I find myself frequently contemplating factors which motivate and demotivate on audax rides.
I say this in the context of having packed 1 calendar ride in an audax “career” spanning about 200 points, with the vast majority having been earned since 2005. I packed on the Daylight 600k in 2003 through lack of fitness and also have packed maybe around 6 or so permanent rides since then, all probably falling into one of two categories (1) a feeling early on in the ride that “my heart’s not in this today” or (2) boredom resulting in lack of motivation to carry on. But never after half way - it would need to be mechanical or medical after the turn.
I find that calendar events provide their own motivation i.e. aside from anything else, there’s a sense of not wanting to let the organiser down (even though most organisers would probably want a struggling rider to pack on safety grounds). Any ride will have its own sense of achievement on completion, and there’s maybe a points target SR or another award at stake to help us going. Riding with a group is also a positive [e.g. the fantastic Kingdom Come group perm in 2009] as the sense of camaraderie keeps spirits up, aside from the inherent energy saving especially when leading from the back. Then there’s the also the question of practicality eg if I’m at the head of Glen Lyon on the Tayside 300k there ain’t very much I can do but keep riding, even if I’m cabbaged, while a ride with umpteen railway stations en route can provide the temptation to call it a day.
Permanent rides are harder mentally especially those ridden solo and for me this is accentuated for longer distance rides. If your riding a solo perm, probably only you and the organiser knows that you’re riding it and there’s far less “loss of face” in giving up. Equally though, the thought of having quietly completed a solo event “under the radar” can provide some motivation too.
I have found myself making specific provision to avoid the negative on solo perms over 200k, for example not taking a bike computer (or putting it out of my line of sight) as I’ve found that a hard spell can feel worse when its being measured out in 10 metre instalments or if I see that my average speed is dropping like a stone. I also find that setting a target to be at a particular place by a certain time can also be demotivating - even with a lot of time in hand there’s a risk I’ll beat myself up about being 15 minutes behind “schedule”. For the same reasons I have learned to try and avoid making predictions about arrival times if meeting up with the rest of the human race on an audax ride (B&Bs, friends, relatives etc – you know the scenario, you said you’d be there by half past five and you heroically overcome a series of mechanicals and a headwind to get there by quarter to six, only to be met with faintly concealed disdain over your diminishing cycling ability - or maybe that’s just me).
One thing that I’ve found to rate very highly on the “positive feelings of well being : weight” ratio is a small radio, to the extent that I have on occasion rigged it up fixed to a map holder to ensure quality reception. I have tried an mp3 player but it doesn’t have the same effect – I tend just to switch off with an mp3 player as I know what’s coming next as it were, but I can happily listen to speech based radio for hours and hours – great for a through the night section.
Finally, of all the rides that I have packed, I’ve not regretted having done so, which probably means that I did the right thing. But I would say that just to justify it wouldn’t I?
Ramblings over - need to get out on a bike now.