Back to basics

A return to my roots

Getting Stale?

I have been racing a road bike internationally for over 15 years now.  I still love and enjoy it, but my
approach has changed dramatically.  As I have got older and raced for so many seasons, I now find that I need a real goal to motivate myself.  Training for the sake of training no longer does it for me.  And what's more, just doing some race isn't enough.  It's gotta be a race that gets me excited.  Generally that means a race I haven't done before, ideally in a country I haven't even been to, and of course it needs to be a descent level race, ie a UCI continental race before I can get excited and motivated enough to train properly.  If all those conditions line up, I really enjoy getting out there and doing a structured training program.  However if those elements are not there, my motivation isn't the same as it used to be.

It's a Job!

I have also been running and guiding cycling trips for 15 years.  This has also affected how I view my sport.  Sharing the joys of riding through mountains or across cobbles with different people is an awesome experience, and it enables me to see the sport of cycling in a different, more relaxed light.  However for me this a job, an awesome job yes, but it is still a job; meaning that between racing and riding with clients, 99% of my personal cycling experience these days is as a job.

A Rekindling

I have found the need to do something a little different, to try and rekindle that childlike passion I had as a teenager.  It's not that I don't enjoy riding anymore, I do, especially when I have a goal to work towards, but I need a break from the road-bike.  Hence I had chosen to return to my roots... quite literally.  I started in cycling as a Mountain Biker, and this is the activity I have chosen to turn back to in order to enjoy a totally different side of cycling.  No pressure, jut for fun, different scenery, a new group of people to hang out with.

Starting back at the beginning

At the end of June I took a short trip for a week long training camp at Altitude in Font-Romeu in the Pyrenees.  Font-Romeu also offers some spectacular mountain-biking.  So after a morning training ride on the road, I spent every afternoon off discovering the trails and trying to learn how to ride a mountain-bike once again.  It was awesome to be back on some technical trails, among the rich smells of the heat drenched pine trees, rotting leaves and kicked-up dust!



What Next?

The change of pace needs to go for a few months in order for me to find the motivation needed for yet another season on the road in 2018 (I'll have to hang up the bike at some point).  So I am planning on entering a few MTB races this winter while in Australia (summer over there), which I'm very much looking forward to.  The road riding over there leaves a lot to be desired.  The drivers are dangerous, the roads are somewhat limited and unvaried (even though there are spectacular roads once you know where to go) and the group rides are dangerous and erratic.  Time to head to the trails and meet differently minded people, discover new areas and have some fun!

A Lesson Learned

Sport can teach us many things that can help us grow and that we can apply to our everyday lives.  It is important to recognize the signs and take action before you get that feeling of staleness or boredom. Whether it is in your sport, your job, your relationship or your life as a whole, there is a lot to be said for finding small changes and variations in your daily routine to keep things interesting.  The first step is obviously to learn to recognize the signs.  These are often things such as fatigue, lethargy, a habit of purchasing material goods you convince yourself you need, putting excess importance in TV series, watching sports or sometimes ironically enough but all too common, an excessive and obsessive hobby or activity, (such as cycling, running or tinkering with the car) where you cannot help but repeat the same actions with seemingly no goal, improvement or variation.  As much as such activities can be a much needed form of escapism, it is important not to bury your head in the sand and face certain truths. 

The second step is to do something about it.  Find something that interests you, or ideally a few things that interest you that can bring variety to your life.  Go on a trip to somewhere different.  Meet new people from a different walk of life. Mix up your routine.  Go running in the evening instead of the morning, run on the trails instead of your usual loop.  Take your bike to the mountains instead of the flats.  Talk to someone about something you know nothing about or are not generally interested in.  It doesn't have to be much, just a small change.  For me, this year, that's Mountain Biking.

So grab the bull by the horns and make a few changes here and there; keep yourself fresh before you go out and buy a motorbike, cheat on your partner, drink too much, eat yourself info poor health or whatever your subconscious solution to boredom may be... and live happily ever after! :)