How to stay motivated for Ultra-Distance Admittingly it’s hard to answe…
How to stay motivated for Ultra-Distance Admittingly it’s hard to answer because most times I simply do not know for sure neither. Some think I am not working and cycling is all I do … but that’s not true and cycling is only a hobby to me. Most times I must find time for training rides and see how to do the races. It’s often a compromise and causes less good race results because I cannot fully prepare or focus on a race only. Where cycling helps me, is to find a balance to my work on computer and sitting at a desk as well as balancing out some other health related issues I am fighting since I was hit by a car in 2022. I do not share details in public about that, but it was a very close call to stay alive and only the people finding me after the hit and run saved my life and I am very thankful for that. Before 2025 it was somehow easier to stay motivated because I did not want to disappoint my crew. Sounds odd but was part of my motivation. Since End November 2024 I have not used any crew support any longer. Great learning curve and mainly even amazing about how to stay motivated in training and racing. Strategy has changed in a way that I no longer try to impress anyone other than I. My focus specifically in racing is to just cross the finish line in time and not using any internet connection to pull information about race standings. And I learned that I stay much more motivated that way. I can easily adjust my strategies during ultra-distance rides and races with that type of strategy. I do admit I want to use my rides and races to show the community that even we have limited budget for coaching and support crews it is possible to have fun on ultra-distance rides and races and get the one or other one cool result. The cool thing is that I still could show that while not being the strongest racer in the world, being over 60 years old and working full time plus the major accident I had in 2022 with health issues that will never go away it is possible to have respectable results and finish the races while having fun. I do recommend to others to feel free and try ultra-distance racing even if not winning or maybe even not crossing the finish line on first try. It is a lot of fun doing it and one of my motivation factors is that after a race I can look into the mirror and know that I have raced honestly without any support in whatever way. I sometimes hope to see more people show up in the ultra-distance racing world. Do not worry try it regardless of the top racers and keep in mind most of us are amateurs who do it for fun only.
