Road Cycling - pain

I want to talk about pain.
Not the acute pain associated with crashing or poking one's self in the eye, but the pain of pushing yourself on your bike. For it is in this pain that we are stripped of all pretense. It is in this pain that we face our limits.

... it is the presence that hitches a ride up that hill ...

Pain is such an important part of cycling that one's ability to manage it, perhaps even embrace it, defines his experience, defines his riding. Those of you who avoid pain at all cost either have no interest in testing your personal limit or have other aspirations when it comes to cycling. But for those of us who hate being dropped or aren't content spinning up that hill in a 30-24, pain is inevitable.

My personal experience is that pain manifests as either the burning, lactic acid clogging sting in my legs and/or as the failure to catch my breath as my CV system struggles to clear CO2. The sad news is that I haven't yet come to terms with it. It effects me. It pulls me down. It lingers well after the ride to discourage the next outing. My non-cycling life is good and I lack important negatives upon which to fixate. I'm too comfortable.

How do you cope?

-mark

WOW......I try to think of it like this.."what doesnt kill me makes me stronger" SO i try to think of the pain as a good thing and something that in the long run will help me become a better cyclist.

It does hurt like hell though...HAHA

WOW......I try to think of it like this.."what doesnt kill me makes me stronger" SO i try to think of the pain as a good thing and something that in the long run will help me become a better cyclist.

It does hurt like hell though...HAHA

"No pain no gain"... or has that too simple?

Pain is where the progress is made. I just keep reminding myself that my legs will not fall off.

How do you cope?-mark

I tell myself "they're suffering as much as I am."

What some bikers don't seem to realize is if they can tough it out for the hard effort an easy effort is almost sure to come where you can recover with the rest of the riders.

Mantra:
- Pain is Knowledge.
- Knowledge is Power.
- Learn.
- Feel.
Repeat

I've taken to thinking 'they are suffering too' as well. I also love that feeling of getting home after a ride where you busted your ass, legs barely turning over as you coast down your street and you get off the bike. Another ride done. That feeling of accomplishment and relief is great. I also tend to think of the pain I'm putting into the bank so that at other times I can deal it out to others. Only when I feel pain and burning do I feel I really did something worthwhile on the bike. I try to be like lance in some respects in terms of trying not to show pain on my face. There is no reason for anyone else to know how I am suffering. If they think I am simply spinning up the mountain and they are dying, my look of ease will only add to their burden and perhaps push them to crack.

I try to be like lance in some respects in terms of trying not to show pain on my face.

You mean like these guys? Baldies up top.

-mark

I also love that feeling of getting home after a ride where you busted your ass, legs barely turning over as you coast down your street and you get off the bike. Another ride done. That feeling of accomplishment and relief is great.

Hmmm ... banking the pain ... I'll have to see if this philosophy agrees with my psyche. As for the end of the ride collapse, I love that feeling as well and often it's my primary incentive. Thanks for the words.

-mark

I also love that feeling of getting home after a ride where you busted your ass, legs barely turning over as you coast down your street and you get off the bike. Another ride done. That feeling of accomplishment and relief is great.

:roflmao: that is funny in that my street ends in a large hill so after that pussh thru the pain there is one more push up the hill to home that haven of ?comfort?

I want to talk about pain.
Not the acute pain associated with crashing or poking one's self in the eye, but the pain of pushing yourself on your bike. For it is in this pain that we are stripped of all pretense. It is in this pain that we face our limits.

... it is the presence that hitches a ride up that hill ...

Pain is such an important part of cycling that one's ability to manage it, perhaps even embrace it, defines his experience, defines his riding. Those of you who avoid pain at all cost either have no interest in testing your personal limit or have other aspirations when it comes to cycling. But for those of us who hate being dropped or aren't content spinning up that hill in a 30-24, pain is inevitable.

My personal experience is that pain manifests as either the burning, lactic acid clogging sting in my legs and/or as the failure to catch my breath as my CV system struggles to clear CO2. The sad news is that I haven't yet come to terms with it. It effects me. It pulls me down. It lingers well after the ride to discourage the next outing. My non-cycling life is good and I lack important negatives upon which to fixate. I'm too comfortable.

