By: Molly Hurford Mar 26

There’s something about riding 130 miles in a day, 4 days in a row, that makes a group of 20 people with absolutely nothing in common, aside from a deep-seeded love of bikes, suddenly become the best of friends. Additionally, there’s something about it that makes that new group of best buddies decide that a bathrobe party at two in the morning is not only a good idea, it has to happen.


That’s what Tim Johnson’s Ride on Washington was about (I don’t mean bathrobes!): Bringing unlikely people together to talk about what really matters in bike advocacy. For some of us, that means finding safe routes to school so kids can ride bikes. For others, it means more bike paths in inner city areas. For still others among us, it’s about promoting cycling for women and improving the lives of women racers. Whatever the cause, the overarching goal is to make people more aware of bikes. That’s why Tim and Bikes Belong host the ride, and that’s why the 20 of us put up with each other for 538 miles, from Boston to Washington, DC. Because we all believe that bikes are important for so, so many reasons. Chances are if you’re reading this, you think that too, whether you’re a racer or a commuter or simply a bike advocate.

The ride opened my eyes to a lot of things. For one, I learned that I am capable of holding 400 watts on a downhill, then sprinting up the next climb. I also learned that after 500 miles in 4 days, my heart rate refuses to hit anything over 150, no matter how hard I try. I learned just how important chamois cream really is. I learned that there is no modestly among cyclists, especially when it comes to public urination. Maybe that part wasn’t a highlight of the trip for me, but it definitely showcased how cycling is the great equalizer. It doesn’t matter if you’re a CEO, a bike mechanic, young, old, male, female: when you gotta go, and there are only fields around, guess what? You’re peeing in the field next to whoever happens to be with you. The only weird part about that was how not weird it was.

My capabilities as a cyclist were put to the test each day, when we had miles to go before we slept, and even when we did get to sleep, it was rarely for more than 4 hours at a time. Of course, this isn’t to say it was a hardship. Between nice hotel rooms every night, a neutral support car during the ride, celebrity chefs (well, celebrities to us athletes, anyway) and authors of The Feed Zone Cookbook cooking for us and providing in-ride nutrition in the form of rice cakes and their drink mix, Skratch, I’ve become incredibly spoiled. In fact, when I go out on a ride later today, I’m pretty sure if I do flat, I’ll wait around assuming that the SRAM follow car will be pulling up any minute.


But when you’re one of three women on the trip, and you’re also the only non-pro woman, surrounded by amazing athletes like six-time National Champion Tim Johnson, guess what? It’s hard, no matter how much support there is. Especially when time is of the essence and no one wants to be the first to admit that the pace is getting to them.

The first day, a mere 113 miles in the rain from Boston to Hartford, my heartrate soared as I pumped my SRAM Red-equipped bike up the hills. Maybe switching to a compact crank would have been a good move, because some hills, I was literally standing on the pedals, giving new meaning to the phrase “smashing” hills. It hurt. And it was exhausting.

At breakfast the next morning, I overheard two of the stronger guys talking, complaining that the first day had been entirely too easy. “My heartrate never went above 155,” the one said. I thought I was going to cry, since my heartrate the day before had been averaging around 160 the entire time, redlining for a good chunk of the climbing. It made me nervous. With four days of riding to go, was I going to be tough enough to hack it?

Turns out, you’re exactly as tough as you think you are. A few miles into the Hartford to NYC stretch, I suddenly decided that my attitude sucked. I was worried about staying on a wheel, stressing myself out, bringing my heartrate higher than it needed to be. “You got this,” I reminded myself. “You’re kind of a badass.”


The crazy thing about riding so much in such a short time is that your brain pretty much goes through the stages of grief. There’s denial: “My legs don’t hurt. This saddle isn’t killing me. I’m not hungry.” There’s bargaining: “Legs, just let me get up this hill and I swear I’ll eat a whole sleeve of Shot Bloks.” There’s anger: “Goddammit, when is this hill going to end?” There’s depression: “I’m never going to make it to the end of this ride.” And then, there’s acceptance: “I got this.” And then you hang on to that wheel in front of you for dear life, you watch the miles tick away, you see the city line in the distance, and you know that you made it.

