A Mountain to Climb

Mountain Biking isn’t my life, as such. It is something I would not be awfully willing to live without, however. I’ve been riding bikes in one way or another since my dad fitted stabilisers to my first bike when I was about four. I wouldn’t say that I was as into it back then as I am now, but that might have something to do with the fact that you can’t fit stabilisers to a mountain bike. Not if you want to really use it, anyway. I was probably about ten when I got my first mountain bike, and for some time I’ve been finding new and innovative ways to give them punishment. I race at amateur level and when I have nothing else to do I usually rope in a friend or two to go on rides for fun.

I’m lucky in that we live somewhere that has plenty of dirt tracks on one side, and lots of fairly dense forest on the other. If I feel like hitting top speeds I go to the tracks. If I want to shake my bones I tend to head the other way, and it is usually this option that wins out. I haven’t managed to ride vertically yet, but believe me when I say I’m working on it. The workout I give my thighs is something that no gym in the world could possibly replicate. Well, OK, now I’m exaggerating, but I guarantee you that nobody out there is more into giving themselves a punishing workout than I am. I may hurt for a while afterwards, but when it comes to racing it means that there are very few courses I’ve seen yet that really make me pause for thought.

I’m from a sporty family, and my brother is a fierce rock climber. I can see the attraction there, but I’m always going to be more of a mountain biker. I won a race last month that was full of tricky climbs, and I fully believe that my spare-time excursions into the forest were 75% of why I crossed the line first. The other 25% was because I prepared right. As much exercise as you get, it is always important to keep hydrated when the weather is like it was that day.

I was sweating like you wouldn’t believe even before the race started. It was just one of those days, the sun was high in the sky and the temperature was … well, let’s just say we couldn’t get a reading because the mercury started boiling. There were points when it was like a Formula One race because the guy who was in the lead at the time was the one who had yet to stop to drink from his liquid pack. Good old liquid pack, they keep producing bottles that make it easy to get the water into your mouth without having to practically pour it into a glass. I was able to stop briefly to pick the bottle up and take on a good few gulps, and then set off again. A few times was enough to see me to the finish line. Not that I’m bragging!