How do you cope?

-mark

Rather than cope with the pain, why not train so that you can overcome it? If I were to hazard a guess offhand, I would say that you were spending too much time training at too high of a heart rate, while neglecting the opportunity to build your aerobic base. Once you've built the base, then you can start teaching the body to train higher and build a better fitness level so that you're not sitting around well after the end of your ride wondering how you'll make it to the next ride. Once you've built up your cardiovascular system, and you've built a solid training program (takes years of training), you'll definitely find your aerobic capacity and VO2 has increased, and you'll find your body is trained to use fats as its primary energy source as a result. Yes, you'll still have pain when you take your body to the extremes, but at the same time, with a higher aerobic capacity, you can push farther for longer, and your recoveries will be quick. There is definitely a better way to train, and I think you would do well to find a coach out there or get some reading in so you can construct a better training program. If you're not training, you're just moving the legs, and then, what's the point?

Good luck!

Koffee

Rather than cope with the pain, why not train so that you can overcome it? If I were to hazard a guess offhand, I would say that you were spending too much time training at too high of a heart rate, while neglecting the opportunity to build your aerobic base. Once you've built the base, then you can start teaching the body to train higher and build a better fitness level so that you're not sitting around well after the end of your ride wondering how you'll make it to the next ride. Once you've built up your cardiovascular system, and you've built a solid training program (takes years of training), you'll definitely find your aerobic capacity and VO2 has increased, and you'll find your body is trained to use fats as its primary energy source as a result. Yes, you'll still have pain when you take your body to the extremes, but at the same time, with a higher aerobic capacity, you can push farther for longer, and your recoveries will be quick. There is definitely a better way to train, and I think you would do well to find a coach out there or get some reading in so you can construct a better training program. If you're not training, you're just moving the legs, and then, what's the point?

Good luck!

Koffee

Pain is pain as far as I'm concerned. In my cycling career I've seen pain (and humiliation) at 15MPH on a flat road and I've seen it at 18MPH on a 8% grade. Performance comes with training as you point out, but the pain can never be trained away as long as we continue to push ourselves.

Regardless, I appreciate your advice. I've actually put some of your words into practice while training this winter (where do I send the check?). Your point about recovering is dead on. At peak fitness, I recall being able to bounce back from a tough effort with relative ease (assuming I was hydrated and fed). As long as suffering remains a part of the game, I would rather do it at a decent performance level. Obviously, there are right and wrong ways to get there.

-mark

Well.... pain is pain, but one's ability to cope with it and recover is what separates the bad athletes from the recreational ones and the recreational ones from the semi-professional ones, and the semi-professional ones from the professional ones, and the domestiques from the leaders... so if someone came to me and told me your story and then asked what to do, I would tell them that first, they need to get professionally tested, then I would tell them exactly what I told you, and I would start them on the path to a good, solid training program. I don't think any of us deny the fact that pain is necessary- there's no way aerobic capacity can be increased if you aren't pushing it, but the number of workouts per week (when you are close to your peak just before you start tapering for the big race or the big event) that you are training at this intensity is like...1 workout per week. Sometimes 2. Professionals like the folks in the Tour will probably do 2, but not more than that- any more would compromise your training and give you inadequate opportunity for recovery, which would defeat the purpose of training at such a high intensity anyway, since it's the recovery that allows the body to heal and adapt so that you are stronger and can push harder without feeling so much pain (again, of course, this happens over time, not overnight). or without feeling the pain but being able to tolerate it to the point to where you can continue to perform at your best without being slowed down as a result of it.

Ummmmmmmm..... you owe me much money. Send it care of Joe to Bikeforums in a donation and I'm all good. Sneaking around using my training advice to become a better cyclist. How DARE you??!!

