The Pain Train

Becoming faster and stronger as an athlete requires some experimenting. A process of finding what works and what works better, while also finding out what doesn't work at all. Last year I threw myself into the experimenting warzone so to speak. I moved away from my comforts, lived in a hostel, and took only my rigid single speed with the intentions of doing nothing but riding and seeing what would happen. This was coming from years as a trained athlete, with daily scheduled routine and repetition. That scheduled routine didn't work for me, I got burned out, I went too hard, and I started to hate my bike.

For these reasons I had to get away from anything scheduled, I wanted to have fun again. As I rode more and more I couldn't shake the feelings of riding as an athlete. I knew generally the techniques and methods of getting fast, even though it was what I didn't want to do. As I went with the crowd and started to do more and more races in the area, the desire to rip shit started to grow more and more, and it seemed my mind was consumed by racing again. This time on a rigid single speed.

I rode hard for the first few races but as form improved, so did my results. I just couldn't get the top end speed that I knew was there. Because I was totally winging riding(no coach, just general knowledge) I emailed a friend, and former Canada Games coach Sue Rodgers on how I could build this top end speed I would need to ride at the top.

Sue said that what I was lacking was probably on the mental aspect. She said to find the longest hill I could find, and ride up it as hard as I could until I could taste puke in my mouth, then slow down, and do it again. This, she said, would help me break down the mental barrier in my mind.

So, the next day I rode as hard as I could. I called it riding "The Pain Train." Many times while racing(especially on a single speed) you ride so hard you don't know whether your going to throw up, or shit you pants, or both at the same time. It took a few solid runs, but I finally got to that state.....after that I limped home and collapsed on my couch. A couple days later, I did the same thing. It seems after you know what to expect, it gets a little bit easier to push to that level.

A few weeks later was another Van Isle Cup race. I prepared as normal, and managed a 3rd in Elite(of 30ish). Needless to say, I was a little bit more able to cope with the pace of pushing myself to the red line, and dealing with the throw up/shit my pants feelings. After that race, I had the confidence and the knowledge, just how hard I could push, and I managed to have a great season.