Why is it that...

[fizzwheel]

Warning a small rant...

I've got heavily into cycling again. I'm doing a 95 mile ride this Saturday purely for the challenge of doing it.

One of the other guys in my office is doing a ride on the same day, but he just has possibly the most negative approach to it that I've come across. I suspect its due to lack of confidence on his part but its really starting to p*ss me off.

He's working himself up into almost a state of nervous exhaustion as he's worrying about every little thing.

He's already talked himself out of doing the 95 miler with me which is what he originally signed up for and is doing a shorter 55 mile ride instead ( which he completed last year )

He's now worrying about his bike, the bottom bracket on his bike, that its going to rain, that its going to be "to windy" on the day.

His negative vibes are starting to rub off on me. I know I can do the 95 miles I've done plenty of training last three weekends have seen me complete a 60 mile ride, then a 76 and then an 84 mile ride.

I really want to tel him to shut up and I want to stop talking to him about cycling altogether. Its begining to make me apprehensive about the event and I was really looking forward to it, but his constant negativity towards it is dragging me down.

Its all in the mind, if you tell yourself you cant do something enough you will fail it.

I don't want to hear anymore of his negative cr*P

GRRRHHHHH.......

[plowsie]

Sugar me, 95 miles, I thought I did well doing 25 the other day Fizz. Good on ya for doing them miles mate. Like you say mate, don't listen to him, believe you can do, being a chunker when I told my folks I was cycling to my missus's, they thought I was mad and were worried about me. I blanked it out and did it, now I do it once every week for the sake of it, my own pace, my own ride, I would probs get slated by real cyclists but oh well.

[dizzyblonde]

shove your figers in your ears and say la-la-la-la?:confused: whenver he starts talking his negative vibes at you.
Don't let him put you off, let him talk his way out of it, hes not you is he

[Kate Moss]

Just agree with everything he says. He will soon get sick of hearing the negatives being thrown back at him!

[fizzwheel]

Plowsie - 25 miles is not be sniffed at, I couldnt even do 2 miles in one go when I started cycling again in Jan 2007. Good on you for getting out there.

Basically I am now ignoring him, he started moaning about the weather again, at which point I just said "so what you going to to give up because its going to be wet and windy" and now he's sulked off back to his own desk again.

I've got Thurs & Friday off so I will be able to avoid his negativity so I'll have some time to get into the right frame of mind at home away from it.

[Alpinestarhero]

Fizz, you'll be ok mate; YOU know you can do it (if you can do 84 miles, whats another 11 eh?) so just tell him to shut up. Sounds like he;s fishing for an excuse to get out of the ride.

a bit of wind and rain wont hurt him. I used to get a bit annoyed when the wind picked up when i wanted to go off cycling, because it was more effort going into a headwind.......but its darn fun with the wind behind you

and the rain is fun. but then i used to cycle around dirt trails.

[Stu]

Either ignore him
Or go all out to contradict him. If he says it will be windy, just say isn't that fantastic, almost half the time we'll have that as a tail wind (unless you intend to finish very far away from where you start?) If it's going to rain - even better, nothing worse than sweltering in the heat. If his bottom bracket's going to fail - that's a shame I'm glad I've check my bike as best I can. I could never do 95 miles - iIsn't it great to achieve something you've never done before.

Or the easy option - fingers in ears la la as above :D
Good on you Fizz

[Blue_SV650S]

What sort of bike have you got? Just shy of 100miles is quite an undertaking ... even at an average of 20mph (and that is FAST to do it as an average) .. that is 5hrs continually in the saddle.

I think he has a right to be apprehensive, but it is a shame that him voicing his concerns is getting you down!! :(

Have you said to him what you just told us ... i.e. that his negativity is starting to rub off on you and diminishing your fun :(

At the end of the day if his bike fell apart on him or any other many things that could happen, happened, then you have mobile phones don't you ... I am sure one of you could muster someone from back home to come collect the stranded cyclist in their car!! :rolleyes:

[yorkie_chris]

shove your figers in your ears and say la-la-la-la?:confused: whenver he starts talking his negative vibes at you.
Don't let him put you off, let him talk his way out of it, hes not you is he

http://photos4.flickr.com/4903217_8a7b46daaa_m.jpg

Quit with the negative vibes! :-D

[fizzwheel]

Blue this is my bike, I've upgraded the wheels though since it was taken

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e344/fizzwheel/DSC_0512.jpg

I reckon I'm looking at 6hrs 15 mins to 6hrs 30 mins to finish, The route is really hilly so no way am I going to be clocking 20mph average more like 15 - 16mph. I want to do a good time but more importantly I want to finish.

Theres a breakdown van on the route and also a broom wagon its a proper organised event so we get looked after if we get into trouble.

Its all to do with massaging his ego and making him feel better if he puts in a poor performance and looking for excuses and things to blame it on if he doesnt live up to his own expectations I can understand that, but if he'd done more training and put the effort in he wouldnt be worrying about it now.

I told him earlier "if if rains I'll get wet, if its windy I'll do a slower time, but this is why I've been out training in the wind and rain so I get used to it" and he skulked off and hasnt mentioned it again since !!

[Biker_Billy]

Sounds like a good ride - have fun...

Maybe you could tell him about an exploit a me and a mate did a few years ago...the Dunwich Dynamo...approx 120 miles from London to the coast in Suffolk - overnight! Now, I certainly was a lot fitter than I am now, but prepared we weren't - i.e. hiring a tandem (neither of us had ridden one before), and cycling from London Bridge to the start was the only practice we got....how we didnt end up under a bus I'll never know...

My point is that and distance is going to be hard, but certainly 90 odd miles is not impossible - its amazing how quickly you can rack up the miles - just keep stopping regularly etc...

He should give it a go, and complain after if he doesnt like it - after all, he might really enjoy it (as I did, and although I dont think I'll ever do it again, I wouldn't have missed it for the world!!!)

Good luck!!