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Motivation Monday: Going Gravel

It's been no secret for the past few seasons that the gravel bike market has been steadily picking up steam.  Recent trends from Eurobike and the Sea Otter Classic certainly point to this trend as a fact.  Whether it's the machinations of the cycling industry feeding us new (and expensive) gear to gobble up or a true shift in cycling culture remains to be seen.

What does not remain to be seen, however, is the fact that riding “off the beaten path” or “gravel grinding” is fun.  Really fun.  In fact, it's some of the best fun you can have on two wheels.

Regular readers will recognize that I've long been a huge proponent of riding on unpaved surfaces.  From tips about dirt road riding to an unhealthy obsession with racing Battenkill a number of times, I've been churning through dust and dirt for years.  I've done a lot of road, crit and track racing since the Battenkill years, taking me away from the dirt.  This year I decided to return to the unpaved madness for Monkey Knife Fight 9 and seriously put my gravel grinding legs to the test.  To say I failed would be critical: I simply didn't hack it all.  Partly due to fitness, partly motivation and a little touch of equipment choice made for a long day.

Well, it's time to rectify that with a #newbikeday.  But why did I choose to go this route?  For this Motivation Monday, I'll chat about the road less traveled, why it's so nice and why you should think about turning down it.

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Motivation Monday: Monkey Knife Fight For Fun and Fitness Profit

It's been no secret that last year was a tough year for me when it comes to riding a bike.  I spent much of the year planning and executing a plan, but not a typical training plan.  No, buying a business (most of you know I'm a chiropractor by trade) was a plan unlike any other that sucked most of the time out of my life.  I raced all of four races last year and put in the fewest training hours I've logged in any year in the last half a decade.

Because of that, and because I now have the additional responsibilities of running a practice, it's time for a renaissance of sorts.

“Friends don't let friends get fat”

I had been looking for a little motivation to build my early season on.  Sitting on the trainer isn't the most fun, so a fun early season target would be most welcome.  What was out there that would be worth doing, though?

This most recent challenge, which I intend to document in a series called “Motivation Monday” is based on a challenge/request from a friend of mine (thanks, Nate!)  Nate, much like myself, spent much of last year on the sidelines, albeit for very different reasons.  Those reasons don’t really matter, suffice to say he was in the saddle less than I was.  Recently, when he texted me and asked if I had any interest in an early season ride, he framed it a little differently then most requests people make:

“Monkey Knife Fight – April 14th.  I've been intrigued by this ride for a few years and I should really stop being fat.  Any interest?”

How can you say no to that?

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Quick Tips For Maintaining Cycling Motivation

How do you maintain cycling motivation through a season?  What about those people who seem to race season after season and still have the drive to compete?  It seems like some people are able to keep going out and riding for years on end.  Those cyclists never get tired of training and they always have an infectious enthusiasm about the sport.  Riders like that have a unique kind of cycling motivation that we all envy a little bit.

How do you grow that kind of cycling motivation?  How do you keep climbing on your bike every week and have enthusiasm about flogging yourself for a couple of hours of training?  Wouldn't it be nice to wake up every morning and be excited about the day's workout?

Just like you, I struggle with motivation sometimes.  When the mercury hits triple digits or it's drizzling outside, it's easy to sit in front of the TV with a coffee and watch racing on TV.  But if you want to become a beast, you have to train like one.  That means having the motivation to get off your sofa and onto your saddle.

Here are a few tips to help you keep your motivation levels up.

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Pinning On A Number Again – My Return To Racing Post Injury

Most of you are aware that I spent most of the last year on the sidelines after I crashed out of an early season race.  That day started like every other race I'd ever ridden.  I arrived early, checked in at registration, got help from my teammates with pinning on a number (37 it turned out), took an Instagram photo of it to share and then went about warming up.  Fast forward to a few weeks post surgery and my season was as shattered as my collarbone.

While waiting for my fractures to heal and my strength to return, I wondered how I would go about getting back in the pack.  I spent the rest of the year training solo to regain the fitness and form I had lost during recovery.  I jumped into numerous group rides in hopes of shaking my daemons.  In reality, I was hoping to be pinning on a number again soon.

I admittedly had a very hard time with those first group rides after getting back on the bike.  I got dropped on group rides with my teammates that I used to dominate.  My fitness was fine, I just wasn't holding the wheels I needed to be.  I wasn't comfortable getting in tight with a peloton, even if it was made of my own teammates.

I had lost my mojo.  And I wasn't sure how to get it back.

I had always found it easy to move through a pack of riders.  Find an empty spot and claim it.  Use your elbows to assert your claim to your little space in the group.  Don't be afraid to put your hand on someone else's hip and let them know you're there.  These are the things I not only taught fledgling racers, but the things I did every weekend after pinning on a number.

Now I was afraid to do them all.

As the winter wore on, I sat on my trainer and wondered how I was going to get back to racing a bike, an activity which I loved dearly but was now terrified of.

Then I hatched a plan…

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Cycling’s Emotional Cost

Forget the financial cost of riding a bike (which can be pricey to say the least), there's also a significant emotional cost incurred with becoming entangled with this sport we love so dearly.  See?  There's a perfect example of it right there: “the sport we love so dearly.” What is it about cycling that reaches deep down into our soul and entwines our psyche into the sport?

See?  There's a perfect example of it right there: “the sport we love so dearly.” What is it about cycling that reaches deep down into our soul and entwines our psyche into the sport?

What is it about cycling that reaches deep down into our soul and entwines our psyche into the sport?  Why do we become obsessed with the thrill of the open road, the search for fitness and the company of friends and teammates?

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