{"id":9089,"date":"2026-01-27T09:39:28","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T08:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/?p=9089"},"modified":"2026-02-03T09:47:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T08:47:11","slug":"the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2026\/01\/27\/the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race\/","title":{"rendered":"The Seven Stages of Signing Up for a Spring Race"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Ah, spring races. A chance to prove your winter training paid off. Or at least, that your bibs still fit. But the emotional journey from clicking \u201cregister\u201d to standing at the start line is\u2026 dramatic. Some might say operatic. We say: textbook self-sabotage with cleats.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are the seven scientifically accurate stages of signing up for a spring race.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>1. Optimism (the delusion)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You see the event. The date is far enough away that anything feels possible. You\u2019re full of beans. Your legs feel fast walking to the fridge.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You sign up. You announce it. You buy a fresh pair of socks.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You say things like \u201cthis will motivate me to train consistently.\u201d<br \/>\nYou are already doomed.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>2. Spreadsheet euphoria<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The plan begins. Colour-coded. Week by week. Base, build, peak.<br \/>\nYou download apps. You schedule rest days like a reasonable adult.<br \/>\nYou make a nutrition strategy. You Google \u201chow many grams of protein is too many if I\u2019m just sitting on the couch thinking about training?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You are elite. You are organised. You are a god.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>3. The motivational wobble<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One week in: cold. Second week: dark. Third week: existential.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your long ride becomes a medium ride becomes a low-effort <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zwift.com\/\">Zwift<\/a> spin while watching Bake Off.<br \/>\nYou miss one session. Then two. Then your spreadsheet haunts you like a disappointed parent.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You consider revising the goal to \u201cjust finish.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>4. The recommitment montage<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Suddenly it\u2019s real. You get serious again.<br \/>\nIntervals are hit. Core work begins. You film yourself doing planks. You play the Rocky theme music.<br \/>\nYou eat a salad and feel smug for 11 minutes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You post \u201cGetting there \ud83d\udcaa\u201d with no context. You are definitely not getting there.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>5. Equipment panic<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The race is weeks away. Your bike starts making a noise.<br \/>\nYour shoes feel wrong. Your helmet looks \u201ctoo last season.\u201d<br \/>\nYou convince yourself a new chainring will unlock fitness.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You spend 3 hours comparing tyres.<br \/>\nYou forget to actually ride the bike.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>6. FTP denial<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Someone mentions testing.<br \/>\nYou pretend not to hear.<br \/>\nYou finally attempt it. The results are\u2026 honest. Painfully honest.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You try again, this time after a better breakfast. It\u2019s somehow worse.<br \/>\nYou Google: \u201ccan FTP be faked convincingly,\u201d \u201chow to look fast in photos,\u201d and \u201crace day sandbagging etiquette.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You decide power is a social construct.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>7. Race week chaos<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Suddenly it\u2019s here.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You haven\u2019t packed. Your front derailleur picks this exact moment to act possessed.<br \/>\nYou develop a mysterious knee twinge. You try on every kit combination ever made.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You spend 90 minutes pre-race cleaning your bike as a form of emotional therapy.<br \/>\nYou say \u201cI\u2019m just doing it for fun\u201d but your heart rate monitor disagrees.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Spring races are never just about racing<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They\u2019re about overcommitting, mildly regretting it, and doing it anyway.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might suffer. You might thrive. You might cry while trying to eat a gel sideways in a headwind.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But you\u2019ll show up. You\u2019ll pedal. And at some point, hopefully before the cramps, you\u2019ll remember why you signed up in the first place.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And then, obviously, you\u2019ll immediately sign up for another one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ah, spring races. A chance to prove your winter training paid off. Or at least, that your bibs still fit. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":211,"featured_media":6660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-9089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-the-latest"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.3 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Seven Stages of Signing Up for a Spring Race - \u0160koda We Love Cycling - United Kingdom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2026\/01\/27\/the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Seven Stages of Signing Up for a Spring Race\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ah, spring races. A chance to prove your winter training paid off. Or at least, that your bibs still fit. [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2026\/01\/27\/the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling - United Kingdom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-27T08:39:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-03T08:47:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/18\/2024\/05\/Cycling-Friends-Training-Coach-profimedia-0374728168-CVR.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"990\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"660\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"stefanos\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Monica Buck\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2026\/01\/27\/the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2026\/01\/27\/the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race\/\",\"name\":\"The Seven Stages of Signing Up for a Spring Race - \u0160koda We Love Cycling - United Kingdom\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2026\/01\/27\/the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2026\/01\/27\/the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/18\/2024\/05\/Cycling-Friends-Training-Coach-profimedia-0374728168-CVR.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-27T08:39:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-03T08:47:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/84999a2480736036327b20df387758b6\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2026\/01\/27\/the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2026\/01\/27\/the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/18\/2024\/05\/Cycling-Friends-Training-Coach-profimedia-0374728168-CVR.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/18\/2024\/05\/Cycling-Friends-Training-Coach-profimedia-0374728168-CVR.webp\",\"width\":990,\"height\":660,\"caption\":\"Cycling Training\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/\",\"name\":\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling - United Kingdom\",\"description\":\"\u0160koda WeLoveCycling - United Kingdom\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/84999a2480736036327b20df387758b6\",\"name\":\"stefanos\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/87b880c9e71a3c94c40fe5d7dfde73548cad8d6ade8b45486021a0d3245237e8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/87b880c9e71a3c94c40fe5d7dfde73548cad8d6ade8b45486021a0d3245237e8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"stefanos\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/author\/stefanos\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Seven Stages of Signing Up for a Spring Race - \u0160koda We Love Cycling - United Kingdom","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2026\/01\/27\/the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Seven Stages of Signing Up for a Spring Race","og_description":"Ah, spring races. A chance to prove your winter training paid off. Or at least, that your bibs still fit. [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2026\/01\/27\/the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race\/","og_site_name":"\u0160koda We Love Cycling - United Kingdom","article_published_time":"2026-01-27T08:39:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-03T08:47:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":990,"height":660,"url":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/18\/2024\/05\/Cycling-Friends-Training-Coach-profimedia-0374728168-CVR.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"stefanos","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Monica Buck","Est. reading time":"2"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2026\/01\/27\/the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race\/","url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2026\/01\/27\/the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race\/","name":"The Seven Stages of Signing Up for a Spring Race - \u0160koda We Love Cycling - United Kingdom","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2026\/01\/27\/the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2026\/01\/27\/the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/18\/2024\/05\/Cycling-Friends-Training-Coach-profimedia-0374728168-CVR.webp","datePublished":"2026-01-27T08:39:28+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-03T08:47:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/84999a2480736036327b20df387758b6"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2026\/01\/27\/the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2026\/01\/27\/the-seven-stages-of-signing-up-for-a-spring-race\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/18\/2024\/05\/Cycling-Friends-Training-Coach-profimedia-0374728168-CVR.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/18\/2024\/05\/Cycling-Friends-Training-Coach-profimedia-0374728168-CVR.webp","width":990,"height":660,"caption":"Cycling Training"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/","name":"\u0160koda We Love Cycling - United Kingdom","description":"\u0160koda WeLoveCycling - United Kingdom","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/84999a2480736036327b20df387758b6","name":"stefanos","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/87b880c9e71a3c94c40fe5d7dfde73548cad8d6ade8b45486021a0d3245237e8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/87b880c9e71a3c94c40fe5d7dfde73548cad8d6ade8b45486021a0d3245237e8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"stefanos"},"url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/author\/stefanos\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/211"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9089"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9117,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9089\/revisions\/9117"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9089"},{"taxonomy":"global-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/global-categories?post=9089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}