actually like numbers, am a huge fan of algebra, and possibly even helped produce a few more fans of the subject through tutoring years ago, but I find those digits can also get in the way of my actual enjoyment of riding a bike. A more concise phrasing might be: I prefer to focus of the places I ride through, rather than the zones I've ridden in, and while this might seem detrimental my goal of racing well, for me, it seems the opposite.
I partook in formalized training a few times, and unlike Bill Clinton, I may have even inhaled, but the end results for me were slower races. Why? A set schedule of training is my ultimate burnout tool and ultimately robs me of all my Grit on race day. Angela Duckworth, a research psychologist and co-host of the fantastic "No Stupid Questions" podcast, wrote a whole book, and then a second one, on the magical trait of Grit. In addition to good luck while swimming in the genetic soup pool, a successful competitor definitely needs Grit. It's that ability to dig a little deeper and hurt a little more on race day, but if a fog of numbers clouds my view of everything else that is wonderful about riding a bike, then I just don't have it. I may have a fitter body, but not the access to all that it can do.
So, this past Friday, I went for an eight hour training ride that took me nine and a half hours. I've gotten used to riding being a lot more than just riding, with stops for groceries, or even exploration on foot. My bikes get locked places. So, my long day of riding also included an hour and a half of browsing three thrift stores, procuring more food to fuel future riding, and a short chat with a panhandler. You see, it wasn't just a ride, and for me, that is best kind of riding, as well as a celebration of just how useful a machine the bicycle can be. Now, I recognize that I've organized an extremely low cost lifestyle for myself, and that gives me a luxury of time that many others don't have. I also think it's great that training schedules work so well for others, possibly even when it make them faster than I am. But for those of you a bit more like me, I let's give each other permission to enjoy simply riding our bikes, even if we should be "training".
"dis is tlayning???"
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