In this episode I talk with Seb and Beth Dunne, a couple who are both top endurance cyclists. We talk mainly about the Tour Divide – a 4500 kilometre unassisted off-road bike race from Canada to Mexico down the West Coast of America through the Rocky Mountains. In the 2015 race Beth came first and set the women’s record at that time, and Seb was on track for fourth place until his forks broke.

Being such a long race, I was curious to know how they deal with the highs and lows, and the extent to which the things that motivate them are also the things which can cause a roller coaster of emotion. It was really interesting to see that Seb and Beth had very different approaches. Something along the lines of Seb being more internally focused and intrinsically motivated and Beth being more externally focused and extrinsically motivated. It sounded like Beth experienced more of the highs and lows and internal conflict, but given she got the record it’s not so simple to say there’s a right and a wrong way to do these things.

We also talked a fair bit about the difference between short term and long term types of willpower. The short term kind seems like mental tricks and stubbornness whereas the longer term kind of will power (‘endurance mindset’ perhaps) requires a cornerstone of meaningfulness that sustains you.

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