Question on Goals & Motivation

[MattTuck]

Curious to hear how you guys plan your goals for cycling. I tend to be somewhat risk averse when thinking about rides, only attempting stuff that I am pretty sure I can finish. That has kept me from registering for some rides that I might like to do (centuries and granfondos), and find myself using the excuse of not wanting to spend the money (especially for non-local events) or not liking to ride in giant groups.

When you guys sign up for big rides, what level of confidence do you have that you'll be able to finish the ride when the day comes? Does that act as a good motivator or does it become the source of stress?

[David Tollefson]

Finishing is not even a question. How fast is the question.

[josephr]

At some point you just gotta do it. I mean, signing up and paying for the longer rides is enough motivation for me. I've already signed up for two centuries in late March and haven't ridden more than 40 miles in one outing since Jan 1. I really need to get crackin' (or get Kraken?)....even with that, these two centuries are going to be absolute misery.
Joe

[redir]

I think any reasonably fit cyclist can finish a century. If you are riding 50 mile rides on the weekend then bump it up to prepare your self to 60 hen 70 then 80 and you are good to go.

Personally my goals are always to prep for races that have been on my schedule for years. Try to do better than last year, that sort of thing.

But if you are out of shape, as I am now, then you are probably right, it's just a waste of time and money. Plus you can go ride any roads you want when you are ready for free.

[rccardr]

If you don't enjoy riding in groups or look forward to all-day saddle time, then a big ride just isn't for you.

Personally, I can take or leave the group deal, but love all-day rides. So like Mr. Tollefson, not a matter of whether, but when I finish an event.

[FlashUNC]

I find I won't push myself if I don't try to sign up for some crazy event.

[Bkat]

I do most of my riding solo and find that if I can do distance X alone, then distance X plus 20% is actually easier when riding with others.

Or to put it another way, ride 50 miles away from home and forget to bring your cellphone. I can guarantee your log in a century that day.

[carpediemracing]

I haven't done a larger organized ride in a while so keep that in mind. My thoughts don't take into account any pre-ride hype plus any pace-ruining distractions (like everyone taking off at hyperspeed).

I agree that everyone with reasonable fitness can do a century, it's just how long it'll take.

Although I've ridden a while, meaning in my life, I'll sometimes go out on a pretty committed long ride without much prep. The last one was last year, what ended up being a 4+ hour ride to go pick up my van (from a race venue where I promoted races for 7 weeks). I rode only 4 times in February and my rides in March and April, before the van ride in late April or early May, ranged in the 45 minutes to 1 hour range. In fact I struggled at first simply to finish a 1 hour crit (and failed at least once).

(*edit I rode 8 hours in Feb, 13 in March, and less than 10 hours in April before my 4:36 ride to get the van.)

Nonetheless I set out to retrieve the van - it would save a 3 hour round trip drive for me and the Missus (along with our then just over 1 year old Junior), the weather wasn't horrible, and I really needed to get in some riding. The van ride would hit a lot of checkboxes.

There are a few things I do when I do these unprepared (in terms of training) long rides:
1. Eat early and often. This includes eating enough before the ride, in the couple days prior. No dieting in that time, the first goal is to have good stores for the ride ahead. Carbs to make sure you don't run out of energy early on (you automatically have 2-2.5 hours of riding if your body is stocked up on carbs). Don't skip breakfast. If you're doing an organized ride then don't skip the food stops. On really long rides I'll eat stuff with fat and protein like peanuts, the protein energy bars, and even, once, a lasagna at a roadside diner.
2. Drink. I'm pretty bad at this in general but I am better if I'm doing a 3-6 hour ride.
3. Go easy at first. It's hard to go easy on hills, of course, and I'll do a shorter harder effort to get over a 200m hill instead of twiddling along in a 39x25. However I take it easy, soft pedaling on the downhills and not really pushing on the flats (means keeping at low levels of effort, for me that means 120-140 bpm, with 155+ being hard for me). On such rides I hope to have reserves at the end in which case I can call on my Walter Mitty and do a hard last hour or so ("And here's the mad chase in the final hour, can he pull back the break for his team leader?"). On some conservatively paced 120 mile rides I've averaged 20 mph for the last hour; I normally average 15-17 mph when I train.
4. If riding with others don't get too involved in pulling early on. You can pull later (see #3) but at first you need to be absolutely conservative with your efforts.
5. Once past the half way point reassess your fatigue levels. Start doling out the efforts if you feel that you have a lot left in the tank.

For my van ride I ran into trouble virtually immediately. Due to my lack of fitness I was cramping within 45 minutes, before I got even two towns away from the house. I kept going, balancing effort against time (I was going slow enough that getting to the van before dark became a real concern). I used every trick I've learned in the last 3 decades of riding to keep going. My phone was in the <5% battery range when I got to the one last hill - a 200m hill with the van parked at the top. I actually thought I'd have to walk due to my legs cramping for the last 4 hours so I called the Missus, let her know I was 200m away from the van but was very tired. Of course when I hung up my legs were fine and I rolled up the hill easy as can be.

You can do it. Try it on your own first, doing a somewhat committed ride (out and back or a large loop forces you to commit). I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how your first long ride turns out.

[Ti Designs]

If I had to do it as one big step, I would probably never sign up for any large event. I set myself goals for the season, then set smaller tests along the way. The smaller steps keep me on schedule and my fitness goals give me the confidence to enter any event with confidence. There are lots of elements that have to come together to make it all work, it's just not possible to track all of them at once, so I train with specific goals. Right now on the trainer I'm working on being more comfortable at higher cadence. I can sit on the bike at 120 RPMs and still talk to the person next to me. Base mileage on the road is about time on the bike and teaching my body to process food, if I can power my fixed gear for 4 hours, a century is going to be easy... Going forward I'll start setting fitness goals and get into more hill climbing. I've written out an entire schedule and I make a point to test myself often to be sure I'm not skipping any steps.

