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By walker on 6/27/2006 on walker's blog
Guns and Roses was a tough band. Axle Rose! The guy was CORE... I remember being in grade school and being psyched to hear the frets of Slash. I could run faster than anyone, if Guns and Roses played on my bedroom stereo system. It was the music, my music, that made me charge. I also remember turning to the softer side of metal rock. Yes, I'm talking about the classic ballad, "Every Rose has Its Thorn," by Poison. The sweet melody poured easily in to our 7th grade hearts during Halloween dances. It set the stage. The song was all I needed to make my move. I stood up from my chair and asked Erin, the little Mormon girl, to dance. Music is paramount to our human experience. Think about how many times you've been surrounded by music. Maybe the occasion was a wedding or a birthday party. More likely, the music blared during your graduation party or random Friday night. It seems as if any human event can be made more important by choice tunes. However, music is more than an accompaniment to traditional events. It serves a purpose. Whether you are walking down the aisle, partying until you drop or racing, music creates the mood, and the mood makes everything possible. Mood regulation is just as important to athletes as it is to a 7th grade crush. In fact, mood is one of the key predictors of athletic performance, according to a recent study by Matthew Stevens and Andrew Lane of the University of Wolverhampton, U.K. Their article in the Online Journal of Sports Psychology states that listening to music was a strategy reported to regulate mood dimensions by athletes. In other words, the study demonstrated that an athlete with a positive mood would perform in a consistent manner and music might assist in the regularity of mood. The types of music used by the athletes were variable, but nonetheless music was important. Pre-race music is important to me. I use music to calm down. Personally, I have a very significant problem with "jitters," or race anxiety. The music I listen to is very jazzy, funky and calm. The melodies are complicated, but touch the soul with just enough "up-beats" to get me excited to race. Unfortunately, race organizers do not allow headphones. Thus, I internalize the music. I recall each and every beat during the race. At times, I actually breathe the lyrics. There have been times when I've passed other riders who are also in touch with their musical choices. I have passed riders singing pop songs as well as opera. I'm sure that their singing has nothing to do with the lack of oxygen, but I wonder. Below is a list of pre-race tunes I have chosen for the 24 Hours of Moab race. In The Sun: Beat Pharmacy What music do you listen to? Make a comment... |
The music you ride with can regulate your mood
DangerousProductions says:
 I totally agree with music regulating moods. It was only a few years back when I got into biking, by pure chance I moved house and one day went for a walk up the mountain only to find a downhill track 5 minutes from my house. I wasnt sure what the track was even meant for but I bought a really nasty bike from walmart and got my first taste of downhill (and crashing on a downhill). I then mentioned to some friends about the track and one weekend we all decided to push our walmart bikes to the top, only this time I had an mp3 player which I'd put some random music on. I'm pretty ecclectic when it comes to music but as I pressed play my ear drums nearly burst, it was the hardest metal I'd ever heard (Chimaira) and I wasnt really into metal let alone people growling, however, as I pointed the front wheel down the mountain I felt this 'energy' build up inside me, almost head banging well riding I flew through the first section and came to a drop of about 5 feet, it seems silly now but doing a drop that size seemed almost impossible back then, but the music was blasting, I got off the bike pushed a few yards above the drop turned around and nodded at my friends, this huge surge of adrenaline burst through me and I just started pedalling like a wild man, off the drop, landed with a huge thump, slid everywhere and came to a stop in some bushes. The biggest grin appeared on my face and I got my first taste of what many like to call 'stoked'. From that moment on I've dedicated everything I have to biking and I'm sure if I hadn't been playing that music I would have never have done that drop, I'd have never have got 'stoked' and probably never have got into biking. Needles to say the walmart bike died a horrible death during that run and luckily I met some local riders who pointed me in the right direction and I got a good bike sorted. |
walker says:
 Dangerous Productions, What a story! I can add to that. When I first moved to Durango (and the high altitude) I remember my first ride. It was uphill and super tough. I went only so far. Then I had to get off my bike and walk some of the sections that I failed. I decided that I would get into some music to motivate me. I found some new music to listen too. I cranked up the volume, lubed up my bike and hit the trail with a seriousness I have never realized before. Thank goodness for music... Walker T Off the road, on the mind... |
LP says:
you already know....soundtracks baby!!! |
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.thumbnail.jpg "My 1995 Specialized M2 Stumpjumper FS")
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