:D

Koffee

geneman, I picture myself more as bjarne riis in that set of photos. You know hes working hard but you dont know HOW hard. Just the thing to piss everyone else off!! :D I often look like that, eyes fixed ahead mouth open, spinning the pedals up a hill.

I did a metric century this past Sunday. The wind was blowing hard all day and at the end and was always against me on the hills (yes, these were actual hills in Illinois ... well, anthills if you're in Colorado) for the last 20 miles it seemed. I didn't feel the pain so much as I felt anger! For some reason, I just got really pissed off and shouted at the wind up each and every hill for that last stretch! I was in the 39-23 and had nowhere else to go ... should have got the tripple!

Ah yes, shouting at the wind. I have done that a few times myself! Mostly like when it kicks up a little more I'm thinking 'I know which way you are f***ing blowing!!!'. If I have bonked or am really having a bad day I start wondering out loud 'why are you blowing? There is no reason for you to blow. Why dont you be different today and NOT blow?' Alas, the wind has yet to heed my pleas.

In the past, I've used a couple of different techniques that have been successful at times. The first was to concentrate so hard on the burning so that I could effectively convince myself that it doesn't exist. The second, and a bit more effective, is to play games with my breathing pattern. This could include counting, or it could include concentrating on slowing it down. Same with my heart rate.

-mark

Ah yes, shouting at the wind. Alas, the wind has yet to heed my pleas.

"I talk to the wind. My words are all carried away...the wind cannot hear."
KC
:)

The difference between a good pro and a great pro is his ability to suffer. Watch the peloton climbing the Koppe. Now that's pain.

The difference between a good pro and a great pro is his ability to suffer. Watch the peloton climbing the Koppe. Now that's pain.

This is what I'm talking about. The real question is ... how does one learn to suffer? Is this ability innate or can we learn to embrace pain? Maybe it's a simple matter of tolerance.

-mark

For me it isn't so much a question of pain, as you say pain is pain,
its a question of where do I stop? when do I say enough and then
what does that say about me in general.
Stopping can be slowing cadence on a flat, or climb or it can be
really stopping.
For me its the last 10 miles of HHH, cramping and my legs seizing but still continuing
even if it is at a snails pace barely ticking over the pedals (coz I know the legs are
gonna seize). Its the first 50 miles on a brooks pro saddle, yeah I know its gonna
get better, but it hurts now.

Marty

For me it isn't so much a question of pain, as you say pain is pain,
its a question of where do I stop? when do I say enough and then
what does that say about me in general.
Stopping can be slowing cadence on a flat, or climb or it can be
really stopping.
For me its the last 10 miles of HHH, cramping and my legs seizing but still continuing
even if it is at a snails pace barely ticking over the pedals (coz I know the legs are
gonna seize). Its the first 50 miles on a brooks pro saddle, yeah I know its gonna
get better, but it hurts now.

Marty

This was really meant to be the kickoff point for the thread. That is, what defines our ability to push ourselves up to and beyond the limit? Specifically, what techniques to each of us use to get there? If you're hitting the limit of physical exhaustion, then I would say your current limitation is not the ability to tolerate pain or "to suffer" but it's your current fitness level. Then again, you're the only one that defines "physical exhaustion" and only you know how close to your limit you are before pulling the ripcord.

Obviously mental condition plays an enormous role in this process. Here's an example. Our interest in looking good in group rides (or perhaps just in pulling our weight) will often propel us to physical heights we've never been to before. At least for me, this is a great argument for training with a good strong group. I just seem to be able to tolerate more when I know the guy behind me is also suffering (which leads into TriDevil's logic).

-mark

I tend to take a Buddhist approach to pain... once you make the realization that you are in pain, you can then put it out of your mind, and just keep cranking...

