Originally Posted by existence

that has to be a key ingredient that sets some apart...im new to cycling but the thing i love about it so far is that immense mental battle it presents...how much pain can you ignore (in a sensible systematic way when training), how close to the edge can you take your body when training on your own.

im going to get shot down in flames for saying this im so sure...but to me group training is wrong...really wrong. training on my own teaches me to be out in front not chasing or sucking someone elses wheel...when i train alone mentally im thinking about the imaginary person behind me trying to chase me down and i have to hang tough. i think about it so hard that it scares the crap out of me on a 'hard' training ride and it consistently allows me to get my HR off the chart.

each to there own though huh!!!