6 Tips to Make Training for a Cycling Race Fun

The stresses of everyday life can add up quick. Cycling can serve as both a physical and mental relief valve from these pressures.

But what happens when the pressure of competition and training turn cycling into another source of stress?

Learning how to keep training in perspective is key for both long-term motivation and peak performance. Use these six tips to keep things fun when cycling gets to be too serious.

When Play Stops Being Fun

The sport of cycling has a lot to offer. Tech geeks love the equipment and outdoor enthusiasts are drawn to the open road. Introverts and extroverts alike can find their niche within a sport that offers both solitude and group experiences.

More: 9 Tips to Avoid Cycling Burnout

Cycling serves up plenty of challenges as well. But what starts as a hobby often evolves into a lifestyle centered around training and competing, overshadowing everything else.

Sometimes More Isn't Better

Competitive cyclists are not casual riders or weekend warriors. The mileage, intensity and nature of the sport requires so much energy and attention that it becomes a lifestyle. The invention of high-tech devices that allow for the constant quantifying of progress and output can put added pressure on a rider.

This intense comparison-based culture intensifies the stress of training and increases the pressure to perform for results. Instead of enjoying the benefits of cycling, the added stress robs athletes of enjoyment and the opportunity to achieve peak performance.

More: On the Verge of Cycling Burnout?

Many cyclists don't even recognize what they've lost—and are only aware of a vague sense of frustration and a growing dissatisfaction with their performance. The harder they push, the less they gain, and a vicious cycle of stress is created.

Rebuild the Love

Rekindling the passion and regaining the positive benefits of cycling is not a difficult task, though it can be a challenge for result-driven athletes. The constant work approach is what leads athletes down the wrong path in the first place.

Cycling to relieve stress and cycling to compete at a high level don't need to be mutually exclusive activities. Developing a healthy balance between the two can be done, and the benefits to be gained far outweigh the costs. Here are a few ideas to get you on the right track:

1. Get in touch with what initially drew you to the sport. Whether you were a child or an adult when you got your first bike, think about what attracted you. Was it the freedom? The sights? Plan occasional rides that focus on these elements. Explore a new route or plan time to ride without a specific agenda. Ride a different kind of bike or on a different kind of terrain. Free yourself up to just ride without the temptation to "train."

More: 4 Ways to Use Your Bike to Beat Stress

2. Share a ride with someone who loves the sport or is just discovering it. Recovery days and easy rides are great opportunities to reconnect with the sport by seeing it through someone else's eyes.

3. Examine your training and riding motivations carefully. Extrinsic motivators, like winning races and earning primes, will only take you so far. Consider and cultivate the things that motivate you from the inside such as a sense of personal accomplishment or the satisfaction of doing something well. These intrinsic motivators are more fulfilling and enriching on a day-to-day basis. Acknowledge them and seek out opportunities to fulfill them.

4. Leave the electronics at home sometimes. Data is nice, but not everything needs to be quantified. Identify the training days when data matters and the times when ride quality matters. Get reacquainted with what it feels like to evaluate the quality of a ride through your own senses without relying on external feedback.

More: 7 Ways Exercise Beats Stress

5. Don't train in a vacuum. The reality for most people is that busy training schedules co-exist with work and life. Seek to write training plans that complement, rather than compete, with the other areas of your life. Strive to create a balance. When work is calm, training stress can be higher. But when work pressures are on, be sure to balance the 'workload' of training appropriately so that it provides you with an outlet rather than becoming an additional source of "I must" pressure.

6. Create blended purpose rides. A warmup should be more than just a chance to get joints and muscles ready to go hard. A quality warmup can help you relax and get rid of the stresses of the day before getting into harder efforts. Develop a warmup routine that is long enough for you to relax before shifting into hard-training efforts.

Ultimately, the balance between cycling as work and as play is personal. Finding the right mix is the key to a long and satisfying cycling journey.

More: 21 Ways to Have More Fun on Your Bike