The music and imagery of 2:02 to 2:35 works for me.

A cold beer.

If I'm really looking to dig deep then I look down to the breast cancer wristband on my stem, that get's me moving.

Amphetamine psychosis.

Save the Ta Ta's!

My wife is a Breast Cancer survivor (so far).

I store up pent up frustrations/anger and let them out in times of need on the bike - mainly coworkers daily political ramblings.

This works better...

Every time I ride, I'm trying to do the route faster than I previously rode it. The first thing I do when I get home is go to my online bike journal and see if I improved my time. Dorky, I know. But it makes me work harder.

This is the correct answer.

Anger is probably one of the best answers yet. Saving up anger for climbing and head winds would be the best thing. The "saving" part is the hardest.

My father had a massive heart attack in his early 50's. Suffering on the bike is my plan for avoiding pain in the emergency room. Cycling keeps me alive.

I just love cycling. If it ever became a chore, I don't know how I would motivate myself to go out and do it. Probably a tightening waistband.

Keeping the speed difference between the passing cars and myself to a minimum. It feels safer that way for some reason.

Can't agree with you more. Grandfathers passed away at 56 and 62, father passed away at 56; all from massive heart attacks. Family history and the desire to provide my wife (and future children) with a full life as a family man sure keeps me going.

endorphins, and more riding of course.

Weight loss, and a post-ride shower.

My Sensei was killed by Alex Moos. I've sworn on the honor of my ancestors that I will have vengeance if its the last thing I do.

I think to myself, "I'm hot and tired, but if I sit here for an hour, I'll STILL be hot and tired, so might as well move on."

The next guys wheel.

Stubbornness. I simply will not give up unless my body is shutting down from heat or severe electrolyte imbalance, or dehydration. Normal tiredness and aches from a long climb/long ride will not stop me. Heat exhaustion will, because there is nothing to be gained from hospitalization from heat stroke because I was stupid enough to ignore my body when it says it can no longer keep functioning.

I've been packed up into a sag vehicle and take off the course suffering badly from hyponatremia at about the 350 km point of a 600K. I didn't want to stop. The brain wanted to keep going, but the body had shut down.

Yeah yeah. I've had hyponatraemia, I only realised it at the end of the race when I collapsed and blacked out. The times I've packed, it's because I decided to do so.

I sort of vaguely realised it when I couldn't stop throwing up. I knew my electrolytes were way out of whack ... but I couldn't do a thing about it.

Yep, I've been SAG'd too for that reason. That's about the only reason I will stop, if I have been dumb and not kept my nutrition, hydration, and electrolyte intake at the proper levels, and the body just starts shutting down. I never want to have heat exhaustion again. There is something fundamentally WRONG with shivering in near 100 degree heat, not sweating, hallucinating, and feeling the constant need to throw up. BLEH.

I just read about this. It says it can be very serious, brain damage, or even death! How did you finally solve the problem?