[laupsi]

Our tickets are only punched, "one way". Don't give it another thought, sign up and go.

[Vinci]

If you find yourself particularly gung-ho at some point, just sign up for the ride immediately and tell your friends/bike group about it. That way, if you try to blow it off when the time comes, they can shame you back into it.

I've found that I've done a lot of rides that I didn't think I wanted to do because I didn't want to hear about missing it later from my buddies.

If you're worried about flaking on such a ride in the middle of it ("screw it, I'm going home"), then make sure you don't know the route or have cues with you. Not knowing how to get home is a reallllly strong motivator to stay with the group, in my experience. I've ridden well beyond what I thought was my limit when I knew that dropping was going to leave me in the middle of nowhere.

[Wesley37]

I started out feeling very much the same as the OP, but the more experience I have the more I wish I jumped into everything earlier.

For me it was group rides, then popularies, brevets, centuries and gran fondos, then time trials (15k and 40k), and last season I had my first taste of mass-start racing. In every single case I was really intimidated, but I put time and work into getting more fit, and eventually showed up and found that I was certainly not the strongest rider, but far from the weakest. The point is not comparing myself to others, but in every case I way way way over-prepared, and went in with above average fitness. This is not bad, but it is unnecessary. In every case, even the 300km brevet, once I was on the road it was never a question of finishing or not, it was simply how fast I would finish.

And most importantly, in every case, (bonking aside), I had a great time and was glad I turned up, and wished I turned up sooner. And met great people.

[thunderworks]

Nearly 40 years ago, I took my wife on her first bike ride. It was about 14 miles. The 2nd ride I took her on was over 50. I didn't tell her we we're riding that distance. We just went.

After her 2nd ride, she "owned" that distance, and really wasn't intimidated by any kind of ride. We were not fast athletes, just committed recreational riders. My point is that riding for normal, healthy people has psychological barriers, but really very few actual physical ones.

The OP's concerns about a big ride, or century, are entirely psychological. Which is not say that they're not important . . . but I think they're easily over comeable. Go slow. Take your time. Rest whenever needed. Eat lots of food. Drink lots of fluids. Spend the day on your bike. You'll make the distance.

The fabulous part of doing that type of ride is not the ride itself. IMO, it's the "ownership" of the distance that frees you up to ride anywhere. Once you ride a long way, it's no longer intimidating to do it again - and again - and again . . . you get the point. Riding begets riding. Have at it and have fun

[Camelstache]

Two days after Christmas, I had my non-union collarbone repaired with a Ti plate and nine screws. While convalescing, I signed up for the Lumberjack 100 (a 100 mile mtb race in MI). So that's my motivation to get fit again.

But in all seriousness, small goals. My goal for Jan and Feb is to not put on weight. Build base in April and June...including racing again. Do the Lumberjack late June.

My confidence comes from having finished several 6-hour races now, and I still had "gas in the tank" after riding 80+...so 100 miles is do-able.

So yeah...sign up for big stuff. Don't kill yourself in the winter or you'll face a mid-summer burnout.

[billium]

[QUOTE=MattTuck;1488218] find myself using the excuse of not wanting to spend the money (especially for non-local events) or.............................[QUOTE]

This can motivate.

I've been know to squeeze a nickel here and there. Some entry fees are ridiculous and serve to motivate me beyond what some folk's would consider sane. Own your cheapness, Matt. Turn it on its ear and make it positive.

AND, you'll meet great folks suffering right along with you. If you like gallows humor, you'll love jumping in the deep end and making eye contact with others who've realized they've bitten off more than they can chew. OK, you won't necessarily love it at that particular moment, but eventually...........

Lombardi had a great quote that goes something like "The Good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything, it's your mind you have to convince".

[rain dogs]

Do the things that YOU think will be fun, not the things OTHER people think are fun, and that fit within your personal interests for exploring. It's ok to put less pressure on yourself.

If that's racing... then race.
If that's centuries... then do a century.
If that's a crazy solo adventure across some vast distance ... do that.
If that's 5km rides through the woods.... you get the picture.

If you're not doing the things you think you will enjoy, and are curious about or interested in, for some reason (fear, money, ego) then ask yourself some bigger questions.

I've long struggled with putting pressure on myself to find motivation in, and explore, the things other people seem to enjoy, and tell me I SHOULD do, even though I'm not all that interested, and I can tell you ...that's bogus.

Lot's of people like Strava, good for them. I personally think it's backwards. So I should stop spending time trying to find a way to enjoy it, or to use it as a motivation. (as one basic example).

Sometimes you find a lot in life about what you want, by first learning what you don't want. :)

[oliver1850]

My goals are pretty simple: ride as much as I can, and enjoy it.

Motivation is built in - there's not much else I'd rather be doing. I never got much return on investment from any ride (or race) I had to pay for, so generally don't ride "events" at all. Not just because I'm cheap, they just don't offer anything that makes my riding more enjoyable. I prefer to ride where I want and when I feel like it. It's not unusual to get on the bike planning to ride for an hour or two, and riding double or triple what I'd intended. Conditions good, don't have to be anywhere else: keep riding. Can't feel brake or shift levers due to cold, already half an hour late for Christmas dinner: head for home (or at least in that general direction). Simple.