Today’s highlights include another British attempt on the round the world cycling record and a detailed account of the effectiveness of performance drug use from an amateur cyclists perspective.

1. I struggled to pick just one post to recommend from Russell’s fantastic blog. He is an artist cycling around the world, his writing is powerful and poignant. So here are 2 choices, both are unusual and thought provoking What we fear makes us ill and pedal by pedal an intimate goodbye
2. British cyclists are on a roll with “around the world cycling records” from LCC. First came Mark Beaumont 194 days, next James Bowthorpe 175 days. The record is now under threat again by Julian Sayarer a 23-year-old London cycle courier averaging a massive 112 miles per day, which would bring him home in 160 days. These photos show him at start then after 10,000 miles !! Check Julian’s website out This is not for Charity



3. “If you were stranded on a desert island what’s the one thing you’d want with you” question, and his response was “Walmart”. This classic line is taken from a great article on Tao of Cycling titled Banter Check it out.
4. Some lovely poetry on a cycling theme from Words-a-day. The bored reflections of a bored soul in a boring world.
5. You know that you are an Ultra Cyclist when? Taken from an article on Ultra Running on the same theme!
   • You tell your significant other you’ll ride there and would she please bring your change of clothes (for Thanksgiving Dinner)
   • You do centuries for speed work
   • Every deep thought and every great idea came to you while you were on the bike
   • Your closet is full of cycling gear and you can’t find “any” street clothes to wear
   • When you call your vacations- bikations.
   • When taking the long way home from work involves lights, and at least 1,500 portable calories
   • When you look at a Recommend Daily Allowances and scoff
   • When you look at “servings per container” and divide by two to achieve a more accurate number.
6. Race Around Ireland have set the dates for the 2010 race which is 1350 mile (2200km) non-stop cycle race sanctioned by the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association. Race open to solo riders and teams.
7. Training for endurance based events like triathlon, marathons and cycling requires a great deal of planning ,experience and knowledge. This excellent endurance nutrition video lists in order of importance the nutritional factors starting with water, electrolytes, carbs and Branch Chain Amino Acid’s ( BCAA’s), probably endurance nutrition best kept secret.
8. Are you intimidated to race your bike, scared of the pain or embarrassment of being dropped. You are not alone. MellowVelo share your feelings and have a lovely post The intent to race
9. So you want to get leaner, faster, stronger and not bulk up? This is the most informative article I have read on drugs in sport. It is a detailed and personal account of taking them, the effects and performance benefits they bring to endurance athletes and cyclists. It’s long but well worth the read. Please note it is NOT a moral article, nor too a discussion of the ethics but a scientific study of performance gains from an amateurs perspective. Endurance cycling drug use
10. Thanks to Running to Stand Still for the cool cycling picture used in the title of this article

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If you write a cycling blog and have written a interesting or unusual post on ultra, endurance or touring that you would like featured in this daily roundup of news then please Contact Luke

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Related posts:

1. Daily News round up covering ultra marathon and trail running – FRI 27 Nov
2. Daily Bike News Roundup covering ultra, touring and endurance cycling
3. Young British Rower Sarah Outen sets Ocean Rowing Record
4. Part 4 Volunteering in an orphanage in Nepal gave me an amazing new start in life
5. 50 Cent can teach you everything you need to know about raising expedition sponsorship dollars

Today’s highlights include 40 minutes of high definition video footage of Ben Stookesberry and Chris Korbulic kayaking in India and an article by Roz Savage highlighting characteristics of successful ocean rowers.

