CAT7RDR

Just a recreational rider that enjoys climbs.
If I can tune out and forget I'm climbing, I'm content with my effort.
Almost 60 y/o now, and fighting COVID this week, so there will be some mental gymnastics from loss of conditioning next week, after my first ride back, Lord willing.

Sometimes, it is about not pushing too hard and being content with a short spin rather than "trying to prove" something my body is not ready for.
Silencing the internal critic also requires some mental discipline.

RChung

There have been a bunch of studies over the years on what are called "associative and dissociative cognitive strategies" in endurance exercise, especially running. Much of this was spurred by research on elite marathon runners from the 1970's, who seemed to use a more "associative" strategy in their running. I haven't kept up with this area but I believe it's now thought that a slightly "dissociative" strategy where athletes tend to perform better if they are (slightly) distracted. If so, then maybe rather than thinking that the issue is mental discipline, you might look for ways to "entertain" or chop up a difficult ride into a little chunks each of which you can celebrate, or which you can reward yourself for.

dennis336

Interesting, and yeah, those two techniques (dissociative strategy and breaking up the difficult ride into smaller parts) seems to be the common theme and techniques in this thread that people use Makes sense and is kind of intuitive ... doing so consistently is the key.

dennis336

Exactly, in each of recent big (for me) hill climbs I've done, I did read up on the length of the climb and the average/max grade so I was fairly confident that, while a stretch, I could do it. Which makes it sillier when I let myself go negative during the ride. I guess, to my credit, I've only bailed on one ride and not so much because of the difficulty as it just wasn't fun for me and the bike I was riding wasn't really right. It ended up being an "adventure ride". Early in the ride was about a mile of sand that I had to walk around, then some trails with rocks and tree roots in the way - more a mountain biking terrain. The breaking point for me was the river crossing. Not the kind of ride I enjoy and my Surly Disc Trucker wasn't the optimal bike for that kind of ride ​​​​​​​

Lambkin55

No, we took US 2 because I figured it would be fewer miles and less climbing. My riding partner HATED the spot through Hungry Horse, but we made it fine.

terrymorse 

A mental trick I use when not doing well on a climb:

I imagine someone I passed earlier is now chasing, and closing the gap.

It often works.

indyfabz

Going east to west, the back way is tame, but it does have some gravel. At least it did as of 2017. There was more gravel back in 2009, but road improvements have been made over time. It might be all paved by now. That route is a major bear thoroughfare. Never had the luck of seeing one in five rides that way.

I took U.S. 2 going east way back in 2000, but it was pretty early in the morning, so traffic wasn’t bad.

indyfabz

Imagine it’s Larry S. It will probably work better.

indyfabz

Ain’t that the truth!

HarborBandS

It's amazing to me how fast the final ten miles of a century can go when you are motivated to just end the ride. For me, any ride longer than a metric century involves some level of misery that must be overcome, and I just want it to be over faster.

But the most difficult rides I've ever had were shorter rides where I miscalculated the amount of water or food that was needed. Dehydration and bonking are just awful, and can sometimes make a 40 mile ride in summer heat more miserable than any century. Those have been my darkest moments on my bike.

Sierra_rider

This approach probably doesn't work for everyone, but I kinda think of my fitness/accomplishments as a credit card to myself. Meaning that if I'm suffering on a ride, I tend to think about the future fitness gains this ride will elicit rather than the pain that I'm experiencing in the present...I'm just taking a loan out on the enjoyment of my future success. With this approach, the pain actually feels good in some mysterious way. It helps that I enjoy the process more than the end result, even outside of my cycling endeavors, this holds true for me.

If I'm suffering so much that I can't find enjoyment in the pain, I just coerce myself into pushing on. Case in point would be the 2023 Death Ride...at 103 miles and 14k' of elevation gain over a few Sierra passes, it's a hard enough event. The most recent one had the added element of extreme heat, it hit a high of 105F in Markleeville. I ended up having one of my worst days of the year during this ride and was completely cracked at the top of Ebbett's Pass at mile 55. Finishing the ride seemed like an insurmountable task, but I was too worried about looking like a quitter to friends, family, and myself(which is an absurd worry.) So after a break to clear my mind, I slowly kept spinning along, and ticking off the miles/feet. I've ridden all those climbs many times before, so knowing what was in store made it even harder for me, but I managed to finish.

Sierra_rider

That's similar to the method I sometimes use during shorter XC MTB races. If I'm off the front on an attack, and I start to feel like I can't hold the pace, I just think about how the guys behind me are now gunning for me. I know how much I enjoy it when I'm able to catch an attacker, so I really don't want to provide that satisfaction to someone else.

downtube42

Those mental gymnastics, once learned, make the formerly impossible merely difficult, requiring one to pursue even more extreme challenges in search of the almost-impossible. It's a process that leads to a lifetime of hardship and suffering.

