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SDA Round 1 - Innerleithen

Sometimes you have to accept your limits, this is what I unfortunately had to do at the first round of the SDA at Innerleithen.

Me and Sam arrived at the trails Friday afternoon to get his Xtreme MTB pit set up as he was sponsoring this race, but we decided track walk first, I was so excited! IT was sunny and the trail was looking perfect, damp but not wet and muddy. Sam was surprised at what had been taped for the bottom section but was impressed, although it was very steep, loose and rooty he was confident I was capable of it if I just let off the brakes. I knew it was more technical than what I've ridden before but I was feeling confident and knew how to tackle the trail. We stayed with some of Sams friends in Innerleithen, got a major feed on and got some sleep.

Overnight there had been torrential rain, but I wasn't worried. I've ridden in mud plenty of times before. I got signed on, caught up with some of the other girls and got ready to go. I started the long pedal along to the uplift and headed up to the top. I sat in the start hut and watched the others head off down the rocky muddy start, I could immediately see this was no longer the same track I had walked less than 24 hours before. I kept a positive head on and started pedalling. I just made it down to the first fire road, feeling embarrassed at my speed and not really knowing where I was going. I carried on to the next section, stopping in at the side to let some riders past and had a chat with Hope Jensen who checked I was alright. After a few riders passed I got going again, I was surprised how grippy some of the roots were although the mud had me going all directions. Practising with nearly 300 riders makes things more difficult for a slow rider, you can't go 30 seconds without someone shouting rider, and on this track I was struggling to get over to the side to let them pass.

Photo by Ian Porter

After several attempts to get down a steep rooty section without being chased by someone I started to feel totally defeated. I realised this was the section that looked easy to me in my track walk and if I was struggling here, how was I going to cope with the sections I thought looked difficult? I got to the second fire road and after battling with myself I decided to roll down another trail to get to the bottom to calm down.

I got back to the pit and couldn't say a word. I felt ashamed, embarrassed, and heartbroken. Sam asked me what I was going to do and I didn't want to answer. I knew that I was out of my depth but I didn't want to admit it to myself. Eventually I told Sam I couldn't do it. He was understanding and told me I should give it another go, eventually I forced myself to go up one more time but it was just as bad as the first run, the roots were now polished and even worse than before. This is the sort of track I would normally enjoy but I felt so under pressure to get out of the way of the faster riders that I just really was not enjoying myself.

I admitted defeat. I told Sam I was done and that I was struggling too much. He assured me we would do the same track on our uplift the following weekend so I can see I am capable of it and that I just need to be more selfish on practice runs.

Although I did feel upset, I know now that I made the right decision. Sometimes you have to be realistic and accept what you are capable of, even if that means admitting to yourself that you are not good enough, it might mean the difference between being a little upset or badly injuring yourself.

Everyone will have a moment where they are so far out of their comfort zone that they have to say "Enough." Even Sam who has raced world cups among the best riders in the world has backed out of a race he felt was too difficult for him at the time. I walked the track, I tried riding the trail, I made the decision I felt was best for me.

Although this race didn't happen for me I would like to say a huge congrats to my friend Carrie Woods who took on this race as her first ever! She done amazing and even with a huge OTB got straight back on and finished with a big smile on her face, she's what racing should be about, just having fun on your bike.

I would like to add a special thanks to my sponsors: Flare Clothing Co, Uberbike Components, BeneFit and Xtreme MTB for giving me their support, even though I am not the fastest racer, or in this case not a racer at all, they are helping me achieve my goal. So happy to have my new Flare jerseys arrive in time for this race and couldn't believe how comfy they were, just a shame the weather didn't allow me to show the jerseys off.

My Own Worst Enemy

Something I am sure that most beginner racers are guilty of is putting pressure on themselves. I am not going to lie, I am having a hell of a time with it.

 

It's one of those frustrating things that no matter how many people tell you to enjoy yourself and not put so much pressure on yourself, you just can't seem to help it. I am forever comparing myself to other girls who are riding and racing, trying to judge myself against them "How long have they been riding for? How often do they get riding? Do they have natural talent or do they work their ass off?". 

 

I don't drive (I'm working on it) which causes me a great amount of frustration due to the fact that I can only ride when I can get a lift to trails which is not very often. I have been out about four times since the start of the year, which leaves me feeling pretty unprepared for my first race season. But if I relaxed and didn't put pressure on myself surely this wouldn't be such an issue? Sure I've not been out much but it's the taking part that counts, as long as I get to the bottom of the track in one piece?

 

This is where fear plays it's part. Not fear of the track, not fear of my own ability, but fear that others will expect me to be a good racer and that I will simply embarrass myself.

 

I know this is a negative post but it's an honest one. And that's the whole point of this blog, to be honest and give future racers advice from a first timer.

 

Do not let yourself get put under pressure, especially pressure from yourself.

 

I love riding, I love racing, I can't wait to get started, but I am ruining it for myself by comparing my riding to others. Sometimes you need to take a step back and remind yourself of everything else that you are: A mother? A daughter? A student? An employee? A wife? For some people biking has to take a backseat, even if it's only temporarily.

 

I am a full-time student, I have a boyfriend, I work a part-time job in an office, I am training to be a wakeboarding instructor for my summer job, I am learning to drive and I am trying to maintain my physical and mental health by getting to the gym a few times a week, and I am a downhill racer.

 

Sometimes all it takes is to remind yourself that you can only do so much, and maybe right now isn't your time, and that's ok. I know that once I can drive I will be riding more, feeling more prepared for races and perform better. I know that once I graduate from university that I will have more structure in my life and a bit more freedom to get out riding. 

 

I am bad for getting jealous of how other girls are improving faster than me, but at the same time I am so excited for them knowing they will have a great season. Maybe I'll catch up to them one day, maybe I won't but till then I'm just going to do what I can, and try live as balanced a life as I can. 