It’s an awesome feeling.

I know for some people on the ride, doing 538 miles in 5 days wasn’t that big of a deal. And I’ve done endurance, I’ve done 30 hour training weeks before. But to do so much in so short a time, to prove such an important point and send such a cool message… now that’s just awesome. I’ve never ridden with so many committed, talented people, and I sincerely hope to do so again in the future. It reminded me that the bike community is unlike any other, where as long as you love the ride, you can be friends.

We are the lucky ones. When I think about how few people could take time out of their lives and do that ride, and how few people could actually handle finishing that ride, I realize just how lucky I am.

To donate to Bikes Belong, a truly awesome organization that is making a huge difference in our community, check out their website

By: Molly Hurford Mar 8

“In order to reach their potential, athletes must sustain a high level of motivation over many years of practice and competition.“ -Brent Hansen

Motivation, Edward Deci states, is the culmination of energy and direction of behavior. He says, “Energy in motivation theory is fundamentally a matter of needs… Direction in motivation theory concerns the processes and structures of the organism that give meaning to internal and external stimuli, thereby directing action toward the satisfaction of needs.” While the second part of that isn’t the most interesting read, I love that he calls motivation “energy and direction.”

With temperatures dropping back down to unsuitable-for-habitation levels upon moving back to New England after a month in Georgia, my motivation to get outside and ride has been at an all-time low. In addition to the chilly temperatures and snow on the ground in my new stomping ground of Easthampton, Massachusetts, I’m mid-move and inundated with work, so my time to play outside has also hit an all-time low. That said, since what I’m working on is primarily cycling-related work and writing, I’m more excited about cycling than ever before. Just maybe not about putting on booties to go for a spin. And while my tempo riding and power outputs are better than they’ve ever been, I just don’t have it in me to do intervals in the cold right now. But as the house comes together and my schedule becomes more worked out as I adjust to my new living situation, I find the motivation to ride and to really excel this season slowly creeping back after going into hiding for the past week.
That brings me to my point today: motivation.


Martin Hagger writes, “It is believed by many that motivation is the foundation of sport performance and achievement. Without motivation, even the most gifted performer is unlikely to reach his or her athletic potential.” That’s a scary thought for someone who is feeling distinctly unmotivated to actually go out and do anything.

Then, Brent Hansen, in an article for The Journal of Physical Education, claims that, “Motivation is thought to encompass ‘personality factors, social variables, and/or cognitions that are assumed to come into play when a person undertakes a task at which he or she is evaluated, enters into competition with others, or attempts to attain some standard of excellence.’” Sounds like cycling to me. And while it’s easy to say that all of us are striving for that standard of excellence, as Hansen so aptly puts it, some of us are better at striving 24/7, while the rest of us have other, conflicting motivators in play.

Deci suggests that, “The study of motivation is an inquiry into the why of behavior.” So, in the off-season, why am I less motivated? I still love cycling just as much as I did back in September, that hasn’t changed. I still have big goals for next season, that hasn’t changed. So what has changed?

Motivation, at it’s most basic, can be defined as our driving force. In 1943, Maslow wrote in the Psychological Review that, “There are 5 sets of goals (basic needs) which are related to each other and are arranged in a hierarchy of prepotency. When the most prepotent goal is realized, the next higher need emerges.” So perhaps my lack of motivation when it comes to getting out on the bike comes from the fact that, with so much other stimuli to focus on, so many other goals to attain (like getting a couch through my front door), my motivation is being used to focus on basic needs (in this case, a “nesting instinct” setting in), therefore pushing cycling goals (since it is the off-season) farther down the hierarchy scale. Arguably, because I spent the last month strictly focusing on cycling, perhaps my brain was ready to shift gears and find new goals, since training, while going well, is fairly redundant.

In fact, Hagger says something to that very effect on the topic of elite athletes’ motivations:

“In the case of elite sport, however, much of training is not very interesting and, although essential to improving performance, extremely repetitive and monotonous. Research has demonstrated, though, that even the most tedious aspects of training can be transcended through the use of interest-enhancing strategies that assist an individual’s internalization of self-determined motivations regulations.”

