Back on the trails (MTB) - 10th Jan 2016

After a successful cyclocross season, the next racing opportunity on the calendar is cross country mountain bike racing.  When I saw a 3 hour mountain bike ride added to my schedule, the reality of having to ride my mountain bike hit me surprisingly hard, even after months of preparing myself.  It is strange how a major accident can mess with your mind.  Just thinking about obstacles on the local trail can make me clammy.  I know it is the mind playing tricks with me and it is time to get out there and find my trail mojo.

I decided on a local ride with a good amount of climbing as well as some technical work.  In case you are wondering, no I have no intention of  jumping or taking big drops, that's a promise to Sarah I intend to keep.

Starting out on the road, it was great to have some friends join me.  After a few minutes on the trail and I checked in on myself to find that I was very tense, resulting in some very poor lines and one silly fall.  I gave myself a little pep talk and focused on relaxing.  Whilst not fully trusting the bike I did start to relax and get back into the flow.  As the ride went on things continued to improve and filming the ride was a good distraction.

Everything was going great and then on one of  bridges my front wheel washed out on the wet wood.  I went down hard but thankfully no real harm done.  I was pleased to find that the fall did not impact my riding and I was able to get right back into the grove.

Ending the ride safely it was good to face my fears and overcome them.  The demons are not all vanquished but a significant battle was won.

Enjoy the video and remember to keep it rubber side down and MaxLifeOut