1. James Ketchell makes final preparations for this years Atlantic Rowing Race and thankfully lands a sponsorship deal with Speedo.
2. Mick Dawson and Chris Martin reached San Francisco on 13 November 09 having rowed unsupported from Japan. 189 days of hardship, rowing in 2-3 hour shifts, 24 hours a day they covered a staggering 4,500 miles as the crow flies, but with all the wind and currents they have actually rowed about 6,930 miles in total.
3. Greg Kolodziejzyk has put together an excellent article detailing the reasons that previous ocean rowing expeditions have failed. He goes on to discuss possible strategies for handling each situation as he prepares for his challenge of pedaling 4300km from Canada to Hawaii in a human powered boat.
4. Douglas Wilcox has some beautiful sea kayaking pictures taken exploring the coastline and mountains of Scotland.
5. Global Paddlers Thanks for this great kayaking video.
   
   
6. Sea kayaking at night An excellent article covering all aspects of night kayaking from equipment through to safety precautions.
7. Matthew Grey expedition coordinator for Plastiki an ambitious project to build a boat out of plastic bottles and sail from San Francisco to Sydney gives interview on progress to National Geographic
8. Ben Stookesberry and Chris Korbulic attempt a complete self supported kayaking descent of the Twang Chu River in a remote area of India. This fantastic article includes over 40 minutes of high definition video footage of this extreme kayaking expedition.
9. Roz Savage discusses the 7 habits that bring success for wannabe ocean rowers. If you are training or tempted by ocean rowing this article is a must read.
10. Lewis Pugh Arctic swimming video.
    
    

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If you write an ocean rowing, kayaking or water based expedition blog and have written a interesting or unusual post that you would like featured in this daily roundup of news then please Contact Luke

Incoming search terms:

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Related posts:

1. Daily Bike News Roundup covering ultra, touring and endurance cycling
2. The Lesson from 2 expeditions seeking sponsorship to fund their next adventure
3. The Adventure of a Lifetime – Cycling, Walking and Mountaineering
4. Young British Rower Sarah Outen sets Ocean Rowing Record
5. Ocean kayaking expedition 850 miles on the Sea of Cortez

Today’s highlights include Lisa Tamati 2200km run across the length of New Zealand and an endurance psychology article focusing on “coping with pain”.

1. Ultramarathon running legend Dean Karnazes offers a fantastic list of tips and techniques for training and running ultra distance events.
2. Lisa Tamati New Zealand’s elite ultra marathon runner, is running the length of New Zealand. Covering approximately 2,200km in 33 days or the equivalent of 52 marathons she’s due to finish on 2 December 2009
3. Chris Tokarz was the female winner of the 2009 Rockledge Rumble 50 km trail run and is interviewed about her training and ultra marathon race strategy
4. Steph has completed 22 marathons so far in her quest to be the youngest female to run a full marathon in all 50 states.
5. Quotes from Ultra marathon runner It’s a long list but some real gems in here
6. Endurance Psychology An excellent article about managing and coping with pain in endurance racing including detailed training strategies.
7. Fantastic list of 50 Endurance Blogs including sections on training and analyses, endurance, speed, nutrition and strength training.
8. 6 great lessons from the running trail Jon Berghoff uses a running analogy in this excellent article on business strategy
9. Top female endurance athlete Jen Segger describes the fine line between triumph and addiction as she bares all in this honest and thought provoking interview.
10. Inspirational running story Len Ruth weighed close to 222 lbs before taking up running. He lost 80lbs and ended up running ultra distance marathons and even took part in a 24 hour race.

Please Share on Facebook or Retweet

If you write a running blog and have written a interesting or unusual post that you would like featured in this daily roundup of marathon and ultra endurance running news then please Contact Luke

Related posts:

1. CrazyJourneys Daily Bike News covering ultra, touring and endurance cycling
2. Young British Rower Sarah Outen sets Ocean Rowing Record
3. An ultra marathon running world record on the GR20 mountain trail
4. Part 4 Volunteering in an orphanage in Nepal gave me an amazing new start in life
5. 50 Cent can teach you everything you need to know about raising expedition sponsorship dollars

Find Somebody who has already achieved your goal

I have been working towards bouldering Font 8A over the last couple of years. It is a real BIG GOAL for me. It requires years of effort, dedication and perseverance for it to be achieved. The level of difficulty with this goal is such that I may not achieve it despite dedicating enormous effort and time towards doing so.

