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Finding my MTB passion again!

VT Mtbkr

Monkey
Oct 3, 2003
403
0
Richmond, Virginia
I thought I'd share my experiances after last night's ride and see if any of the other Mud Hunnies have had similar enightenments.:lighten:

I'm 32 and have been riding XC for 8 years and racing for 3 and last year I started racing DH. After moving up the ranks into the very competative sport women class 2 years ago I determined that I'm just not built for racing XC. Yes I can ride anything technical and am a good technical short/steep climber but when it comes to racing and training no matter how good my skills are my body just hates riding long distances or sustained climbing. :disgust: By October I was just getting burned out from trying to ride too much and just not having enough fun.

After doing so well with DH last year I made the decision not to race XC (or train) this year and focus on DH and having fun on my XC rides again.

This is the second year I've been organizing and leading Tuesday night women's rides. Last year I always led the medium paced group of mostly sport paced women because I knew that I needed to get in a decent ride for training purposes. This year since my attitude has changed I have been leading the beginner/first timers rides every Tuesday and letting some of the other women take on the faster groups. Well I can't tell you how much satisfaction this has given me. :clapping:

This past Tuesday one of the women who's been showing up every Tuesday(and raced on Sunday only to get lost and DNF) asked me to give her a private lesson. We went out last night and rode the course and I had a blast. I think I learned just as much as she did while trying to explain gearing/climbing/obstacles and bike maintenance. The first thing I had to do was let 20 psi out of her tires!!:shocked:

It's like the pressure is off this year and I'm free just to have fun and not focus on how much mileage I'm getting in or how fast my pace is. Granted my cardio for DH is probably suffering but I'm willing to deal with that in order to have fun again and help out beginners.

Saturday is my first DH trip of the season and Sunday is the first weekend Ride Like a Girl. So I'm getting to enjoy both of my passions in one weekend!

Sorry for the long post but thanks for listening Mudhunnies!!
 

mohshee

Monkey
Jan 31, 2006
222
0
MD by way of Austin, TX
I think that is awesome!!! And a new found freedom! I had only been racing sport XC before I knew DH even existed. And, like you, I was a good contender in sport XC, but I really loved the techincal aspect of rock gardens and tricky sections, rather then the endurance and long-climb components. And I lack the drive to train for the endurance required in expert xc (at some point, I guess you'd have to cat up!). But I loooove DH!!!

I think helping out other women riders is fantastic! Encouragement goes a long way, and you always learn more when (a) you are enjoying it and (b) when you have to teach another person. And riding should be fun, not work, afterall!
 

geargrrl

Turbo Monkey
May 2, 2002
2,379
1
pnw -dry side
This year since my attitude has changed I have been leading the beginner/first timers rides every Tuesday and letting some of the other women take on the faster groups. Well I can't tell you how much satisfaction this has given me.
I know how satisfying that is.... I think it's a blast to take the new gals out and make sure they have a fun time. Glad you got your mojo back!!

gg
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
17,669
1,847
Dancin' over rocks n' roots!
I know how satisfying that is.... I think it's a blast to take the new gals out and make sure they have a fun time. Glad you got your mojo back!!

gg

:stupid: I love leading beginner rides...especially beginner women rides. There's something so rewarding about helping a newbie....that satisfaction is very different than any race feeling I have ever gotten.

Congrats on finding your passion again!!!
 

VT Mtbkr

Monkey
Oct 3, 2003
403
0
Richmond, Virginia
And I lack the drive to train for the endurance required in expert xc (at some point, I guess you'd have to cat up!). But I loooove DH!!!
Yep, I find no pleasure putting myself through the torture of training for endurance knowing full well that my body hates it and it won't help me win against a racer that comes by it naturally. I don't know how many times I've watched a competitor bobble a technical section only to take off at the top when I'm trying to catch my breath after making the same section.

I love the beginners because they have fun on every ride no matter how fast or slow they're going. They ask for advice and I'm actually able to help them and they're not having to go through some of the trial and error I had to go through when I learned to mountain bike without any instruction.
 

zoey

Monkey
Mar 19, 2006
138
0
california
I help lead a beginner ride also and I love it!

Mountain biking is so much more than who can go the fastest. It is so much fun to hang back with the girls who are just getting into it, and to show them all the stuff that I've learned the past couple of years.

I still race, but I'm not competetive at all. It sort of puts a different focus on racing because if you are pretty certain you're going to be last place, you have to find other goals along the way. I like going to the races though and being apart of it.
 

geargrrl

Turbo Monkey
May 2, 2002
2,379
1
pnw -dry side
I love the "lightbulb" effect. When someone is open to a tip, you give them a tip and they try it, and you can see by the smile on their face what a difference something little just made on the fun factor.