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Funny story.
This one is a bit of a self-own, and I like to think a lesson learned, it was funny…. after I finished swearing at myself.
Last weekend I went for what would have been my longest ride on the mountain bike for a long time. Decided that since the weather was ok (I know, hard to believe in Dunedin sometimes) that I would get off my a$% and bike into town to run the group fitness class. Save myself some gas money, enjoy a good ride. On the bike the trip into town from home doesn't take that long, only about 30 minutes… but it was a effort, legs felt heavy, couldn’t blame a headwind either. Didn’t think to much about it, after all I had a busy week, maybe I was just tired? Had planned long ride home, go up Signal hill and have a play on some of the downhill trails, then bike home. What a bloody struggle that was, the uphill’s sucked, I had to push myself, legs still felt dead, heavy….. BUGGER!
Well, had a good play on the down hills, lot of fun, was riding ok, and in some spots well by my standards, Hint, no “rapid learning events” (Crashes) and then started riding home. BLOODY LEGS STILL SUCKED…. And here is when the self-own, and lesson comes in, felt a bit of vibration from the back wheel, mmmm I thought, that’s not quite right.
Well F%^K ME, the whole time my back brake had been slightly on and was in contact with the brake disk, the calliper only needed a very small adjustment, and it was sorted. Sigh, talk about resistance training…
So, what is the lesson that I learned from this, and what can I pass onto you all.
One, sometimes I can be bloody stubborn, and two, which seems to go hand in hand with one, I also can be a bloody idiot.
But it comes down to that if something seems to be harder than normal, or “off” then there is often a reason for it, also remember to check the equipment you’re using. If it had not been that it could have been my food? was I feeling unwell? did I have a bad sleep? did I have a flat tyre (did check that, several times lol).
When it comes to training, one of the most common reasons that something that should be routine, and within your comfort zone, is not, can often be over training. You cannot keep pushing at 110%, you need your recovery time, does not mean moving, active recovery is often key.
If you have questions on what it means to manage your recovery and maintain a “balance” then drop me a line, we can chat 😊
If you have questions about how to check if your mountain bike is alright and ready to go…. Maybe not me, might be better to go to a local bike shop….sigh.