So what can I do to increase the odds of success?

One aspect of my attempt is worth considering in a wider context. I have 4-5 friends who have already climbed at Font 8A or better. There is nothing particularly special about these guys. Sure they are strong and have dedicated years of their lives to climbing. But beyond that, they are genetically no different from me, they do not train harder than me.

This is important when thinking about your own BIG GOAL. By finding somebody who you can relate too that has achieved what you want to do. You demystify the GOAL. It becomes more run of the mill. If 5 of my mates can climb 8A then surely I can too with enough time, the right training and mental approach.

Ask the right questions?

Having identified one or more people who have achieved your BIG GOAL already. You now need to learn from them. It may be that you can do this in person as I have been lucky enough to do in my climbing or it may be that you must learn through reading books or web sites.

The important thing is that we accept that in order to achieve our BIG GOAL we must learn from an expert.

But what do we need to learn?

There are many answers to this question and I would like to explore more of them in another article. However the one that I would like to address here is to..

Ask the expert what THE MOST important skill is?

Achieving a BIG GOAL is a consequence of achieving competence in many different skills that all combine together to make the BIG GOAL possible. Often these skills can be broken down and to the non expert eye they may all look equally important.

This is rarely the case. It is here that your relationship with the EXPERT is going to bear fruit. The question you need to ask is

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILL OR COMPETANCE THAT I MUST BUILD?

The expert is in a position to answer this as they have already achieved your goal. They have credibility, competence and experience. They have been in your shoes. Sat where you are sitting. They have spent years training, trying different approaches, working on different skills. This experience put’s them in a unique position to analyse which skills are the most important and make all the difference in achieving the BIG GOAL.

It doesn’t mean that the other skills are less important. Just that if you want to turbo charge your campaign and bring success closer then focus your efforts on the skill the expert says is most critical and important.

Putting this into practice

Returning to my climbing example. When I asked my friends who have climbed 8A about the most important skill needed all said “Finger Strength” – “If you can’t hold small holds then no amount of body strength, power etc can help as if you can’t hold the hold you cannot apply your power and move off it.

Listening to my friends (the experts) has given me the information to help me achieve the goal. It doesn’t make the training any easier. But what it does do, is allow me to target my training on a simple goal/objective. How to make my fingers stronger.

There is so much sports training information available online and in books. The hard thing is knowing which program to work towards. Once an expert has identified the critical skill required for achieving your goal then it is much easier for you to select a training program from the multitude available.

So to recap..

1. Find somebody who has already achieved your goal
2. Ask them what the key/most important skill that made success possible.
3. Study online, books, ask the expert and develop a training plan that focuses and targets that KEY SKILL
4. TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN and TRAIN some more !!!!

So no shortcuts but maybe this solution will help. I’m still trying so cant guarantee success as I’m not the expert!! I’m on the same path as you.

I would be very interested in your comments and opinions on this technique. Are you training for a BIG GOAL. What is your approach ??

Related posts:

1. Do you want to achieve your sporting ambitions? Here’s how to get started
2. Rock Climbing Skills Video: Psychology for Overcoming a fear of falling
3. running – How do I start running if I have never been a runner before? Long term goal is a Marathon!?
4. marathon – Setting Up a Half Marathon Training Program
5. 10 Ultra Marathon endurance events I want to complete before I die

Last week I wrote a post on this blog 10 ultra marathon endurance events I want to complete before I die. This got me thinking. OK so I have written the list. But what was I really doing about turning them into reality. This list was nothing new for me, since it’s contents have been bouncing around inside my head for the last few years.

This time I decided to tackle it slightly differently and would like to illustrate my actions in the hope that it may help you in your own quest to achievable a big goal or target.

