Cycling is all about suffering and masochism, you dont always have to enjoy the pain but you must learn to live with it. I remember reading somewhere that a 6 day rider wouldnt nesscarily be chosen for his ability to ride, but for his charisma, his ability to entertain the crowd. They didnt come too see a rider winning easily, crowds want to see a fight, a rider in pain.
Armstrong was a great describer and story teller of the pain he suffered whilst riding, with famous quotes from his books like “Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”
When riding I draw on anger to fuel my attacks as much as energy, on the rollers I count my cadence, ten at a time on each leg, to keep it up, one more minute, two more minutes, three more minutes and then the lung busting interval is over for another 3 minutes before you start all over again. Everyone has their own technique too get through the pain, wether using an ipod whilst training or repeating a phrase over and over in their head.