I felt my first good pain of the year last Saturday on my club ride... I was riding well with 2 other guys, way ahead of everyone in the group... then all of a sudden I got a burst of energy going up a hill... I cranked it for the next 10 miles up hills in the big ring... I got there nearly 20 minutes before the other 2 guys did.... and it was worth it... once you realize it... you can make it go away

jeff

just make sure yer legs get plenty of rest. it's just tired muscles. that's not really pain. eating too much white bread and haivng a clogged intestine... now that's pain. ;)

I just did a really nasty 5 mile climb...for a heavy rider it quite a killer. it averages 5 miles of pure hill, no rests or flats. Average is 10% but there is a part where it goes to a 17%....I was in so much pain I almost lost control of the bike, dizzy from exhaustion, still I pushed on. The temps so hot that even gloves are too much...you wat to rest just for a second but there is no rest...no flat. Alas I completed it in 50 minutes with an average HR of 180....The feeling was great.

I would rather ride uphill than down. I love the burn of a steady climb.

I would rather ride uphill than down. I love the burn of a steady climb.

Ummm ... you live in Iowa.

I just did a really nasty 5 mile climb...for a heavy rider it quite a killer. it averages 5 miles of pure hill, no rests or flats. Average is 10% but there is a part where it goes to a 17%....I was in so much pain I almost lost control of the bike, dizzy from exhaustion, still I pushed on. The temps so hot that even gloves are too much...you wat to rest just for a second but there is no rest...no flat. Alas I completed it in 50 minutes with an average HR of 180....The feeling was great.

Now that's what I'm talking about. Put us in the moment ... tell us what your thoughts were that kept you going. Was it that bitter breakup? Is the neighbor's dog crapping in your lawn? Or perhaps you have the ability to achieve a zen state while still turning the pedals. What's driving it?

It may not seem like you're thinking about anything in particular while your in the thick of it, but there's always something there.

-mark

I am obsessive compulsive...I am just one not to quit. I once rode 40 miles of pure hills took me 4 hours and had to check in to a hospital after for dehydration and exhaustion. I was riding in a sub-conscious state for the last hour. It took weeks to get over it.

i would also rather ride uphill than down i think. it makes me feel alive, like i'm actually doing something. it gives me a sense of accomplishment.

i just spin the pedals and try to focus on my breathing and not passing out. and i think about how great the views are along the way. and a million other things...how great it would be if my friends from boston were there with me, how great it would be if my girlfriend was there with me, how very much i love riding my bike. the pain is what drives me. i frequently push myself to what i percieve as my breaking point and beyond. i acclimate myself to it in some instances, or learn to shut it out in others. it's a good pain. a constructive pain. legs burning, lungs burning, arms about to give out, eyes just searching for any little spot of level ground and not finding it until the end. having your mind go from thinking about all the little things in your life that upset you, to suddenly, only being able to focus on the pain, and getting rid of it, and knowing that the only way to get rid of it is to go through more, to continue. to keep turning those pedals no matter what. i've never been close to losing control of my bike because of pain. when i'm on my bike i consider it my job not to fall, not to get hit, not to let the world, and my shortcomings, win. yeah, i get passed, but it's not about that. everyone gets passed. everyone falls. i'm sure i will someday too. more pain.


on a semi-unrelated note:
i noticed the other day on the way down that if i take a few pedals then coast, as soon as i start coasting, i pull up kinda violently with both feet. just straight up, without thinking about it. wonder why that is...

I am obsessive compulsive...I am just one not to quit. I once rode 40 miles of pure hills took me 4 hours and had to check in to a hospital after for dehydration and exhaustion. I was riding in a sub-conscious state for the last hour. It took weeks to get over it.

That's sick ... I love it. Seriously, OCD as a competitive force is hard to beat when evaluating stength of motive. Heck, I'd be willing to bet that the upper echelon of atheletes in just about every sport are OC.

Here's my dilemma continued. I'm a "path of least resistance guy" which is not to say that I'm lazy by any stretch. My best ride is the ride that results in the fastest average speed or quickest ascent with the least amount of energy expended. It's my goal each and every time I ride. It's the primary reason why I love group rides. I certainly don't just sit in, but the whole concept of 10 guys trouncing the road versus one inefficient rider is very addicting for me. Therefore, the prospect of waking up at 6:30 tomorrow morning to do my standard 15 mile ride in 40 deg weather by myself isn't as appealing as I want it to be. I need to change it up a bit I think.