 

Jumping Session with Xtreme MTB

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take"

 

Knowing how frustrated I get when I struggle to pick up a skill had me worrying about my upcoming coaching session with Xtreme MTB, knowing if I get frustrated when I'm alone that it would be even worse with someone watching me and seeing my mistakes. I was wrong. After speaking with Sam Flockart, Xtreme MTB coach, I expressed my concerns and he reassured me that it would be a great session, with his sister Eilidh joining us, that we would spend as long as it takes working to achieve my goals for the day, taking breaks if I started getting worked up. Sam's sister Eilidh is, like Sam, very talented in several sports. At only 16 she plays for Celtic FC Girls and the Celtic FC First Team Reserves. I agreed with Sam that I should use Eilidh's natural talent to my advantage and learn from watching and speaking to Eilidh as well as working with Sam. Speaking to Sam made me realise that getting angry with myself over mistakes was only going to hinder my progress and if I wanted to get better at racing and riding I had to start looking more positively at my performance.

 

 

We set off from the bottom car park at Glentress up the red route to the Freeride section.

 

Once we got to the top of the freeride section Sam asked us to ride over the jumps without trying to jump them, so he could observe our body positions and to let us get used to riding in the snow (this was my first experience of riding on snow and ice). He chose two jumps after a corner for us to work on. Starting just before the corner to let us get a good pedal in and good flow around the corner to get enough speed for jumping.

 

The first thing Sam worked on with me was the corner, although I normally feel confident on cornering, the snow had caused me to cut the corner a bit short. He got me using the full corner which although I got a couple of slides on, it gave me a much better flow into the jump.

 

After I had worked on the corner a few times we moved on to the jump, he first watched me attempt to jump, then gave me a demonstration of what I was doing on the bike and explained why I'm having trouble, he followed this with a demonstration by Eilidh of what I should be doing, pointing out her strong body position and how her weight was more centred over the bike, where I was too far off the back and soaking up the jump with my arms and legs. After identifying what my issue was we continued to work on just getting me over the jump with stiffer arms and legs. What a difference! I could immediately feel the change in my riding just simply from straightening my legs a bit more and keeping my arms strong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trying not to overwhelm me we worked on one thing at a time, so once I my arms and legs were better we moved onto my body position on the bike, again giving a demonstration of where I want to be when I'm coming up the lip. It felt strange at first as I was breaking some bad habbits that I have had since starting MTB but again I could feel the difference in my jump, nearly landing on the downslope of the jump. I was so impressed with the improvement in just a few hours with Sam. I needed a break so had a few blasts down Berm Baby Berm for a bit of fun. Before we finished up for the day I done a few more runs around the Freeride Park putting everything I learned from the session together.

 

After a fun blast down the blue run (only run open down to the car park) I left the session absolutely buzzing. The session with Sam made me realise how wrong I had been to be worrying about being embarrassed about my mistakes in my riding, and how learning from my mistakes will only help me improve and push me towards my goal of being a great racer. Sam handled my frustrations amazingly well and completely turned my negative outlook around. I cannot wait for our next coaching session and see how much more I am capable of. I feel that without Sam's guidance that I would have struggled with the upcoming race season. His years of experience mean I can make informed decisions about my racing and what I need to be working on.

 

 

 

 

 

Find out more about Xtreme MTB and Sam either on his website or Facebook:

http://www.xtrememtb.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/XtremeMTB

 

 

Bene-Fit Health and Fitness & Uberbike Components

 

I am very pleased to announce two more sponsors who will be supporting me in the 2015 season alongside Xtreme MTB and Flare Clothing Co. I am completely overwhelmed with the level of support being offered to me as this will be my first full season racing and currently hold no titles to my name so to have these big names behind me makes me feel like they have confidence in me and my potential. I cannot thank them enough and will do everything in my power to do them proud. I am proud to announce that Bene-Fit Health and Fitness and Uberbike Components will be sponsoring me this year.

Bene-Fit Health and Fitness

 

 

"Bene-Fit Health & Fitness was created with the sole purpose of raising the standard of training by providing the perfect platform for our members to achieve whatever goals they set out. Everyone at Bene-Fit has a passion and desire to look, feel and perform the best we possibly can through the highest quality training and nutrition. Our expertise and knowledge provide the perfect opportunity for you to start enjoying and getting the best results from your training"

 

 

Bene-Fit have been kind enough to offer me assistance with my training and nutrition throughout the race season, with personal training from their founder and manager Tony Murphy. Tony has a BSc Degree in Exercise and Sports Science as well as other fitness qualifications including a NASM level 3 personal Trainer qualifications and most recently Physique Elite Advanced Nutrition specialist. Tony will be helping me reach optimum fitness levels for racing as well as providing me with a diet plan and protein supplements to ensure maximum results. I feel far more prepared for the race season ahead thanks to this support and cannot wait to see the results reflected in my race times.

 

Find out more here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bene-Fit-Health-and-Fitness/

http://www.bene-fit.co.uk/

 

Uberbike Components

 

 

"Uberbike Components is one of the UK's leading cycle component brands, offering high end quality at direct prices with 20 years industry experience."



 

Very happy to announce that Uberbike Components are offering me support this season, providing me with parts, services and advice to ensure my bike is in top condition for racing. They have a wide range of top quality components in awesome colours. I was so surprised to have such a big name offer me their support especially for only starting out in my racing career, they are doing an awesome job of looking after me and the race season hasn't even started yet. Cannot wait to test out my new grips and check out their new pedals when they are released!

Also they make some pretty rad hats, hoodys and tshirts! :D

Find out more here:

https://www.facebook.com/uberbikecomponents?fref=ts

www.uberbikecomponents.com