The mind’s influence over the athlete is considerable; particularly in a sport as difficult as cycling. A strong mind can push its body well past its limitations and into the realm of the supernatural; forcing the legs to continue giving more despite each of the million muscle fibers screaming in unified agony. You could say the rider is primarily made up of the mind, for when the mind is broken the rider becomes little more than a clumsy organism perched upon a bicycle. (I speak from experience in this last matter.)
Paradoxically, the same mind that holds such control over the body is also woefully fragile and prone to superstitious thought. It fills easily with doubt and is distracted by ancillary details. This is why the tape must always be perfect, the machine silent, the kit spotless: the slightest problem can disrupt the mind as it steels itself for the suffering that is to come. Indeed, the greatest athletes are marked by the heights of their superstitions.
As a matter of fact, even the moderate ones are. At a certain point in my Nordic ski racing career, I determined that there were a particular pair of gloves and lenses that always landed me at the top of the result list. Like most racers, I had gloves for warmer weather and colder weather, and lenes for sunny as well as overcast weather, but this particular combination of mid-weight gloves and dark lenses rendered me in a position of supernatural Nordic Ski Racing Power. The world was mine, so long as weather conditions permitted their use. I told myself that I performed better with those lenses due to some kind of improved optics. I rationalized the glove by determining that I could better grip my poles with that specific weight of glove.
It wasn’t long before I found myself selecting those gloves and lenses before every important event, regardless of the weather conditions. I could be at the height of my powers, with a perfectly executed training plan, yet they became what I used to convince myself I was ready to race. We’ll tell ourselves anything if it helps us muster the courage to face our sport and the agony that comes with the efforts we put forth.
I can only speculate as to the degree to which this must effect the professional athlete as the suffering and dangers they face become a daily reality. Merckx be merciful; I cannot begin to comprehend what they must give to carry out their craft.
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@Omar
Great little ramble there about playing the piano. Not sure exactly where I was led while reading it, but I can say that enjoyed it.
MAN, I REALLY want to hang out with you and your friends! Must be amazing to speak with these guys from the past. Too cool!
@frankAbout this matter (to be clean) he told me that 'le directeur' of the Vélodrome d'Hiver doesn't even allow a shabby racer to put a foot/wheel on the track. Not a superstition a necessity then.
@frank
About this matter (to be clean) he told me that 'le directeur' of the Vélodrome d'Hiver doesn't even allow a shabby racer to put a foot/wheel on the track. Not a superstition a necessity then.
@Omar
I have this friend that I ride with that used to race until Cancer tore him a new A-hole (pretty much literally). We get along really well because he's kind of eccentric and has a sick sense of humor like I do. He's also a pretty much rolling probable cause as far as rule violations go. He wears thermal underwear under his short sleeve jersey because the "dimples" are aero like the dimples on a golf ball and his bike/kit is always dirty but he's really smart and has a lot of cycling/racing knowledge and he's become kind of a coach/mentor to me because he's really devious and relishes when I put the screws to the arrogant Tri-prick that rides with us and has a hard time dealing with the Cyclops being his equal.
Anyway, I dropped in on him recently and was given the tour of his digs and when I saw his baby grand I said "Oh yeah, you're supposed to be some hot pianist huh." He stuck in a CD of himself playing some Chopin. He will be the first to admit that he's not quite concert pianist quality but he's incredibly good.
Here's a sample of his sense of humor:
I digress.
@Buck Rogers
That's true, I love them they taught me to be a cyclist and more.
Concision for the win.
I go for clean bike, clean tape, clean kit. That's about it, but those are more Rules than superstition.
When playing sports growing up I did have a few...wore the same shirt two shirts under my uniform from 10th grade through the last game of college...I won one in a sporting contest in 5th grade and the other was my older brother's former undershirt for games. Just old, holey t-shirts, but I swore they had special powers.
Odd numbered cogs dictate that each time the chain goes over the teeth the wide and narrow plates of the chain alternate going over each individual tooth, creating more even wear.
I concur