I going to illustrate the points with reference to one of my big goals “running the marathon des Sables”. This event is way outside my comfort zone and experience. Some background first, I don’t like running, nor too have I ever done much running. I have never run a marathon or been to the Sahara dessert.

So I think it justifiably counts as a BIG GOAL !!

The attraction for me in this event is the fear factor and the level of the challenge involved. But the question is “How to move beyond those and turn it into reality?”

Define your big goal

The first thing I did was to write it down. Nothing new there but I think it is so important that i will restate it. If you want to achieve a big goal, it is much more likely to happen if you make a personal commitment by writing it down. If possible include as much detail about the big goal and what it looks like.

In my case – Complete Marathon des Sables in 2012

What need to happen to make big goal possible

By thinking through what needs to happen to make the big goal possible I’m forcing myself to consider the possibilities and the factors that influence my projects successful outcome. So I list out these things to help me get started. At this stage not too much detail I concentrating on an overall framework.

When can I get a place? How will I pay for my entry? How fit do I need to be? What other race experience do I need? What other survival / dessert experience do I need? Who can I talk too that has completed the event? What books can I read about running the race? etc etc

Set a short term Mini Goal

I think this is the single most important thing to do. I suffer very badly from a short term attention span. My family and friends joke that the longest I last on one activity is 13 weeks. I get bored very quickly. When this happens my enthusiasm get side tracked and I leap off in a new and exciting direction. This is lots of fun BUT NOT VERY USEFUL FOR ACHIEVING BIG GOAL.

So one solution is to set a mini goal that is an exciting goal in itself and that can be completed within 2-6 weeks. This means that I can focus all my attention and enthusiasm on this small project without becoming to distracted / overwhelmed by the big goal.

By setting it at 2-6 weeks I give myself some margin for error in terms of my personal attention span. So that even if it takes longer than I expect, maybe even double the time to achieve say for example 12 weeks I’m, still inside my personal 13 week window.

So in my personal case. I have set a mini goal of running a marathon before Christmas. I haven’t set a speed or anything else simply that I will run 26 miles and that will be my first milestone in my BIG GOAL of running Marathon des Sables.

Concentrate on the mini goals

Concentrating and achieving the mini goals is the key to successfully completing the BIG GOAL’s. It’s a cliche but so true,”you climb Everest one step at a time!” The big goal is only possible and achievable by completing 10′s and maybe 100′s of mini goals.

Within these mini goals lies the “journey”. the “experience” that we will always remember. They give us the skills, knowledge and ability to achieve the big goal but most importantly they shape our everyday lives so that we live in the moment. Here and now rather than hoping that we will find fulfillment through achieving the one BIG GOAL.

My journey towards running th Marathon des Sables has begun. I started training today for my first marathon which I will run before the end of 2009. (I’m looking for a marathon to run. Do you know of one in late December 2009 ??)

Join the Conversation

Has your journey begun ? Have you got a BIG GOAL, what about some mini goals? Have you started? Are you already on the path? Share your experiences and join the conversation.

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Related posts:

1. Are you struggling to achieve a Big Goal? This solution might help you..
2. Daily News round up covering ultra marathon and trail running – FRI 27 Nov
3. Do you think you are to old to begin training for an ultra marathon running event? Think again!
4. 10 Ultra Marathon endurance events I want to complete before I die
5. Getting Started – A Rough Guide to Riding the Tour de France Route

I would like to caveat this list with some points. I’m not an expert web designer, nor am I an expert at search engine optimisation. Nor too am I an expert at marketing on social media.

But for what it’s worth I will share my experiences of setting up the CrazyJourneys site and the methods I have used to market it. This hopefully will provide a basic framework for you to use and develop for your own expedition web site. It’s not numbered in priority order, simply as I thought of the item. This list is Part 1 in the series.

