CAN'T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD

Whether you’re racing, training, or just out riding to pass the time away, we’ve all, had at one time or another, found ourselves being driven completely nuts, by some repetitive song that keeps playing over and over, like a broken record in our heads. For instance, before riding across Indiana, my wife decided to play for me and my cohorts as mental motivation, Bruce Springsteen’s "Born to Run". For the life of me, I couldn’t get that song out of my head the whole day.

Other than hearing a tune, sometimes events along the ride trigger these mental musical notes to happen. They can occur at any moment, during good times and bad. For example, kicking your buddy’s rear during a friendly group ride brings out the theme from "Rocky", or suffering the oh so to familiar bonk causes me to think of lyrics such as, “Sometimes you’re the windshield, Sometimes you’re the bug”. When everyone’s gasping up a steep hill and everything is in slow burning painful motion, I can’t think of a better song to ease the pain than REM’s, "Everybody Hurts". Mother Nature has her way on my mind’s musical selection as well. Hot weather brings up tunes like Glen Frey’s, "The Heat is On", to Foreigner’s, "Cold as Ice" on those frigid rides. Of course, the long hard rides into a strong headwind or crusing with a nice tailwind, causes Bob Seeger’s, Against the Wind, or Lynrd Skynrd’s, Call Me the Breeze to come to mind.

So when those musical membranes start pounding your brain like a drum, please don’t try to tune them out. They can help you overcome any obstacle. And remember, when you’re out riding your recovery ride, "Take it Easy".