Ride to the Videos That Changed Everything
By now, you know that we’re a little obsessed with the 1980s here at ICA—and for good reason! Last year, Fern created a wildly fun profile based on the most iconic music videos from the early MTV years. You can find that profile here.
I also put together a ride last year using songs from the very first 100 videos ever played on MTV’s historic launch day: August 1, 1981. My riders loved it. While the threshold intervals were no joke, the participants were grinning through the recoveries, many of them sharing personal memories sparked by the songs.
When “Roll with the Changes” came on, one rider grinned and said, “Ah yes, I remember it well…cruising in Eric’s red Camaro with the windows down and the 8-track blaring as we drove into Boston!”
This new profile brings that vibe back—with a challenging twist. It features six threshold intervals (at FTP, LT, or sweet spot), starting at 6 minutes and gradually shortening to 4.5 minutes. The entire playlist is built from songs that aired during MTV’s first 24 hours—every track comes from the iconic first 100 videos. Between efforts, you can sprinkle in fun trivia about the songs and artists, including where each track fell in MTV’s first 24 hours on air. I’ve included all these tidbits for you in the profile.
If you want to swap out any of the songs, check out our Theme Ride Thursday post with a bucket playlist of MTV’s first 100 songs.
So pull on the leg warmers, channel your inner VJ, and let’s rock these intervals—MTV style!
Note: I was this close to calling this profile “I Want My FTP!”—a playful twist on the famous MTV slogan. Of course, that Dire Straits song didn’t come out until 1985, so it’s not part of the original 100 videos played on MTV’s launch day. But it’s such an iconic line, I couldn’t resist the reference!
That said, I know not all of you train with power or use FTP as your intensity benchmark. So I went with “Video Trained the Cycling Star!” instead—a title that still captures the spirit of this profile (and it’s a riff on one of our warm-up songs to boot). But if you do train with FTP, make sure to call out “I Want My FTP!” mid-ride. Bonus points if your riders shout it back!