Expedition and adventure travel web site design

1. Use a wordpress blog for the basic site. You can host with them for free, but I recommend you get your own domain for example www.myexpeditionname.com and find a hosting company. I use just host and it cost about $45 for 2 years. This included the domain name and unlimited sub domains
2. choose a theme for your blog design. I use hybrid-news. i strongly recommend using hybrid which is the main architecture and then you have option af various child themes of which hybrid news is one. Hybrid and child themes are free and fully customisable with great search engine optimisation features already built in. Hybrid has an excellent support forum where the designer Justin always responds to questions you post within a few hours. Cost is $25 per year
3. Choose some plugins to make your wordpress blog work better. I use
   • contact form 7 so readers can contact me.
   • hybrid hook extra functionality for hybrid theme
   • my blog recent visitor widget gives live visitor data, where they came from and what outbound links they clicked on when you visit your profile page on myBlogLog
   • subscribe to comments allows users to receive an email of follow up comments
   • wordpress backup and wordpress database backup for that nightmare time when I lose all my data!
   • wp super cache makes site load faster
   • yet another related post plugin which put a list of related posts at end of a post
   • wibiya puts toolbar at bottom of browser with links to facebook page twitter translations etc
4. Customise your theme to make it look as you desire. Full details of this are beyond the scope of this article. However I have included a list below with code snippets where appropriate of things I did on this site that were a hassle to work out
5. Amended the template.php file for yet another realatet post to display a what’s next section and the social media buttons for “become a fan, share on facebook, retweet, digg etc.

   <h4><strong>Follow CrazyJourneys on Facebook</strong> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/crazyjourneys" title="CrazyJourneys on Facebook"><img src="http://crazyjourneys.com/wp-content/themes/hybrid-news/images/fb-fan.gif" width="113" height="23" style="border:none;" alt="Facebook" /></a></h4>
   <div class="alignleft">
   <h3>Whats Next</h3>
   <ul>
   <li><a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/crazyjourneys">Subscribe to CrazyJourneys</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
   <li><a href="<?php get_permalink(); ?>#respond" title="<?php the_title_attribute(); ?>">Please comment..</a></li>
   <li><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=99e0a522-d065-4875-ab1b-8ca581783317&amp;type=wordpress&amp;buttonText=ShareThis%20Please"></script></li></ul>
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<script>var fbShare = {google_analytics: 'true'}</script>
   <script src="http://widgets.fbshare.me/files/fbshare.js"></script>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br/><br/><br/>
   

6. Add share on facebook and reteet buttons to the post title. This was done by adding the following code to the theme functions.php file

   add_action( 'hybrid_before_entry', 'my_tweet_button', 1 );
   function my_tweet_button() {
   	if ( is_single() ) { ?>
   		<div class="tweet-button">
   			<script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<script>var fbShare = {google_analytics: 'true'}</script>
   <script src="http://widgets.fbshare.me/files/fbshare.js"></script>
   		</div>
   	<?php }
   }
   

7. Add a video introduction. I have been amazed how often this get viewed. CrazyJourneys has been live for 6 weeks and this vid has been viewed about 500 times. One thing though and I have yet to action this on my site. I would put a screen capture image of the video then open the video when it is clicked. One problem with the way I have done it is that it is in widget sidebar on every post and page which is good BUt because it is embeded and has to call the code from Youtube everytime a it slows down the load speed of the site.

I hope that this list is useful. If you have any questions please leave a comment and I will do my best to help. Also if you can see any ways in which I can improve the crazyJourneys site or if you have had any problems with it then I would really appreciate your feedback as well.

Related posts:

1. A travel blog with credibility. This traveller has a message to share
2. The Lesson from 2 expeditions seeking sponsorship to fund their next adventure
3. trekking – Trekking Adventure Travel
4. The Adventure of a Lifetime – Cycling, Walking and Mountaineering
5. An intelligent travellers adventure as he cycles around the world

In 2007 I rode the entire route 1 day ahead of the professionals and thought I would put together an overview of my trip and provide some pointers for others tempted to tackle a stage or the whole route. This is part 4 of a series of articles documenting my story. To read Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Cycling the Tour de France Prologue

My training was finished and I was ready! Well as ready as I ever was going to be following 3 weeks of effort. My Mother had agreed to join me and drive a support van. She arrived in London and we loaded up the transit van than would be our home for the next 3 weeks.

