Mind over matter - if you don't mind, it don't matter.

In what I can only describe as a shit storm of motivation, my spin instructor unleashed his full arsenal of inspirational quotes during last Thursday's class. And not just classics like HYDRATE OR DIE, but a slew of long-forgotten gems I haven't heard him utter in over a year. In fact, had I not been there to witness the spectacle firsthand, I wouldn't have believed anyone could pack that many catchphrases into a single hour-- which I guess is just another example of why Mike continues to amaze me for reasons that go far beyond his physical prowess.

I did my best to remember as many of Mike's phrases as I could, but by the class's 45 minute mark, I had switched into pure survival mode and was barely hearing - never mind remembering - what was coming out of his mouth. Still, I was able to recreate a pretty healthy list of quotes and will be using them to give some semblance of structure to my next few posts- starting with this one.

"Mind over matter- if you don't mind, it don't matter."

With 192 miles to bike over 2 days, the main focus of Les's and my training is physical- and rightly so. Just look at the core muscles we'll be exhausting from now until August: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SyLSEnYPv8&feature=related. As an aside, I think that clip might have been the inspiration for Robbie William's freaky Rock DJ music video circa 2000 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BOyvOsMqk4&annotation_id=annotation_690565&feature=iv). But I digress.

As important as our gym sessions are, there is a point in every long ride when your body wants to stop, when your leg muscles scream that they *can't* go any farther, and when the remaining miles seem downright impossible. It's at this point that mind takes over matter. During training, I use music to help overcome this critical juncture, but during official rides, ipods and the like are usually discouraged, if not straight up prohibited.

Without the aid of music, you've gotta come up with some pretty creative ways to pass the miles, but even though I think I have a pretty (overly) active imagination, this ride is going to be ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY TWO FREAKIN MILES LONG and there are only so many ninja fighting scenes and high speed chases I can dream up (Yes. That's what I think about when I ride.) Luckily, Les and I have come up with a solution: The Turntable Bike.

Hear me out. When a DJ is mixing at a club, he's got 2 turntables (and a microphone), right? Well when a biker is riding, he's got 2 spinning wheels (and a handlebar bell)... see where this is going?

It's no new idea to harness a bike's spinning power to create sound- I mean, kids have been attaching playing cards to wheel spokes for decades, but it's 2009- time to take this idea to the next level.

If we simply replace the wheel spokes with records, and rig the break clamps to double as turntable needles, well, we've pretty much created a party in motion.

Still not convinced? Here's a rough diagram for all you nay-sayers:



Problem solved. You're welcome.