I can compel myself to leave a perfectly fine hotel, go out into the pouring rain to ride around a peninsula for an entire day and evening, repairing anything that should happen to break, fuel myself with convenience store fare, motivate myself through the perfectly healthy and sane desire to quit at any opportunity, monitor and repair any mental or physical health issues that arise, return to that same hotel for 3-4 hours of sleep, to go out and do it again. These skills of toughness, persistence, drive to finish, roadside bike repair, navigation in dark rainy conditions, and self care are, as far as I have observed, of absolutely no value whatsoever in the modern world where I normally live.

We randos call it "doing stupid things with friends."

dennis336

My first reaction is those skills (toughness, persistence, drive to finish, etc) can have much value outside of cycling. Kind of like when we tell our kids when doing sports that while it's great to enjoy the sport/activity, there's much to be gained that can be transferred to "life" outside of the activity. It's possible you apply those values in a more extreme way to your cycling, but I'm guessing there's at least some crossover benefit to other areas of your life!

Jughed

The OP mentioned Mt Mitchell...

I'm not a climber by nature, power to weight ratio isn't my friend and my time in the mountains is very limited.

Mitchell had me questioning life and my decision-making abilities.

The base of the climb is 1200' elevation - typical hot and humid North Carolina weather. Started out at 85 degrees and dry, the peak was supposed to be clear and 60 degrees.

26 miles, 6500+/- of climbing with some ups and downs in the mix. It's a long slog for a non climber.

2/3 the way up and the fog rolled in, the temps dropped into the low 30's. I was in a pair of shorts and a short-sleeved jersey.

I was cold, tired and miserable.

The final turn off the BRP up to the summit of the mountain gave me some fresh energy - I was almost there!!

Fog got thicker, road was a steady 8-10%+, wind was howling - and it started to rain.

Had to get to the top, had to reach the observation tower - quitting was not an option.

The final push from the parking lot to the observation tower is a path made of brick, slippery brick, and is about 17%. Can't walk it in bike shoes when its wet - needed to ride up.

As I stood there contemplating making this short final push, there was a very large man sitting on a bench struggling to catch his breath. He started to complain to me about the walk from the parking lot to the bench he was sitting on - it flat wore him out to walk a few hundred yards.

I was that man - too big to walk... that was my motivation to reach the peak. That is my motivation to push thru these tough rides.

BobbyG

About 15 years ago, while getting back in shape after a year off the bike post injury, I began listening to spoken-word podcasts, curbside ear only to help distract myself from the physical discomfort. I found music, even in one ear masked traffic noise too much, even though I use a glasses-mount mirror, it would lead to too many surprises on the streets, and I mostly commute.

I also tried audio books, but like the printed books they're based on, I felt the need to occasionally, stop, pause, consider or review, which was difficult when riding...although with my current phone and headset I can now pause, rewind and jump ahead with voice commands...but still, sometimes it's hard to concentrate while riding in traffic.

What works best for me is a conversational interview podcast...first, because I think the human brain can more easily keep track of ambient sounds while listening to a voice, rather than the abstract sounds of music; secondly, because in natural conversation, the speaker is usually concerned with making sure they are being understood by the listener, and delivers their thoughts in such a way as to be understood with regard to word choice, pacing, sentence structure and if need be repetition...although this is all done unconsciously. And for the last 5 years I can now pause and rewind by voice if need be.

However, since starting my new job 20 months ago, I stopped listening while I became familiarized with my new routes and their traffic patterns, plus the new scenery. I'm finding that I also am listening less on my longer weekend pleasure rides, but when the going gets tough or boredom sets in I have turned on a podcast to distract myself.

dennis336

Great story ... and congrats for making it to the top. Sometimes it's ugly but it's still a great accomplishment!

pdlamb

Dang it, now you tell me! I rode through there and noticed the sign for the dam, but never noticed the town. I think it failed my daughter's definition of a town: it has at least one of the following (1) a stop sign or traffic light for the road; (2) a church with the town name on the road; or (3) a post office.

FWIW, a lot of people talk about the shoulderless section of U.S. 2. We left Apgar after breakfast and striking camp heading west, and really didn't have any problem. What traffic there was managed to pass us without any drama.

rsbob 

That’s because they are.

Lambkin55

I really can't explain it but I have always had an ability to shift into what I call "Death March Mode".
I discover it in high school during endurance type sports. It got refined in college. I learned to apply that mental trick to studying in college and post grad too. Later that mental approach served me well in the military. As I say, I cannot explain it, I just know that I have to ability to put my head down and power forward when others are falling off. Its like I can take my mind to a different place and just keep cranking. When I am in that mode I don't see the sights along the way. That bothers me because normally I am a smell the roses kind of guy.

rsbob 

I know exactly what you are describing. What is ironic is that it happens when I am doing a long uphill hike, and I just set my mind to powering through. Almost get tunnel vision and all I can feel is my heart, lungs and legs working. It’s almost machine-like where I am so focused in the moment everything else becomes inconsequential. I have had it happen on a couple of very steep bike hill climbs as well. It’s a very strange phenomena.

Lambkin55

Yes! "Tunnel Vision" is a good way to express it!