when you ride hard, why?

[Climb01742]

i'm curious about something. on the days when you ride hard, push yourself, or tackle a long ride, or ride a hilly, climb-filled route, or ride with a fast group, or do a hard interval session, why do you do it? what's your motivation? what do you gain--physically and emotionally?

my guess is, 99.9% of us have never gotten paid to ride hard, yet at various moments, we've all pushed ourselves darn hard. i'm curious how much alike or how different our reasons and rewards are.

it's one thing when pro athletes push themselves hard for money and glory. i'm fascinated about why the rest of us do it, for free, and often for no one but ourselves. there's something beautiful -- and ok, i'll say it, noble -- about seeing someone find the edge of their envelope for intangible reasons. what are yours?

thanks for thinking about this.

[xjoex]

its fun

[RADaines]

I think that we enjoy the challenge and being able to push oneself to new limits physically. It may not be enjoyable while struggling up a climb, but the sense of accomplishment afterward is what drives me on. At the end of a ride, I need to feel that I accomplished something; that I didn't take the easy route. It is also something unique (at least for me) about cycling. I am not able to push myself to the level of suffering that I routinely do on a bike in other activities. I often describe how crazy cyclists are to my non-cycling friends using the following: most people see a big hill and might think "that might be fun to go down," when I look at a hill I think "that would be fun to go up." Despite knowing how much it is going to hurt, I want to do it. And what's worse, you want to climb it again and again until it becomes easy. I accept the fact that I am addicted to cycling. Something to do with endorphin release, I guess. Interesting question but the answer is difficult to put into words.

[Ray]

its fun
Yup. I never tell myself before a ride, "I'm gonna go hard today" or "I'm gonna go easy today" or "I'm gonna go moderate today". I go ride and how I feel dictates the rest. When I go hard its because I'm feeling really good and pushing harder feels good. Some days I feel good and pushing it doesn't feel good, so I back off. But on those great days, its actually fun and feels kind of good to bury yourself. Now, when I talk about going hard, I'm not talking about going so hard I collapse when I get off my bike or puke while riding - I've pushed myself that hard (mostly in two-a-day HS football practices in Arizona in August) and I can't imagine I'd ever do it again intentionally. If you're pushing yourself THAT hard, you'd better have something else at stake beyond having fun. But some days I can go pretty damn hard and, in one sense, "suffer" a bit on the bike, but it still feels right. Its fun! To suffer like I've seen some racers suffer as they cross the finish line - no thank you!

-Ray

[hookookadoo]

Numerous answers for me...personal satisfaction, sense of achievement, pride, exhilaration of one "upping" yourself. The reason for each of those answers probably has to do with conquering a new frontier. I can still remember how proud i was when I broke the 25 mile mark. And then when I broke the 30 mile mark...which inspired me to break the 40 mile mark, etc and I now plan to conquer my first century next year. Each time I go one more mile over my prior record I am achieving my own personal best...my own personal world record. That is very cool. It would be nice if my wife, kids or even my dog cared(and they don't) but for me 98% of the joy is the fact that I care.

[OtayBW]

Self-fulfillment, of course. But then there is Ego.

[flydhest]

Because racing season is only a couple of months away and 150 pound 25 year olds are not considerate of their elders.

[Johny]

D2R2.

[T.J.]

Because racing season is only a couple of months away and 150 pound 25 year olds are not considerate of their elders.

Amen ! Racing is for sure what motivates me to push it harder. Early in my racing days I could somewhat slack off in my training and still fair ok. Now racing Pro 1/2's I have to train my butt off.

[avalonracing]

For the women.

[bocarider]

None of us realize it or want to admit it, but we are most likely endorphin junkies. Anerobic stress causes your brain to up the endorphin levels. After a while you brain starts to crave the dopamine. Do you ever notice that you get kind of grumpy/irritable when you don't ride or exercise in some fashion for a few days? That's your brain going through withdrawal.

We're just a bunch of rats pressing the lever to get our fix.

[rwsaunders]

Because there is still gas in the tank and it feels good running hi-test. :cool:

[false_Aest]

I really like to eat.
I really like to eat a lot.
I really like to eat a lot and stay <150lb.
I really like to ride.
I really like to ride a lot.
I really like to ride hard a lot.

