What Drives You to Ride?

Drive is defined as an innate, biologically determined urge to attain a goal. In sports and exercise, drive is determined by the perceived “value” of the reward (it could be something as simple as the satisfaction derived from completing a long bike ride) and the amount of effort needed to achieve the goal. Both physical and mental fatigue have considerable effects on the drive to exercise. The more fatigued you are, the more effort is needed to produce the same amount of work. This is one of the reasons why the exercise and sport industry invests so much on the “recovery business”. The assumption is that with greater recovery (put simply, less fatigue) one can ride longer, harder, or faster for the same amount of effort.

Schiphof-Godart and colleagues wrote a scientific article describing a number of ways to increase drive, with the ultimate goal to better endurance performances. Interestingly, from a practical point of view there are a number of small “tricks” that could be used to improve cycling performances without the need of being any fitter. For example, the use of tracking Apps such as Strava, GarminConnect or RideWithGps, allows users to compare current performances with previous ones, or compete with training partners and friends immediately increasing the potential reward. Additionally, manipulating motivation can be an effective way to increase one’s drive. Some loyalty programs offer a good example of this, whereby they reward their customers with points for each activity logged. My father-in-law regularly increases the length of his walks to gain few extra Airline points! Other ways to increase drive involve manipulation of brain chemistry; in particular, the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is sometimes referred to as the “happy hormone”. It plays an important role in the brain’s reward system. It is linked to our ability to feel pleasure and our motivation levels, thus influencing our decision “not to give up”.  A natural question then would be how is it that we can increase dopamine levels? This is actually much easier than one might expect. For example, it has been shown that something as simple as receiving a “like” on social media is enough to stimulate the brain to release dopamine. Caffeine also serves to enhance the dopamine signalling in the brain.

To sum up, before your next long ride, consider posting some cycling photos on Instagram, record the ride on your favourite tracking App, log your activity on your loyalty programs and of course enjoy a good brew, even better if with a nice view!