Dig down to the core, climb to the top

Cyclists that do a lot of climbing and riding know one thing: Suffering is involved. Especially with a long, steep climb. Suffering, in that there is discomfort encountered while keeping the bike moving up a long, varying grade, with continuous pedaling.

Of course, this is where our relative fitness comes in. It is where we see how well we respond to an extended physical challenge.

Suffering is something that any endurance athlete is familiar with. Marathoners, tri-athletes, professional road cyclists, and many others know it well. These athletes don’t fear suffering, they see it as part of the deal, and learn how to perform with it.

They learn how to keep a rhythm in their breathing and their motion that allows them to relax their bodies as much as possible while under duress. They know that tension is their enemy under duress; that it will lock up muscles and bring them to a halt. They push away tension by relaxing as many muscles in their body as possible while maintaining the breathing and motion of running or cycling or swimming. They manage to keep moving efficiently, even when they’re at the brink of maxing out physically.

The best way for a cyclist to successfully climb up a mountain without stopping is to have an attitude about it. That is, a stubbornness, a mental toughness. That starts with not ever thinking about the suffering ahead, which blocks out any negative thoughts. It is a quiet resolve to keep moving, to slog it out when the going gets tough, and maintain forward progress all the way to the top of the climb.

Now, this means you need enough energy food in your system before a climb, and a couple of full, tall water bottles on the bike. And when the climb turns really tough on extra steep pitches, stubbornness, and single-mindedness take over. Will keeps a rider moving uphill. It blocks out any stray thoughts of how hard the climb is, how tired the rider is, how great more water would be. That it would be great to be at the top right now. Instead, the determined rider digs deep into his or her core to keep all systems going forward despite the suffering.

No doubt, the mental toughness to endure and continue to move ahead while under physical duress comes natural to some, and is learned by others.

Those that learn it, essentially learn not to listen to any negative thoughts and doubts about their strength when challenged. They refuse to even consider bailing out when it gets tough. They instead learn to be curious about how far they can push their limits and still keep pedaling. They learn how to break through what had been mental barriers to improving their physical stamina.

I remember a climb my buddy Marc and I did a few months ago of Mount Hamilton, where an observatory sits in the mountains east of San Jose, Northern California. It’s a very long slog to the top, and I remember the last thousand feet of climbing required from me a full on survivor mentality to keep going. It was sunny and hot, no wind. I was out of water, tired, but the road just kept going on, seemingly endlessly, with the white domed Lick Observatory at the top looking like it wasn’t getting closer nearly fast enough. I had to concentrate on pushing away my suffering and maintain my pedaling and breathing. I knew if I stopped, I would lose my momentum, and being tired, it would take even more energy to get moving again.

Not only that, I figured stopping was giving in. So I just relied on my stubbornness to keep going, gut it out, no matter what. We find out a lot about ourselves in these situations. How well do we respond to a major physical challenge?

There are more than a few riders and runners, who aren’t interested in taking on a challenge that pushes them beyond their normal pain thresholds. They don’t think it’s worth it and stop. And that’s fine, no big deal.

But many riders thrive on challenges, and are competitive. So a challenging climb that backs them up against a wall is right up their alley. They want to see for themselves if they have what it takes. Making it to the top without stopping on a tough climb doesn’t make them better than anybody else, although some naturally like to have bragging rights over their buddies!

I like to think of it as a personal physical test that shows us where we stand. It’s fine if we can’t hack it, and stop and rest. It’s impossible for any rider to feel at full strength on every ride. We have strong days, middling days and sluggish days. But we can always test ourselves. Pushing our endurance limits on climbs is a good habit, especially if we feel heavy and slow on a ride. It’ll give us that much more zip on full strength days.

Here’s a video of a rider recently climbing Mt. Ham that was posted on YouTube. Just watching this brought me right back to the suffering I felt on it. This rider is determined to keep pedaling up the road while hot, tired and no doubt thirsty. He keeps his breathing and pedal rhythm, and impressively hangs tough all the way to the top. Once he gets up there, he does what Marc and I did, headed for the shade. There was reward: a chilled water fountain was right there, as well as soda and snack machines. Right about then it’s hard to think of a more welcome sight!

Check this out and see a rider who is up to the task of not giving in to suffering on a tough climb:

Wow! Way to go!

Until next time, remember to strap on a helmet before every ride. And then, do your damndest to keep the rubber side down!
-- Mark Eric Larson

Mark Eric Larson has written two books of essays, "The NERVE...of Some People's Kids," and "Don't Force it, Get a Bigger Hammer. To read, visit: 
http://www.scribd.com/Mark%20Eric%20Larson/shelf