No Chain

American pro-cyclist, George Hincapie, described that feeling when everything’s working superbly well with the words, “No chain, no chain”. Without a chain on a bike there’d be no tension and spinning the pedals would take almost no effort. When Hincapie was feeling really good on a training ride he would describe the feeling by saying “No chain”.

I felt that way on the ride to work today. Everything just worked. I felt like I had a motor on my bike and seeing as I change direction a few times on my commute it wasn’t just a tailwind.

I do wonder if it had anything to do with my walk around the zoo yesterday afternoon. Sunday’s usually the only day I spend off the bike completely. It’s a recovery day. I wonder whether my muscles appreciated the slow stroll. Maybe I need a long relaxed walk every Sunday.

Life seems to throw up obstacles at every turn so it’s wonderful when we have those moments when everything just works. Some talk about being in the zone or in the flow. It’s that moment or period of time when our mind and body finally start getting on like we wish they always would and those things that normally require a lot of concentration and work seem to come effortlessly. Those moments don’t generally happen without putting in a lot of ground work. If it’s a sporting thing there’s usually a lot of blood, sweat and tears before we find that no chain moment. If it’s another discipline, such as music, it’s the many, many hours of practice that finally come together to provide that sense of exhilaration.

When was the last time you felt like you were riding with no chain? When did you last feel like everything was truly working as it should?

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