Quick Take
You don’t become a stronger cyclist first — you become someone who thinks differently first. At 70 years old and 155,000+ miles later, I’ve learned that the way you frame wind, hills, age, and pain determines the rider you become. That’s neuroplasticity in action — even if you’ve never heard the word.
I’m 70. I’ve Ridden Over 155,000 Miles. And I Just Learned This Word.
I’m 70 years old.
I’ve ridden over 155,000 miles.
I’ve trained through West Texas wind, 100-degree heat, doubt, weight loss, aging, and long empty highways where the only sound is your chain and your thoughts.
And until yesterday, I had never heard the word neuroplasticity.
Then it showed up twice in one day.
First, I read an article about Olympic champion Eileen Gu. A reporter asked her if she thinks before she speaks. She said:
“You can control what you think. And therefore you can control who you are… With neuroplasticity on my side, I can literally become exactly who I want to be.”
Later that same day, my ultra-marathon daughter mentioned neuroplasticity too.
I stopped her.
“What is that?”
She explained it simply: your brain rewires itself based on how you repeatedly think and respond.
Then she said something I’ve watched her live for years:
“You become who you are by how you frame things.”
That’s when this post wrote itself.
My Daughter Runs Toward What Most People Avoid
She runs distances most people wouldn’t attempt in a car without snacks.
When races get brutal — and they always do — she doesn’t say:
“This is miserable.”
She says:
“This is what I trained for.”
She reframes pain as proof. She reframes fatigue as growth. She reframes suffering as part of the process.
That’s not accidental toughness.
That’s trained thinking.
And whether I knew the word or not, I’ve been doing the same thing on a bicycle for decades.
West Texas Is My Mental Laboratory
If you want to test your thinking, ride 20 miles into a 25-mph headwind.
There are no trees. No buildings. No relief.
Just you, the road, and whatever you’re telling yourself.
I used to think:
- “This wind ruins my ride.”
- “This is miserable.”
- “I hate this.”
Guess what that produced?
A miserable rider who hated the wind.
Then I changed the script:
- “This is resistance training.”
- “If I can ride in this, I can ride anywhere.”
- “This builds durability.”
The wind didn’t change.
The road didn’t change.
But the ride did.
Same conditions. Different thinking.
That’s neuroplasticity — even if you never use the word.
When I Weighed 275 Pounds, My Brain Was Wired Differently
When I started riding seriously, I was over 275 pounds.
My internal dialogue sounded like this:
- “I’m too heavy.”
- “I’m too old.”
- “I don’t look like a cyclist.”
- “I’ll never be like those guys.”
That thinking almost became my identity.
But ride by ride, I reframed.
Not: “I need to be fast.”
But: “I need to be consistent.”
Not: “I have to prove something.”
But: “I just have to keep showing up.”
The body followed the brain.
A Simple Way to Practice This
I’m not a “sit cross-legged on a mountain” guy. But after hard rides, I do reflect.
Sometimes I write down what I told myself in the wind, on the hills, or when I wanted to quit — and what I want that script to be next time.
That one habit has helped me show up better on the next ride.
If you’ve never tried it, even a basic training journal works:
Browse cycling training journals on Amazon .
Three Athletes. Same Principle.
An Olympic champion.
An ultra-marathon runner.
And a 70-year-old cyclist with 155,000 miles in his legs.
Three different sports. Three different generations. Same principle.
The battle starts in the mind long before it shows up in the body.
You don’t become strong first.
You become someone who thinks differently first.
The strength follows.
You’re Already Rewiring Yourself
Every ride.
If your self-talk sounds like:
- “I’m getting old.”
- “I’m slower every year.”
- “I can’t climb anymore.”
- “This heat is too much.”
You are wiring that.
But if you shift it to:
- “I ride differently now.”
- “I’m still building.”
- “I’ve done harder.”
- “I can manage this.”
You wire something else instead.
Your brain doesn’t argue.
It adapts.
At 70, I Finally Have a Name for It
I didn’t know the science.
I didn’t need the science.
But now I have a word for something I’ve practiced for years.
Neuroplasticity.
It turns out my daughter was right.
It turns out Eileen Gu was right.
And it turns out that every time I chose to keep pedaling instead of quitting, I wasn’t just training my legs.
I was training who I was becoming.
But here’s the deeper question. If your brain truly changes through repetition — if discipline becomes identity — then who are you becoming?
I started thinking about that after writing this post. Would the person I was when I first clipped in be proud of the cyclist I’ve become?
I explored that idea here:
Would the Person You Were When You First Started Cycling Be Proud of the Cyclist You’ve Become?
FAQ
What is neuroplasticity in simple terms?
Neuroplasticity is your brain’s ability to change and rewire itself based on repeated thoughts, habits, and behaviors. What you think consistently becomes how you respond automatically.
How does neuroplasticity apply to cycling?
The way you frame wind, hills, aging, discomfort, and setbacks determines how you ride. Repeated mental framing builds resilience and identity over time — just like physical training builds fitness.
Can cyclists over 60 still change their mindset?
Yes. The brain continues adapting throughout life. At 70 years old and 155,000+ miles later, I’m still refining how I think about effort, consistency, and durability.
Does mindset really affect endurance performance?
Absolutely. Endurance sports are mental long before they are physical. How you interpret fatigue, discomfort, and setbacks determines whether you quit or keep going.