Hot n’ Fresh from the DDA Newsletter…
Hello Fellow Cyclist,
Since July of last year, I’ve been working on a book about cycling training with a slightly different spin.
In my writing, I aim to teach a framework for how you can better prioritize and implement the pieces of cycling wisdom that are most likely to lead toward a great day on the bike.
If you’d like to check out some of the excerpts from the book, please click on this link.
If you have any additional comments or suggestions that come to mind I would love to hear your thoughts!
If you’d like to check out the most recent excerpt, you can click on this link. Here’s a quick summary.
In my last ten years working with cyclists, I’ve observed one characteristic of the “best” (as defined by consistent progress) cyclists that always grabs my attention.
The “best” cyclists intuitively understand that always pursuing progress on the bike is a mistake and a recipe for certain failure.
Instead of being locked to one training mindset, they switch back and forth between three.
The first mindset is “reexamine.” You’ve reexamined your current life context and have decided that cycling progress isn’t in the cards. Zero guilt, it’s time to shift your primary focus away from cycling and shore up other life responsibilities. You’re temporarily heading home to take care of other priorities.
I call the second mindset “maintain” because it’s the middle ground of training. Your life context is sustainably full, without much room for a more significant mental or physical commitment to cycling. You’re not giving up; you’re just sitting in for the time being.
The final cycling mindset is aptly named “progress.” Your life context now accommodates a more considerable investment in cycling. Because you haven’t been wasting your energy feeling guilty about “not training like you should” during other phases, you’re full of life and ready to attack.
The best cyclists know when to head home, when to sit in, and when to attack. This flexibility covers workouts, larger blocks of training, and maybe even an entire season.
Best of luck in developing a more flexible mindset in your cycling!
Training can be confusing. In our free eBook, we’ll show you four ways to use your data and insights from science to ride better than ever.