-mark

Ummm ... you live in Iowa.
Yes, you are right. There are no hills in Iowa. Please come to RAGBRAI this year to experience our non-hills.

Yes, you are right. There are no hills in Iowa. Please come to RAGBRAI this year to experience our non-hills.

I was just being belligerent ... pay no attention to me.

I put Bike Pain in this perspective.
Knew a fellow Viet vet, and asked him in the hospital just after he got into an argument with a land mine (bouncing Betty). His reply: "sweetest thing I ever felt'-
I was astonished in his reply until he continued " It was Gods way of telling me I was still alive". BTW- got PO'ed if he got asked how he lost his leg, (he) said he 'didn't lose it, it got blown off'. Haven't heard from him since 69, don't know if he rides or not but highly suspect he doe's (or did).

Posted in memory of Pfc John Claggett, 101st airborne, KIA 5/20/70.

I'm bumping this old thread because I want to hear from others ... bring on the pain stories!

-mark

"pain is just fear leaving your body"....if it doesn't hurt, your not trying hard enough!

I rode solo for 127 miles last saturday after having ridden only 200 miles the whole year (I am 20) I rode out with a tailwind and back the whole way with a headwind(still averaged 18.5). About 10 miles from home(still riding into headwind) I bonked hardcore. I was swerving around like a drunken sailor all the way home. That is what I call pain! I also live in wyoming which is the hardest place I have ever lived for riding. Oh, about ragbrai having hills, hahahhahahha. Try riding looong rolling hills(by yourself) at 8000 feet above see level and then finishing it off with a 3 or 4 thousand foot climb in 95 degree heat. You guys have it easy.

I used to be on a team with a guy who was much more talented than I was. He could always outclimb me and when sprinting he'd pass me and look like he was barely working. But he was lazy. Always complaining about how sore his legs were and though he had the ability to drop almost everyone on a climb, he was never the first over the top.

It took me a while to realize that he just didn't like pain. Simple as that. I on the other hand was stubborn enough in my desire not to be dropped or to be last that I'd suffer like a dog at every sprint and on every climb. At the risk of sounding egotistical, if someone with his physical talent had my drive, he'd be tough to beat.

Pain: When the other knee starts to go bad too.

Pain: Not being able to ride for over a month.

Pain: Not sure you'll ever be able to ride seriously again.

Pain: Seeing more orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists than cyclists.

Pain: Hating to see this board on my list of favorites because it reminds me of cycling.

Pain is crashing in the middle of Mullholland by yourself, with no cell reception on 100+ degree day and having to ride home, bruised, battered and bleeding. That's pain.

Overcoming your screaming lungs, your heavy legs and your 190+ heart rate to sprint to the top of the climb in first place is pure heaven. Maybe not at the time but later when you relive that moment it will motivate you and make you feel like you can beat anyone.

Go for the burn and just keep hammering right through it. It has to hurt to be good!

This is what I'm talking about. The real question is ... how does one learn to suffer? Is this ability innate or can we learn to embrace pain? Maybe it's a simple matter of tolerance.

-mark

g'day mark,

pain is pain is pain. You can train to produce a better 'outcome' before the pain sets in, you can train at your pain 'threshold' so that you can tolerate 'pain' for longer periods....but the pain is still there, its how you cope with it......personally, If i've prepared properly, (& i'm talking racing here), I'm mentally positive, that everyone else is hurting more than me......so i push harder, to soften up their will & their phsical ability to beat me when we get down to the wire. It probaly helps if you have a lot of self belief & arrogance about your ability to be better than those you are competing against, (look at lance)...pain will always be there my friend, its how you mentally deal with it...personally, pain is my friend (guess that makes me a wacko!),

cheers,

Hitchy

I just did a really nasty 5 mile climb...for a heavy rider it quite a killer. it averages 5 miles of pure hill, no rests or flats. Average is 10% but there is a part where it goes to a 17%....I was in so much pain I almost lost control of the bike, dizzy from exhaustion, still I pushed on. The temps so hot that even gloves are too much...you wat to rest just for a second but there is no rest...no flat. Alas I completed it in 50 minutes with an average HR of 180....The feeling was great.
5 miles and an average of 10%?..... WOW Where is this hill?