So, for those who have trouble internalizing motivation and rely on external motivation, their susceptibility to burnout is raised. This is especially important, right, in the off-season. During racing season, internal motivation can easily be overlooked in favor of external motivation, i.e racing on a regular basis. But in the off-season, with the first race months away, it’s hard to find that internal motivation to keep training.


So how will I get over this unmotivated slump? It’s a good thing I just moved to Western Massachusetts, home to racers like Jeremy Powers, Justin Lindine, Jeremy Durrin and Evan Huff. Not to mention, I’ll be living with a good friend, and even better racer, once he gets back from training in Tucson. Hagger believes that this can be the answer, since “social context has a powerful effect upon the forms of motivation adopted by the athlete.”

Because, let’s face it, being intrinsically motivated all of the time is nearly impossible. Rather, Hagger notes, “Previous research that has examined the motivation of elite-level sport performers has suggested that their behavior is not solely intrinsically motivated, that multiple motives are likely to exist, and that the social conditions defining one’s participation are likely to have significant effect on the motivation process.”

So while we might be intrinsically motivated to some extent, it’s really things like our social structures and competitive natures that keep us heading out the door to ride every day, whether it’s alone in hopes of nailing those intervals, or with a group in hopes of showing off on that insanely steep hill that keeps kicking your a$$. (Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything…)


Of course, what it all comes back to, no matter where you live or who you live with, is you. Think beating your friends is going to keep you motivated forever? Far from it, and Hagger adds that, “maladaptive training responses are more likely to occur when an athlete’s reason for participating shifts to a more extrinsic motivation regulation representing a loss of autonomy.”

So if you’re not motivated for your own sake, it might be time to reassess and remember why you love to ride to begin with. I did that today when I was out on my ride, and you know what? Flying down a hill at 45 MPH, face numb from the cold wind, I have never felt more alive, or more happy to be right here, right now at this point in my life. Talk about intrinsic motivation.

SOURCES:
Maslow, A. H. “A theory of human motivation.” Psychological Review, Vol 50(4), Jul 1943

Sturman, Ted S. “Achievement Motivation and Type A Behavior as Motivational Orientations” Journal of Research in Personality Volume 33, Issue 2, June 1999

Hansen, Brent & Wade Gilbert, Tim Hamel “Successful Coaches’ Views on Motivation and Motivational Strategies” The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Vol. 74, 2003

Deci, Edward L. & Richard M. Ryan “Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior”

Hagger, Martin & Nikos Chatzisarantis “Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in exercise and sport”

By: Molly Hurford Feb 22

When I came to Athens, I was expecting a few weeks of riding solitude. Real tough guy stuff; up at the crack of dawn, Rocky-style, doing solo rides. And sure, there’s been some of that. Maybe not the up-at-dawn part, but plenty of solo rides down long rolling roads. However, I’ve also found quite the opposite. In just a couple of weeks, I’ve discovered an incredibly rich community of cyclists, gone on quite a few group rides — all of which pushed my training and fitness to my absolute limits, and then beyond. I’ve had some of the best conversations I’ve ever had about gender and cycling, and picked up some seriously valuable training advice. I’m feeling healthier, waking up happy, and being more productive in my work, especially in my writing.

So yes, traveling to train is clearly agreeing with me. And sure, it’s not a culture shock like, say, traveling to Europe might have been. But there’s still a whole new community for me to explore down here. And thanks to the cycling world, it’s been almost impossible for me to not meet new, amazing people.

Admittedly, the weather could be better. We’ve had some rainy, gruesome days down in Athens, and it hasn’t been quite as warm as I would have hoped. More often than not, I’ve been the nutty one who’s going without legwarmers despite everyone’s urging to “put on some kneewarmers for God’s sake!” But I’ll be damned if I go back to Massachusetts without tan lines. They may not be much, but I swear my legs have gotten a shade darker after only two weeks and countless hours outside.

