Fitness
components or the latest super-
light bike.
Fix it... by framing the problem
of excess weight as a helpful
challenge. Regard the extra effort
needed as useful training load,
helping you build fitness — and
also helping you appreciate
your race bike come spring.
This more positive mindset
will better prepare you mentally
and physically.
Prevent it.... by losing weight. In
a 2010 study in the British Medical
Journal, a cyclist rode a 27-mile
journey 60 times, alternating
between a heavy (13.5kg) steel
bike and a lighter (9.5kg) carbon
bike. His average time difference
was just 32 seconds, and his fastest
ride was on the heavier bike. The
key to going faster, he concluded,
was not about the bike — it was
about getting fitter and leaner.OVERTRAINING
Don’t blame the bike
because... loving your treasured
steed is no excuse for riding it
too much, overdoing it and as a
consequence suffering injury or
overtraining. Recent research
has found that 45 per cent of
those who regularly ride over
100km are at risk of exercise
addiction — often exacerbated by
technology such as GPS devices,
Strava, social media or online
club forums. Dedication to your
training is of course important,
but you must remain vigilant and
ensure your cycling is bringing
you happiness and health, not
causing harm.
Fix it... by considering these
six statements and scoring them
between one (strongly disagree)
and five (strongly agree).- Exercise is the most important
thing in my life. - Conflicts have arisen about the
amount of cycling I do. - I use cycling to change
my mood. - Over time I have increased the
amount of cycling I do. - I feel irritable and upset if I have
to miss a training session. - If I cut down the amount of
cycling I do and then start again, I
always end up riding as often as I
did before.
If you score 24 or over, you are
at risk of cycling addiction and
should consider seeking help from
a psychologist.
Prevent it... by balancing your
riding with other work and life
commitments. Chat to your friends
and family about their perceptions
of your commitment to riding: do
they love the fact you are staying
fit and healthy, or have they
spotted a tendency to be obsessive
about your riding?
Taking responsibility
Each grumble listed here can be
dealt with by improving your
awareness, knowledge and
perspective. If we focus on
prevention, we are accountable
to ourselves, resulting in a more
resilient performance — and our
poor bikes stop being scapegoats.Why we blame our bikes
Sport psychologist Jo Davies explains why
we unfairly blame our bikes for problems of
our own creation
“We tend to attribute success to internal
factors such as effort and ability, but
attribute failure to external factors such as
luck or equipment. Blaming the bike after a
disappointing performance is essentially denial
or a defence mechanism. It helps us preserve
our positive self-image.
“Sports that require equipment provide an
easily blameable external factor: the bike is
first in the firing line. However, while blaming
equipment may help us feel better about
ourselves in the short term, it can hindermotivation and progress in the longer term.
This is because typically we cannot influence
external factors, so cannot make an action plan
to improve. Conversely, if we pinpoint internal
factors that hindered our performance, it
empowers us to make a tailored strategy for
improvement. This boosts our sense of control,
confidence and enthusiasm for future races.
“To become more accountable, cyclists should
look at how they address mistakes. Are mistakes
to be avoided at all costs? Or, are mistakes simply
feedback from which to learn, and an inevitable
part of our development? A cyclist taking on the
second perspective is far more likely to embrace
mistakes and want to learn from them by
exploring internal, changeable factors that may
have contributed to their performance.”Dedicated or addicted?
Cyclists often ride a fine line46 | January 11, 2018 | Cycling Weekly