Long time no blog....been busy with 3 injuries in the past 2 years! Ugh!
Finally cleared in March to resume normal activity. My normal means mountain biking! So happy!
Very excited to share I was at a bike race last weekend! And not just spectating, cheering or helping out with timing, but RIDING MY BIKE in the Homage to Ice XC Marathon Race!
A bit crazy for a first mtb ride I know but it sounded like fun idea for a Spring ride & I've heard that Substance Projects events are pretty cool too - so I signed up for the 1/2 marathon distance of fun on trails that are supposed to be sandy & dry - and also barely known to me (maybe 2 ocups worth of knowledge). I was looking forward to get a good ride in following arrows & not being lost!
Ha! I obviously misread the weather forecast (I swear it said 20c & sunny)...but nope we got this
Basically the weather was terrible. Really quite unpleasant & unnerving for a first MTB ride after a long time away being hurt!
I even skipped the usual on-bike warmup. Instead I chose to warm up by delaying getting cold & wet by getting fully ready to ride then hiding from the rain inside my car as long as possible.
While I sat there watching the rain pummel my windshield I considered going home.
I don't have to do this. It's no big deal. I can decide to be a fair weather only rider. Starting now. Nobody will mind.
WHY am I doing this? I've raced in disgusting weather before but somehow maybe because this was the first ride of the year for me or because after 2 years off being hurt my idea of a fun time has changed?
Or maybe not...so with thoughts of 'suck it up buttercup' & barely 3 mins before my start time I shut off my complaining brain & jumped out of my car & on to my bike & rode to the start area to line up in the rain & cold with the big crowd of crazy people.
And boom we were off! I was riding my mountain bike! On really fun trails! In the rain! So much rain the whole time with bursts of even harder rain just like the weather radar map shows. Plus no leaves on the trees to block it meant the trails were full on muddy & all the wood especially the 1000 logovers were super slippery & excellent practice. I was so happy I remembered how to ride over logs especially since with my shoulder injury from last spring no way I could even do one of them never mind the 1000 I did last Saturday.
Just being on my MTB & how it feels flowing along in the forest....wow I missed it! So happy!
Even happy to remember how slippery corners feel, and slippery hill climbs, slippery downhills, etc etc. And did I mention the logovers?
And I wasn't alone. Approx 200 racers were zig zagging through the trees & no leaves means you can see people all over the place which is really neat.
Then it was over. And the rain stopped. And people hanging out & chatting (many I hadn't seen in 2 yrs!). And there was FOOD c/o Substance Projects - part of your entry - how cool is that?
Fun riding bikes & great people - definitely glad I didn't wimp out & go home.
That's WHY!
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| My poor bike actually doesn't look too bad but took me 2 hrs to clean |