It has warmed up though: as I write this, it’s 65 and sunny outside, and once I eat, I’m heading out for a nice, long ride. Solo, this time, since yesterday’s second ride of the day was three hours spent hanging onto a wheel for dear life, maintaining power outputs that I didn’t really think I was capable of. I guess that’s another plus side of traveling to somewhere you don’t know very well: when you have no idea what route you’re going on, you have no choice but to keep up with the guy in front of you. Well, I guess you could ask him to slow down. But what cyclist would ever admit to needing a break?

After my last article where I spoke to a few coaches about their experiences with travel for training, I had to get a few more opinions. After all, I did take a month out of my life to do this traveling-to-train-in-warmer-climate business, so I wanted to get as much validation as possible! United Healthcare cyclist Jake Keough gave me his take on travel, though I’m pretty sure that with his travel schedule, even going home counts as travel for him. After jokingly asking me if I was trying to get his opinion because I was rethinking my own travel plans, he told me:
“Seriously though, I think there are a few good reasons to travel somewhere to train. First off is weather: obviously if you cannot ride your bike outside and you are trying to prep for racing, you need to be somewhere warm to train. Second is race simulation: if you are training for a mountainous event, and you live somewhere flat, you should maybe go to the hills and vice versa… Third is acclimatization: this falls in line with the weather, but also altitude and or time zones. To be prepped for a specific event, it may help to train under similar conditions.”

I’ll trust the guy who won Speedweek overall down here last year, and that includes trusting his recommendation on a great restaurant along the criterium course in Athens. Since I’m coming down here again in just a couple of months for Speedweek myself, I guess I’m taking advantage of all of the reasons that he listed for traveling.

The man responsible for me finding a place to stay down here, Shawn Adams, a coach for Cycle-Smart, also weighed in on my decision to travel, though I admit I might have stacked the deck in favor of travel by asking him.
“Training trips are relevant for everyone, whether you’re a world tour rider or a cat 4 cx racer. The benefits are that you get to get away for the distractions of normal life and focus your energy on the bike. If you are from the Northern part of the country you can get a break from winter and come back refreshed and motivated for some of the dreaded cold winter rides.”

He’s absolutely right. I know that going home, there will still be a bit of bleak Massachusetts winter waiting for me. But after the past couple of weeks, I’m actually excited about training again. It feels like it did when I first started riding with a team and every ride was new and exciting. Instead of being annoyed that I have a three hour ride on tap, I find myself looking forward to it.
Also, it’s pretty awesome to realize that even if I eat everything that I want to eat in the course of a day, with my training schedule, I still end up burning off more than I’m taking in. So the progression from off-season stupor to race-ready is happening without me feeling deprived at all. Usually, there’s a mental and physical fight when I go through a few off weeks and realize I’m painfully out of shape. There’s a part of my brain that says, “You’re … fine. Sure, you’re not in amazing shape, but do you really need this? Let’s go make cookies instead of riding.”
Down here, I haven’t heard that voice once. The only thing I feel every day is excitement about riding.

I’ve also had the time (and inclination) to catch up on my reading, and the house I’m staying in is the perfect place for that, seeing as my room has an entire bookshelf of cycling training manuals and old issues of pretty much every cycling magazine ever published. I think they’re a good influence on me. It’s hard to fall into bad habits or decide to skip a workout when there’s a shelf of sports psychology books staring you down.

I feel ready for the rest of the season, and even other areas of my life have started getting sorted out thanks to my being down here. There’s no better time for reflection than when you’re on a road that you know goes on straight for an hour and a half and all you need to focus on is turning the pedals.

There’s only a week left down here and I’m planning on making the most of it. I already don’t feel ready to leave, though I go home to yet another adventure: moving to another cycling mecca, this one in Western Massachusetts. In the most real way imaginable, this trip down to Georgia has been a real turning point in my life, since I won’t be going back to the same place when I get home. For a cyclist, it was the most perfect transition imaginable.

My favorite song happens to be titled Going to Georgia, by The Mountain Goats. You can guess what’s been on constant loop on my iPod this whole trip. And for me, the first couple of lines are perfect for summing up how I feel about being here, and about going home to start this new chapter in my life:

“The most remarkable thing about coming home to you is the feeling of being in motion again / it’s the most extraordinary thing in the world.”

Thanks, Athens, for the most amazing experience I could have ever hoped for.