Adventure is a mental game
My ride blog is an account of what I experience each day on my coast to coast trip. My "thinking blog" is what I am working on in my head. An important element of this trip is to demonstrate how good thinking backs up good action, that adventure is a mental game, informed by models, theories and science.
Let's run through that. A model is a mental framework we can use to understand how things work. I use a systems dynamics model to organize what, how and when I eat and drink. What is “systems dynamics”? Here’s the Wiki definition: “Systems dynamics (SD) is an approach to understanding the nonlinear behavior of complex systems of time using stocks, flows, internal feedback loop, table functions and time delays”. Yeah, pretty wonky, but it boils down to something very useful: how to stay hydrated and energized so I don’t bonk.
During a strenuous effort, like riding 70 miles, it’s important to stay ahead of the hydration and energy curve. If I fall behind it’s very hard to recover in real time. This is because actual thirst and hunger are trailing indicators, not leading indicators, that I am in water and food deficit. If I wait until I feel thirsty or hungry, performance dips until the new water and food get all the way to my cells. In this deficit state, my output decreases, my mental acuity declines and my attitude takes a plunge. Bad output, bad thinking, and “hangriness” ensue, with possible catastrophic consequences (that 80,000 pound truck is still right there, going 65 mph, 2 feet off my left elbow).
Modeling systems dynamics helps me strategize my hydration and nutrition so I stay sharp and strong all day. I drink and eat in anticipation, not response, to thirst and hunger. What I eat, when I eat it, how much I eat, and what I do if I haven’t had enough fluids or fuel, is a constant modeling of stocks, flows and feedback loops, all day, everyday.
Now let’s look at a theory. Theories answer “why” questions. I’ve been talking a lot recently about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which is an answer to the question, when people are “self-actualizing”, that is, being there best with intention and success, why are they so capable? Maslow’s theory explains that their “deficit needs” are being effectively met so they can focus on what they want to achieve instead of what is preventing that achievement. Maslow articulated four levels of deficit needs that, when met, support self-actualization.
At the foundation are “physiological needs”, that is, things that keep the animal alive and functioning, like air, water, food, warmth, and not seriously hurt or sick. Above that are “safety needs”, things like not being threatened, feeling competent enough to not make a mistake that hurts or wrecks someone or something, having the necessary protective equipment and a safe haven if one is needed. Next up is “love and belonging”, that is, knowing you are relevant and appreciated by other people. And the top deficit need is self-esteem, a feeling of personal worth and value.
Maslow’s theory explains why when a deficit need is unmet, a person must attend to meeting it before a higher level of function is possible. If I cannot breath, I cannot do anything about anything that isn’t going to help me breath again. Ditto if I feel like I am in danger, or maligned by others, or am in a funk of self-disgust.
That’s a quick and dirty explanation of Maslow’s Hierarchy. How does it relate to cycling, or adventure? In planning, organizing and executing an adventure, like this coast to coast, Maslow’s theory of the hierarchy of needs informs every decision of where I go, what I take, what I have to know, and what I have to do. Gear, food, health are job one because if the physiological level is in deficit, nothing else can work. I wear a helmet, safety vest, my light batteries are charged, I know and follow the rules of the road, and I get out of the way of big, fast steel machines. I pay attention to people, look drivers in the eye, check in with my support team, use maps, read weather reports (made by people), am kind to strangers, to gain their esteem and avoid conflict. I am constantly tracking my successes, and looking for ways to stay successful and of value to myself, with PMA, positive mental attitude.
Only when all of these are in play and working together can I execute a successful day of riding. If any of these lower needs are in deficit, I fix it before I clip into a pedal and start moving. I MUST fix it before I start, because every turn of the pedal is an act of self-actualization. Millions of pedal turns gets me from one coast to the other, each only possible because my D-needs are fully met.
Science is a method, an organized approach to gathering, evaluating and taking action on information. It starts with a curiosity, then an observation, an initial interpretation of what is observed, a test of that interpretation, and if it passes the test, action. When actions continue to produce desired results, I repeat them. When they don’t I go back down the ladder and start the process over. I also share what I think with others and listen to what they say, because their experience and use of science can be a lens that I can see through only if I include them.
I’m writing this at a picnic table, in the dark, in Morristown, AZ, on the seventh day of an eight week adventure, exactly where my mental game put me. I would only be here, doing this, if my models, theories and use of the scientific method were sound. Pushing pedals is just the last action in a long chain of deliberate actions, most of them mental. Adventure is a mental game.
