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| Winter Riding |
It is coming on four weeks since the groundhog determined when spring would come, although it officially arrives six weeks later whether he sees his shadow or not! The weather is gradually getting warmer, the days are stretching out, downhill season is in our sites. Time to stop hibernating and start getting strong so I can have more fun on the mountain in the summer. I have had a lazy winter. I was super gung-ho in October to prep for the Cranksgiving Enduro race in Greenville SC in November, but then my boss wouldn't give me off for the weekend and I gave up. Then I got sick--4 times! (I swear one time was the foam-pit plague from having to dig out the entire foam pit at Ray's Indoor Bike Park looking for a friend's phone--which ended up being under his bag back at the table.) Finally, I am feeling healthy and getting into the groove. Strength training, yoga, cardio, and time on the bike when the freeze-thaw permits it. Trying to stay on a clean eating plan too. It takes serious amounts of planning with a work schedule (Starbucks) that varies tremendously from day to day and week to week. There is no routine, and this makes it exceedingly difficult and exhausting. It is hard to even get consistent sleep. There are times when I want to give up, but I really want to give my all to my downhill days this summer and have the most fun possible (if I can even get the weekends off from work for downhill days!) It would be nice to have more opportunity to get on the DH rig and ride and see what I need to work on. Unfortunately weather and work and limited ride venues severely limit those opportunities over the winter. This is where that delayed gratification comes into play. I can plan and train, but I may not be on my DH bike to see the results until May. I do feel better on my trail bike, so I guess something is working.
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| And more winter riding. The winter weather can be so fickle in NC. |
My biggest wish would be to have more women in the sport, so that I had some more ladies nearby to train with so we could motivate each other. A local ladies DH ride/race team of sorts. Even more awesome would be to have the money to have a downhill coach! We don't have any of those nearby either :( We have lots of cross country ladies in my neck of the woods and they are all great ladies, but XC racing last year in the flat lands in an effort to improve my downhill cardio only ended up wrecking my downhill position and had me crashing a lot early in the season. (Although in a strange twist, working on my DH riding position significantly improved my XC climbing skills!) Those ladies are so fast and riding with them can be fun, but also a bit humiliating. I trail ride a sick Transition Covert All Mountain Bike and I LOVE that thing. But if I ride with the XC ladies they are hauling ass up the hills while I am hike-a-biking and that is just depressing. (I don't mind hike-a-biking as long as I am not the ONLY one doing it!). I suppose I could look at it as motivation to get up the hills better and stronger, but I don't really care how fast I go up, I want to improve going down! I will admit though that it would be awesome to go to just one XC race with my heavy little 26" all mountain rig and blow everyone out of the water. LOL! But that it probably not ever going to happen.
I guess the most difficult thing is seeing some of the other rad gravity ladies I know just killing it over the winter, improving tremendously while I don't feel like I've gotten anywhere. I suppose that is part of closing in on 40 and having to work my ass off just to pay off my debts. I WISH I could ride my bike everyday and everywhere. I am certain I would improve much faster if that were possible. Oh, to be a teenager in the bike world now, so much possibility! I hope all you younger ladies realize how great you have got it right now! Make the most of it while you are young and unecumbered by all the trappings of adult life. Oh, and try to stay out of debt (even for bikes!), it will suck the life right out of you.
Any ladies out there who struggle to juggle work/life/riding/training have any tips or advice to share? How do you make time? What is your favorite training plan for gravity riding?
