The Mental Game

For those of you that live on the Front Range in Colorado, you know we had some amazing weather this last week with temperatures in the 80's. Now the new week starts with snow. Spring time in the Rockies is always interesting as the weather just can't make up its mind.

I ran into a similar mindset as I went for a ride Saturday with late start. I attempted to go to my favorite trail, Hall Ranch, but the lot was full. After trying a few other trail-heads and continually pulling up to completely full parking lots, I found myself back at Rabbit Mountain. Ironically, the lot was almost completely empty. Realizing I left my bike computer at home rendering my heart rate monitor strap useless, I almost called it a day as so many barriers had kept me from enjoying the trails so far. Ultimately, I ditch the strap and start riding. The first few turns on the initial climb go fairly well but I pushed a little too hard, climbed too fast and am soon out of breath, stopping to catch it. A little further along I have to stop again. That's when the mental game got going.

I'm thinking this sucks, I'm dying, I should just turn around now... but the weather won't be this nice next week... and so on. I feel cooked, dead, completely done in. After struggling internally for a few minutes I notice that my heart feels like it's returning to normal speed and realize how much I rely on my bike computer to keep me in the right heart rate zone. I start to think about what brought me out in the first place, the joy I find in riding my bicycle. Deciding to push on, I re-mount my orange steed and pedal my way up to the start of the second section of the trail. Feeling good about my decision to push though my mental barrier, my wall.

These walls creep up from time to time, keeping us from the things and activities we love. Finding a way back to that love can be a daunting task that may seem to be easier to avoid at first. Though, if we can fight our way through, we not only remember the love but feel it again, renewed.

I love riding my bike, have since I got my first one at 5 years old. Sometimes I can be too technical and too detailed, it can distract me from living. Remembering to find the simple joy in what I was doing was the reminder I needed to push though that wall and enjoy the rest of the day's ride. Sometimes we need to take a step back in order to shift our perspective from winter survival mode back to the world of living. Let the joy find you!

Thought for the week...
"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow." - Albert Einstein

Have a Camtastic Ride...