This means I ride hard to eat a lot.

SoCalSteve's words: "I'd rather house you than feed you."

[SEABREEZE]

I ride the hardest when being chased by neighborhood dogs.

All except King, he s a Pussycat

[clunk]

None of us realize it or want to admit it, but we are most likely endorphin junkies. Anerobic stress causes your brain to up the endorphin levels. After a while you brain starts to crave the dopamine. Do you ever notice that you get kind of grumpy/irritable when you don't ride or exercise in some fashion for a few days? That's your brain going through withdrawal.

We're just a bunch of rats pressing the lever to get our fix.

Nails it.

[CaliFly]

I really like to eat.
I really like to eat a lot.
I really like to eat a lot and stay <150lb.
I really like to ride.
I really like to ride a lot.
I really like to ride hard a lot.

This means I ride hard to eat a lot.

SoCalSteve's words: "I'd rather house you than feed you."


This. :beer:

[soulspinner]

None of us realize it or want to admit it, but we are most likely endorphin junkies. Anerobic stress causes your brain to up the endorphin levels. After a while you brain starts to crave the dopamine. Do you ever notice that you get kind of grumpy/irritable when you don't ride or exercise in some fashion for a few days? That's your brain going through withdrawal.

We're just a bunch of rats pressing the lever to get our fix.


Thats sure is one reason.... :beer:

[Ray]

None of us realize it or want to admit it, but we are most likely endorphin junkies. Anerobic stress causes your brain to up the endorphin levels. After a while you brain starts to crave the dopamine. Do you ever notice that you get kind of grumpy/irritable when you don't ride or exercise in some fashion for a few days? That's your brain going through withdrawal.

We're just a bunch of rats pressing the lever to get our fix.
Does that have to do with just riding or riding hard? I ride a lot, many days for 9-10 months of the year. But rarely long distance anymore and I rarely go hard. Some days it feels good and I do go hard but lots of days are slow to moderate rides for the duration. If it was just about pushing a lever to keep the endorphin drip going, wouldn't I ride hard a lot more often? Or are the endorphins associated with just getting out there, regardless of intensity?

-Ray

[Bob Ross]

it's one thing when pro athletes push themselves hard for money and glory. i'm fascinated about why the rest of us do it


I do it for money and glory too




...I'm just still waiting.

[buck-50]

Because some days it feels really good to beat myself up.

[cmg]

after not riding for 3 weeks i fall into the endorphine junky realm. when i got a chance i pushed it till the lungs said no, felt good. after that any pace was fine. that and fearing a drop in fitness level and having to ride harder to gain it back.

[Len J]

Because I can.

Great question climb..........I do it sometimes, because I can, ..................and because I'm 54 YO and it makes me feel younger to ride hard with the younger guys......plus there is something life affirming for me about setting and exceeding limits.

YMMV

len

[thwart]

I think the more you enter the pain cave, the more endorphin pay-off... within reason. I want to stick my nose into the entrance, anyway.

And, yeah, my family probably knows when I haven't been there for awhile.

And I want to be able to keep up with the Joneses---you know, the Jones brothers that I ride with. ;) :D

[Bud_E]

On the good days when I can find that rhythm where I'm maintaining the "pain tunnel" for an extended period of time especially on a long climb, I find that my mind is singularly focused on the moment - my breathing, my immediate surroundings, the larger surroundings - sort of all at once. Maybe this is especially appealing to me because I've always been slightly ADD.

Good topic.

[Ti Designs]

Because nothing else feels as right.

I probably don't see the same question as most. Most people put the bike away for the winter, take it out next spring and try to ride hard. It's still a test of the rider, just not one I ever want to take. My pushing myself is a test of my training, and my training is focused on that time when I put myself to the test. One explains the other. I train as much as I do because I never want to be disappointed by that test, and I'm far too honest with myself to make excuses.

[fiamme red]

Either because:

1) a dog is chasing me, or
2) I have no lights and have to get home before dark, or
3) I'm trying to catch a train.

:)

[Mshue]

I'm 42 and my son is just 15 months. When he's 15 years old, I want to be able to ride with him once in awhile.

