looking back and reflecting on some long gravel races including unbound 200, i listen to music and find i get this combination of feeling great coupled with some great tunes that get me extra motivated to make progress passing people or closing gaps. i go too hard early and find my pace slows where people i passed earlier end up passing me later. i wonder if going without music keeps your mind more “sober” and conservative. anyone ever ponder this?
Music has been shown to improve motivation and effort during exercise…hence one reason why a lot of athletic events ban listening to music while competing (along with safety reasons).
So it is very possible it is driving you to go out too hard, depending on what you are listening to.
4 Likes
I race with country music (Zach Bryan) as background noise. It’s pretty low and I’m not really paying attention to it. I’ve tried to race with my Vo2 interval music (Eminem) but I do find that counterproductive.
1 Like
I would say it’s hard to separate using music from just feeling good at the start / adrenaline/ getting caught up with a group that is ultimately too fast for you
3 Likes
You may be getting too hyped up with the music at the beginning 
Maybe try doing a race without music and see how it goes? If not be aware of your efforts while listening to music and set targets to follow so you’re not overdoing it at the beginning.
1 Like
I’ve never listened to music during a gravel race, and I’ve gone too hard during the first hour of every single gravel race I’ve ever done. If not listening to music is the trick for you, maybe doing the opposite and listening to it is what I need to try 
3 Likes
Yes, with music you will absolutely pace cadence to the beat.
For example, folks running spin classes will often pick tunes with 125-150 BPM for regular riding, higher BMPs for HIT segments, and lower BPMs for low cadence grinds.
There are online calculators that will show you the BPM for any song you like.
Not strickly related, but for some folks, humming a tune while descending on a mountain bike will help them connect with the trail and improve their flow and ability to connect corners. Cannot recall where I first learned that, but it works for me.
My song choice for gnarly downhills is “Don’t Fear The Reaper”.
Ciao,
Darth
1 Like
I ride with music so often that I’ve separated the effort from the bpm. I can do VO2 max and Z2 to the same songs. I tend to match cadence rather than power now. But I only listen to dnb while cycling (and never when not cycling lol).
That is to say, it depends on the person.
I used to row indoors listening to Lady in Red by Chris de Burgh and I was only allowed to stop it once I’d done 5k.
Quite motivating…
2 Likes
My choice of tune to sing while climbing is that famous Cat Stevens song
“The First Bit is the Steepest”
1 Like
When I was running, I found Aerosmith music met my cadence quite a bit. It sure helped drive the run workouts.
Im curious if you are using a power meter or hr monitor? When you look back at the data you could be too close to your ftp? Its also a long race so pacing strategy is hard.
How about you turn on the music for the last 25% of the race? Then you finish strong
1 Like