Run down by Tubby Town!

On a recent ride in the Sierra Nevada foothills with two cycling buddies, the subject of mind over matter came up. How do you keep pedaling strong when you feel like you’re ticket’s been punched? Where do you get more gas in your tank when you feel like you’re running on empty?

That’s a good one to ponder. Our minds can mess with us when we’re getting tired on the bike. But if we tell ourselves we’re tired, we let the negatory bug work against us. And that’s a crack in the armor of endurance.

But knowing that, I have a strategy to keep that self-defeatism at bay.

I make up my mind to keep the word “tired” out of my head. Or any word or phrase with roughly the same meaning, like “exhausted,” “all-in”, “I got nothin’ left,” or the unmistakable groans of suffering that come out as, “ughgg…”

So, if you’re slogging along on a long climb or toward the end of a 50, 60 or 70 mile ride and you feel those negatory man, you’re tired thoughts trying to bang into your brain, just keep on pedaling, doing your best to burnish your denial skills. Because sometimes, after you think you’ve hit the wall, with nothing left in the tank, you surprise yourself. You find another gear that was hidden deep within.

Now, the main way I’ve discovered that buried gear is when I decide to challenge myself; call myself out. Yes, the overinflated ego can be plugged in to pull up a well disguised extra gear. It just takes a little prodding of the ol’ pride to scare it up.

To make sure I crack the whip on mostly flat terrain rides I do just to stay in shape, I make a few vows:

• I will ride as brisk a pace as I can that I can keep without burning out.

• If anybody passes me, I will get on their rear wheel no matter how fast they are going – unless it’s a recognizable Tour de France sprinter.

• I will do all I can to pass and ultimately drop them.

So when I’m riding along and suddenly get passed, I pretend the passer is challenging me to a little race. They may not be, but this sparks the afterburners!

So even if I really am tired, I take the challenge and dig deep to start a burst of speed then work to keep that faster pace. I can safely say, not all, but most times I am able to eventually pass the rider that passed me. Sometimes I feel strong enough to do it relatively soon.

Other times, when I have to work awhile just to get on their rear wheel, I do that, then catch my breath while drafting them. Then I blow past them with a friendly thumbs up or wave, my way of saying thanks for getting me off my kiester and making me push myself! At that point I work on getting far enough ahead to drop ‘em!                 

Once I came across a rider that I initially had pegged as a guy who was too fat to be a fast rider, as he easily passed me up while I was going close to 20 mph.

“What? This guy’s too tubby to keep that pace up for long,” I said to myself. “I’m going to catch him, pass him, and drop him.”

So I got on it, and really had to work to catch this guy. I tailed him a little bit, then really punched it, passing him, doing all I could to keep my pace, which was an all out sprint. After a time I let up because I was tired. And that’s when Tubby Town, as I called him, in his sausage wrap, tan spandex riding kit, passed my ass again -- with seeming ease!

I was not only tired, but I couldn’t believe Tubby Town had that kind of stamina! Here, I had found somebody that liked to pass other relatively fast riders as much as I did.

“No way this guy can keep that pace,” I reassured myself as I dug deep to try to run him down again.

This guy was strong as an ox, and he was fast. And while he may have been tubby, the dude was fit, riding like he’d just been unfairly fired and had some venting to do.

I decided my goal would be to catch him before we got to an upcoming bridge on the bike trail, then do all I could to keep ahead of him. I was in my highest gear and built up speed as I slowly reeled him back in. Tubby Town had a relentless pace. This guy was killing me! But as the small ascent to the bridge neared, I passed him again and gave it all I had riding up to the bridge’s crest. At that point, all the chasing caught up with me and I slowed down to catch my breath.

And hey, wouldn’t you know it? That’s when Tubby Town passed me again!

I knew then that Tubby Town had more pedal power than I did that day. Whipped and dropped, I was more than happy to tip my helmet to him.

That was a serious workout courtesy of Tubby Town. It wasn’t until the last time he passed me on the bridge that I realized I’d been fooled by his tubbiness, which was probably due to a lot of muscle rather than fat. So we may think we can outlast a rider just by sizing them up, but believe me, there are very beneficial surprises out there!

So thanks, Tubby Town, for mopping me up on the bike trail that day. You gave me a solid challenge that was fun to take on, even though you schooled me. But it was a good thing, because I learned not to judge a rider by his spandex, and got stronger during the lesson. Ride on!

And now, check out this video that my riding buddy Pat put together with his GoPro in May while doing a climb in Italy. He’s got it going on with some uplifting music. Enjoy...

Thanks Pat, nice stuff!

So until next time, remember to always put on a helmet before getting on the bike. And then, remember, at all costs, 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