Global Cycling Network (GCN) is proud to present its latest book for cyclists, The Complete Guide to Cycling Psychology, written by the acclaimed sport psychologist Dr Jim Taylor with essential insights and real-world experience from record-breaking endurance cyclist Mark Beaumont.
The Complete Guide to Cycling Psychology takes the reader deep inside the psychology of cyclists, exploring the powerful impact that the mind has on cycling performance. The book has been structured to introduce readers to each concept and consider their own cycling psychology while giving them the insights, information, and tools they need to ensure that their mind is their greatest ally rather than their worst enemy; whether they’re off on a training ride, endurance epic, or race.
Chapters encompass the attitudes through which cyclists approach their cycling; the mental muscles cyclists need to strengthen alongside their bodies; the mental toolbox each cyclist needs to overcome the inevitable challenges of cycling, and; the building blocks of quality training that will help them achieve their cycling goals.
Dr Jim Taylor has devoted his career to identifying the mental factors that impact athletic performance, authoring books including Train Your Mind for Athletic Success: Mental Preparation to Achieve Your Sports Goals and The Triathlete’s Guide to Mental Training. This isn’t a desk job for Dr Taylor, however; he is also an accomplished endurance athlete. In The Complete Guide to Cycling Psychology he draws on his own personal athletic experiences, as well as his work with some of the best cyclists in the world, to take a deep dive into the ways cyclists can train their minds to ride better, faster, and further.
Meanwhile, ultra-endurance cyclist and multiple-world record holder, Mark Beaumont, shares his real-world experience to illustrate the concepts Dr Taylor presents. Mark holds Guinness World Records for cycling around the world in 78 days, 14 hours, 40 minutes (2017) and from Cairo to Cape Town in 42 days (2015), plus completing the North Coast 500 route in the Scottish Highlands in 28 hours, 35 minutes (2022). In The Complete Guide to Cycling Psychology, Mark draws from his ultra-endurance feats and record-breaking rides to illustrate what he’s learnt about his own psychology and how he has used different psychological techniques to get the best out of himself, whatever challenge he faces.
Dr Jim Taylor said: “I’m immensely satisfied and proud that in The Complete Guide to Cycling Psychology we have achieved our goal of writing a book that can help every cyclist become mentally stronger and get the most out of every time they ride their bike. Collaborating with Mark has been a remarkable journey of taking my professional ideas about the mental side of cycling and my personal experience as an endurance athlete to a new and far more interesting and rewarding level. I felt like Mark and I were on an ultra-distance ride in writing this book!”
Mark Beaumont said: “In everything I have done, bike rides and expeditions to over 100 countries, it is the psychological element that has always fascinated me the most. I know that I am not the world’s best bike rider in the physical sense, so I have always focussed on mental strength to push world firsts and world records. Having the chance to really explore this topic with one of the world’s top sport psychologists, Dr Jim Taylor, has been an absolute privilege and the result is a book that I truly believe will help readers become better cyclists.”
The Complete Guide to Cycling Psychology is available to pre-order now from the Global Cycling Network online store. RRP £16.99
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