Athlete’s tip: Mical Dyck on smashing stereotypes and having fun on the bike
After playing team sports, including soccer and volleyball for years, Calgary’s Mical Dyck got sick of the politics and turned to cycling as a way to fulfill her competitive drive.
This article originally appeared in our October/November 2010 issue.
After playing team sports, including soccer and volleyball for years, Calgary’s Mical Dyck got sick of the politics and turned to cycling as a way to fulfill her competitive drive. Now 28, Dyck races mountain bikes and cyclocross for the Trek Store Toronto squad. On the mountain bike this season, she finished fifth at the Pan American championships, third at the Canadian championships and second in a mixed duo team at the seven-day BC Bike Race. She also competed in numerous World Cups. Before heading off for a training ride, Dyck talked to Canadian Cycling Magazine about surviving stage races, enjoying the sport and what has made her the rider she is.
Best Advice
“If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, you’re not going to excel at it. The best advice I was ever given was to keep it fun. In the fall I really enjoy cyclocross riding/racing because it adds a whole different element to cycling and the atmosphere involved seems to be a little more grassroots and fun. I also really enjoy just taking my bike out for long mountain bike rides with no goal or workout scheduled. Sometimes though, I find that I just need to take some time off the bike. If I’m not enjoying riding at the moment, I don’t. I do something else, like running or hiking.
The best advice I was ever given was to keep it fun. In the fall I really enjoy cyclocross riding/ racing because it adds a whole different element to cycling
Surviving epic rides
“I did the B.C. Bike Race and it was absolutely an amazing event. The best advice I can give is to not push your body too hard, too early. Seven days of racing is a long time. Be kind to your body and rest a lot at the end of each stage and sleep when you feel tired. This is definitely not the time to try to restrict calories, quite the opposite. I find that I have to force myself to eat sometimes.”
No stereotypes
“Don’t think that cycling (or any sport) is limited to a certain body type. I’m about half a foot taller and 40 pounds heavier than the average female cyclist that I race against. I have to work a little harder at certain aspects of cycling, such as climbing, but it also lends certain advantages, such as power on the flats. Don’t feel that you can’t do something just because you don’t fit the stereotype.”