I saw a 24 endurance motocross rider on tv one time say something to the affect that taking time out of your schedule to suffer makes you enjoy the rest of life that much more. True True

Pain? How do I cope? How do I push through it?

For me it is purely selfish. I think back on the 340lb guy that could barely walk up a flight of stairs. I think of that guy whos kids could not get their arms around him. That pain was far worse than any I have had to endure on the bike. When the pain gets bad, I just think about that 340lb guy and how I never want to see him in the mirror again.

Now, my kids can get their arms all the way around me and close their hands. Now, I can ride a century. Now, I'm living a better life. The pain has been worth it!

Pain lets you know you're alive. Pain is what pushes you to be better. Some people talk about your lactic threshold, or training to push it farther. Some of us just know that pain is what drives us. Pain is a good thing. Pain is crashing at 30 m/h and getting back on the bike to complete a task because you gave your word you would. Some of us love pain. I learned to love pain through cycling and football.
Pain: competing despite injuries
Pain: rehabing torn cartilage and strained knee ligaments on Saturday morning to be ready for next Friday night.
Pain: a 300 lb lineman rolling into the side of your knee and playing on it for the next 45 minutes.
Everyone of us who loves pain, knows that when you look back on what you've done, when you see your accomplishment or your victory, all that pain goes away for the moment. No matter what you have to do to come back from the injuries, you go back for more because you have a passion for it. Pure desire is what pushes you through pain. There isn't any preparation you can do. It's the mental toughness that defines an athlete. When the pressure's on, or your body says it won't go, your mind has to take over and tell it to push. Your ability to focus will allow you to push that extra mile, or get up that steep hill. You have to have it in your mind that no boundary can hold you, nothing can beat you. When you do that, you realize how much pain is your ally.

This is a very interesting thread. It has made me want to experience pain again. Last year, I had pain with riding with a club and trying to keep up with the guys. This year, I have been lazy. Got a little glimpse of pain on this year's RAGBRAI. I raced a couple of guys on different hills. You are all correct, you must embrace pain. It is easy to get into a routine where even the slightest inconvenience seems like an obstacle. Too often on this board, people are trying to make cycling a sofa sport. It is gonna hurt and hurt really does feel good. Pain is weakness leaving the body.

I read some where on this board that " Pain is weakness leaving your body".

Go Pain !!

I want to talk about pain.
Not the acute pain associated with crashing or poking one's self in the eye, but the pain of pushing yourself on your bike. For it is in this pain that we are stripped of all pretense. It is in this pain that we face our limits.

... it is the presence that hitches a ride up that hill ...

Pain is such an important part of cycling that one's ability to manage it, perhaps even embrace it, defines his experience, defines his riding. Those of you who avoid pain at all cost either have no interest in testing your personal limit or have other aspirations when it comes to cycling. But for those of us who hate being dropped or aren't content spinning up that hill in a 30-24, pain is inevitable.

My personal experience is that pain manifests as either the burning, lactic acid clogging sting in my legs and/or as the failure to catch my breath as my CV system struggles to clear CO2. The sad news is that I haven't yet come to terms with it. It effects me. It pulls me down. It lingers well after the ride to discourage the next outing. My non-cycling life is good and I lack important negatives upon which to fixate. I'm too comfortable.

How do you cope?

-mark


I can't say I "like" pain, but I love to struggle up a long climb and then realize that I earned the downhill...and the more it hurts, the more I deserve...

Pain. Yes, the steady pain that bids for your falling short of expected goals. Pain speaks a language that is always heard but best ignored.


Oh, I love the posts about getting mad at the wind. I rode in 14mph-gusting 20 mostly in the face up hills. Mad?!?! And when you come back on the return trip it would be nice to have it reversed. NOT.



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