I didn’t take alot of gear or tools. My lack of cycling experience meant that i wouldn’t have known what to do with tools even if I had owned them. The basic kit list was a bike pump, spare tyre and tubes.

On Friday 6th July 2007 with the bike and geared stowed in the back of the van we set off to central London to ride the prologue and watch the Grand Depart. Parking in central London is a nightmare so we left the van in the car park at Batersea Park. My mother got a bus into town and I cycled along the river. I was so nervous. My stomach filled with butterfly’s feeling like an imposter who was going to be unmasked at any moment.

I arrived at Parliament square and went through the barriers they had erected and had my first taste of the huge logistical operation that goes on behind the scenes of the Tour. There were hundred’s of people erecting signs, barriers, TV vans, cables everywhere. It was a hive of activity.

The official start was at the top end of Whitehall so I rode up to the sign turned round and I began. The Prologue is a short stage of just 8km. For the pro riders it is a tough test, riding as individuals, alone against the clock. For me it was a lovely ride through some beautiful parts of central London.

The nerves I had felt earlier disappeared and I enjoyed the lovely summer afternoon and took in the sights. I didn’t rush and just took in the atmosphere. Much of the course had already been closed off to traffic and I had a taste of what the pro experience as I rode between the barriers imagining the 1000′s of people who would be there tomorrow to watch the Prologue for real.

The course meandered it’s way past many of London’s landmark sights including Parliament square, Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park finishing on The Mall. The Mall looked amazing with Union Jack flags draped everywhere. What a buzz I felt. Really proud to be British.

Watching the Tour de France Grand Depart

I finished. I had a huge sense of relief. That just maybe this was possible. My mother and I met at Trafalgar square and were joined by a couple of other friends of mine to watch the Grand Depart. This is a formal presentation of the pro teams and all their riders. Trafalgar square was packed with people and big screens to watch the riders close up. Each team was introduced and the riders rode down a ramp and did a small circle in front of the crowd.

After the presentations we left Trafalgar square and went fro dinner at a nearby restaurant. After a fabulous meal with loads of banter by my friends about the likely disaster that was going to unfold we were just paying the bill when I had the most terrible thought. “What time did they lock the park gates”. I had a complete panic. I wanted to start the stage early the next morning and if we couldn’t get the van out where would we sleep and how could I get off early.

I jumped on my bike and rode like a madman the 3-4 km back to the van. To my eternal relief the gates were still open and we could rescue the van.

Each Tour de France stage is made up of 2 parts. There is the neutralised section which varies in distance between a few Km and about 20km. This is the route the riders follow to get to the actual start point of the stage. Then there is the actual stage and it is this distance between stage start and finish that is the distance measurement that you see listed.

I had decided NOT to ride the neutralised sections of the stage. This was for 2 reasons. The first being and most obvious “I didn’t need to add any additional distance to my challenge!” the second is that navigating through cities is difficult at the best of times and without the route signs that accompany the course it would be very difficult to follow. Meaning I could potentially waste lots of unnecessary time and effort.

We arrived at Greenwich which was the official start of the stage and found a car park to put the van and get some sleep. We made a funny pair my mother is 68 but still very fit and active. Me a novice cyclist with no knowledge about the Tour.

I had bought the Dummies guide to the Tour de France and as we prepared for bed I read out sections of the book to her. neither of us had a clue what it was gong to be like. I had never seen the tour, not even on TV whilst she had once while on holiday in Marseille seen the peloton ride under a bridge!

