Fight Club and bicycle racing
Let's bring it back to the bike for a minute, then I gotta get some work done.
I've been listening to the Fight Club audiobook (once all the way through, then various clips mixed in to music when my iTunes is set to shuffle). I'd seen the movie and like a lot of you (I'm guessing) it struck a chord in me.
Besides the twist of finding out who Tyler is. There's the ideas of what society, contentment, purpose, and meaning are. All deep things that we can discuss for hours and hours. Let's not.
Let's talk about how Fight Club can apply to a strategy of bike racing. Maybe not Fight Club, but it's next logical step, Project Mayhem. Like Fight Club, there's a set of rules for Project Mayhen. Let's see where we go with this Ikea boy.
– Fight Club, pages 119, 122, 125
- You do not ask questions.
- You do not ask questions.
- No excuses.
- No lies.
- You have to trust Tyler.
How in the heck does that relate to a bicycle race strategy? Here's how. Let's break it down. You are at a bike race to do what? Race. Put out your best performance. Right?
So rule number one. Don't ask questions. The thing is, we all do it. As we are driving or riding out to the course, we're thinking why am I doing this. Who's gonna show up? Is any of my teammates gonna show? I wonder if big-ring larry is gonna be there? Did I bring the Cytomax bottle. How about my pump? Etc.
All these questions, even the important ones, are distractions. How can you focus and prepare when you are distracted. The biggest benefit to being a pro with a mech and a bus is that they're not distracted by these questions.
Second rule is that you do not ask questions. While riding in the pack, don't bother asking questions. These are the ones like, why is the pace so hard right now? I wonder where that hill is. I wonder if this guy is faking his struggle. How can I get out of taking a pull at the front. Once again, the questions are distractions. You should be acting and re-acting. Don't ask yourself if you think you can bridge up to the next group. Do it. Don't second guess your choice to wheelsuck for the five mile stretch before the climb. Do it, or don't do it. Don't ask yourself if you can outsprint that big guy on the opposing team. No questions. Act and re-act. Part of every question is doubt. Eliminate that doubt by not even entertaining the question.
Third rule. No excuses. Cyclists have every excuse in the book. Not enough training. Overtrained. Not enough hill work. Too much hills and not enough sprints. No endurance. Wrong cassette. Wrong shoes. Old bar-tape. Only one bottle of Cytomax. No leadout man. Big larry from the other team never took a pull at the front. Derailer skips. Headset too loose. Wrong shorts. Blah, blah, blah. The fact of the matter... if you didn't win, you lost. Those excuses, they are mistakes. Learn from them, and never repeat them.
Fourth rule. No lies. If you weren't strong enough, then you weren't strong enough. Don't blame it on big larry or your leadout man. It is what it is.
Last rule is trust Tyler. In the story, you find out that Tyler and the Narrator are the same person. One is active when the other is asleep. Tyler acts in such a way that the narrator never thought he himself would. The way he thought he'd like to. The point? Trust yourself. Unless you think that you have another personality that wants to destroy the world so it can begin again. But you need to trust that the preparations (training, bike maintenance, etc.), you did are enough. Trust that if you act and jump the pack on the climb, that you are making a good move. It doesn't matter if you get caught again. It's a good move. Trust that if you react to the surge, that it's gonna help you place your best. Even if the rest of the pack latches back on.
I'm not saying that if you follow these rules that you will win. But, they are not designed to do that. The rules ensure that you focus, perform your best and continue to work to better yourself. It may lead to a win, but it may not. So go back to rule number three. No excuses either way. OK?
GunnarGunnarSoroosSoroosFight+ClubFight+ClubProject+MayhemProject+MayhemRulesRulesCyclingCyclingBicyclingBicyclingBicycleBicycleRacingRacingRaceRaceRacesRacestacticstacticsStrategyStrategyWinningWinning
Wednesday 10/22/2008 | 11:15 am
John on Thursday 10/23/2008 | 08:56 am
Good post, I definitely can relate.
What if your excuse is that you second guessed yourself? :P
Write a comment