Plus, the endorphin thing and, if I'm honest, probably some ego/vanity as well.

[nm87710]

To paraphrase Mother Ann: Anything worth doing is worth doing right. To the best of your ability. Mental and physical. Settle for nothing less. :)

[gasman]

All of the above.

I ride hardest on my most recently stolen bike.


Kidding

mostly it's an endorphin thing and trying to keep up with anyone faster than myself.

[TMB]

It's fun. Sometimes.

Sometimes not. Those days I ride slow.

I hit the gym a lot too. I was on a program to prep for a couple of major Sportives next year, both of which have fallen off he calendar, sadly.

So the motivation to ride hard, workout hard, work hard is lacking right now.

I have ridden a couple of times in the last week, slowly.

I need to find some new targets for next year to make the pushing hard seem worthwhile.

All of which is odd, as I love to ride in winter. I love to ride in the cold and snow and rain when no one else is out.

[rounder]

Because nothing else feels as right.

I probably don't see the same question as most. Most people put the bike away for the winter, take it out next spring and try to ride hard. It's still a test of the rider, just not one I ever want to take. My pushing myself is a test of my training, and my training is focused on that time when I put myself to the test. One explains the other. I train as much as I do because I never want to be disappointed by that test, and I'm far too honest with myself to make excuses.

Good post. Don't know much about the Harvard girls team, but imagine that they are strong. I hate riding in the winter. It is cold and windy. But i agree with you, gonna ride more in the winter this year. When spring comes, ain't gonna say...hey, i was slow because it was winter and i will feel fine by August. I would rather say...hey, the wind was rough...but i survived...and be halfway decent in May. It's not the destination. it's the journey.

[yarg]

Don't post much, but this thread is the best thought evoking/funny to read biking thread in a while. It is the essence of biking for 99% of people reading. I can't disagree with any reason because I have thought of them all at one time or another and laughed how each of you phrased the explanation. Cycle on.

[weisan]

...because I want to live up to my expectations.

[RFC]

Because I can. Stay strong.

[djg]

Because chix diggit?

Sometimes it's part of a deliberate plan; sometimes it's just nervous energy (I'm not a runner, but I'll sometimes break into a run while just walking down the darn sidewalk); often enough it's trying not to get dropped (or in cross, after I've already been dropped by some people pretty darn early in the race, trying not to get dropped by some other people).

[djg]

Good post. Don't know much about the Harvard girls team, but imagine that they are strong.

I'll bet they've had some terrific riders over the years but that team ability is actually pretty varied, both before and after coaching (which is not to say that they don't learn a bunch from the coaching). I mean, kids don't go to Harvard to become serious cyclists, even if some arrive such and some fall into it.

A woman TD had coached actually showed up at our team's cross race this fall, way down near DC, in a Harvard jersey -- seemed like a nice young woman and she did just fine, but no real result besides her own personal effort (and I cannot say more for myself either, even if I was in a different race).

[Ti Designs]

I'll bet they've had some terrific riders over the years but that team ability is actually pretty varied, both before and after coaching (which is not to say that they don't learn a bunch from the coaching). I mean, kids don't go to Harvard to become serious cyclists, even if some arrive such and some fall into it.


Talk about differences in motivation, the Harvard kids run the full range. It's Harvard, and while nobody goes there for the cycling program, there are some students who refuse to fail at anything they do. Every once in a while one of those students joins the cycling team and the fun begins. By fun I mean rides that start an hour before sunrise all winter long, endless hill repeats and lots of speedwork. I'm working with one of those riders now, when it's 18 degrees out I know she's gonna be the only other rider out there. In some ways it's borrowed will power - she knows that I'll be out, I know she'll be out, it just works. The other thing I can count on is that they'll move up in the sport way faster than most. Cat 4 to Cat 1 is a two year trip, and there's nothing that says a Cat 3 can't win a pro race.

A big reason for my riding hard is because I'm coaching kids half my age. At this point I'm just trying to not let on just how hard I'm riding...

[Skrawny]

I like the feeling of scraping the bottom of my barrel; that is: getting to the point where willpower is the most significant force moving me forward.

-s