Our sleeping arrangements were bizarre to say the least. I slept in the back of the van with the bike, food and all the gear. It’s a bog standard van with no windows and the front section is panelled off from the rear. She finds the back claustrophobic so slept across the front seats in full view of passing people!

I did have a small camping light so after she had “shut me in” to the back I settled down to read the official tour program. This became my bible as it showed a profile for each stage including the distance and height to climb on each mountain.

Finally to nervous to read. I switched out the light and let my thoughts drift. I was really, really nervous. My mind turning over and over about the first stage and the hills to come. My mothers alarm was set for 5.30 and I finally drifted off to sleep.

This story continues tomorrow as I ride my first tour de France stage from London to Canterbury and I meet some other riders to share the adventure with.

CrazyJourney community comments on endurance riding

After crashing @ mile 50, being backed in2 @ 70, hitting emo-wall @ 80, grit teeth & forced last 20 & felt gr8. Bloody but gr8! ricalivestrong.blogspot.com

1st long distance bike ride? good or bad? Both for me! Lots of pain for me, but the feeling of accomplishment was worth it.
twitter.com/quad4_2000

1st LD ride was 75 mile charity ride. Felt great, lots of adrenaline to help me finish strong!
cyclinginhell.blogspot.com

Was too good, ass-breaking, but awesome! twitter.com/morfinrider

Mine great !! myspace.com/coloradobuff

To watch the Sky News interview with Luke in Paris Sky News

Please support CrazyJourneys.com by taking a moment to comment on this adventure story about cycling the Tour de France prologue and watching the Grand Depart and also tweet or share it.

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Related posts:

1. Part 3 – A rough guide to cycling the Tour de France Route
2. Part 2 – A Rough Guide to Riding the Tour de France Route
3. Getting Started – A Rough Guide to Riding the Tour de France Route
4. Cycling in the mountains of France Phil Deeker’s epic personal Tour de France
5. Oli Broom’s Unusual Cycling Adventure Tour from London to Australia by Bike to Watch the Cricket

Sometimes this fear is justified when the position is very exposed whilst in other cases there really is little danger and our fears are more personal.

i’m sure that, like me, you have read many books by experienced climbers and mountaineers who discuss their psychology and strategy for overcoming fear.

One of the problems with this kind of writing is that we can’t see it in practice. Usually we read it. Think “yes thats good” maybe we even get our yellow marker out and highlight the words of wisdom then the next time we find ourselves in a position of fear it all goes out the window.

We grip tighter, we get progressively more pumped, our legs shake and panic consumes us. I’m afraid I’m not going to offer any magic wand. But what I have found on Climbing Tribe is an old rock climbing video, (not sure how old – anyone any ideas ?) which I think gives a very practical, real life demonstration of overcoming fear and anxiety about taking a fall.

Unlike modern films where climbers are shown making sexy moves to a background of strong music this video features a live discussion by the climbers. I found this dialogue fascinating as it reveals the essence of what is going on in the dangerous and exposed position that the climber on lead is facing.

Interesting to note is the vocal support that the belayer provides. This is very important and can make all the difference to a climber suffering a panic attack. The belayers words and particularly his joking banter help take the lead climbers mind of the danger and his fear and allow him to REFOCUS on the problem in hand.

Often this is all that is necessary. Almost a form of distraction which allows us to come back to the present, analyse the problem and action a solution. In a sense the belayer is sharing the problem and helping him to manage his fear.

How do you overcome a fear of falling?

Some other opinions by CrazyJourney community:

Embrace “fear” its not everyday u can climb over 5k meters in snow. Its that or sit & watch a film about it.i know which i prefer www.thelongestwayhome.com

This rock climbing video shows Al Harris and Henry Barber on Dream of White Horses, Wales.

Credits for the images used in this article and video about overcoming a fear of falling in rock climbing belong to www.photo-tropism.com

Please support CrazyJourneys.com by taking a moment to comment on this film about anxiety and fear of falling and also tweet or share it. Help Luke to spread the word. The buttons are below: