Cycling is a mental game.  Not in general, mind you, but at the upper echelons there is little to distinguish one rider from another (unless they are a doper).  That quality is what seperates the the normal, good riders and great riders from each other.  I recall listening to a conversation between Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls fame) and Anthony Robins.  Tony was asking what made Michael so great and, according to the speech, Michael got a little fired up when he replied that it wasn’t the fact that he trained more or harder than most (although he did train more and that had some impact)  that he had an internal drive to get up every morning where he didn’t strive to be better than this guy or that, rather, to become better than the best that he could be.

Translating that: the upper echelons of sports are all mental, training for most athletes being about equal, it isn’t your training that seperates the good from great riders (although that is what gets you into the upper levels of being a competitive athlete), it’s an individuals mental state.

Presently, I’m a mess.  Some days I’m feeling good, some days I feel invincible, other days my mental state is anything but.  Days like today where I change into my cycling kit (read as jersey, bib shorts, etc.), get my two bottles of water ready, apply sunscreen to my arms, legs and face, make sure the tires are inflated and hop onto the bike and start riding.

As I exit my community and add a few miles of distance to my riding… something just doesn’t feel right.  I turn around, ride a few mile home, shower, change and then post to my blog.