I break up the ride into quarters, 25 miles at a time. This way I think, 25 miles done, next 25. I don't think 75 miles to go because it could overwhelm me especially if things aren't going like I want, like tailwinds. But seriously, it helped me a lot when I was around mile 70, my saddle was giving me grief and I was tired. At the next rest stop I took an extra 10 min to rest and thought, 35 miles to go (the course was 109 miles). 35 miles is an easy Sunday ride, I can do this. Sunday ride, that's all it is. And I was able to not only to finish, but finish faster and stronger than I expected because I focused on the fact that I had done so many 35 mile or less days and this seemed so easy compared to the 60+ mile days.

The neck thing, I got mine at REI. I use it for hiking and yard work. I've seen bicyclist once or twice using them around Tucson last year.