When I reflected back on my cycling in 2009, it seemed as though  most of my weaknesses came from between my ears. Things like staying focused and holding a line in tight spaces  were often the root of my failures. Huh. How am I gonna fix that in the off season?

Then along came the Frostbike Mountain Bike Series. As I headed down the frozen trail the first week of Frostbike,  I encountered a never ending barrage of rocks, roots, and ruts. Focusing was not an option. It was a must. I felt like I was playing Asteroids at the arcade. It was like doing a mental time trial.  I was forced to focus like I never focused before. There is no day dreaming in mountain biking. No ma’am! I didn’t know that you could work up a sweat focusing, but I swear to God I did.

Did I mention that I have a hard time holding a line in a tight spot. The trail was only about 18 inches wide! Whoah buddy!  My wheel wiggled. Everytime there was a drop off to the right my brain wanted to send the bike there. I had to fight it every step. In general, the bike wanted to go everywhere but the trail.  My arms were like noodles.  There were several times where I had to pass through trees that were maybe 20 inches apart. I wanted to freak each and every time I went through them.  JC! I thought to myself as Pig  bounced over the frozen ruts .  Holy cow.  It was like Chewy in the Millenium Faclon, I was just hoping that we would hold together. I don’t think that I ever made it over 10 mph but I felt like I had just done a 70 mile road race. My nerves were shot. If I still smoked, I would have needed a cigarette.   I was sweating like a whore in church.  Yes I sweat through 3 layers of clothing that day.   I don’t even think that my arms would have been capable of opening a beer at that point.   Now that speaks volumes.  I felt like someone who was afraid of heights that had just performed a tight rope act.  Luckily, I had an excuse that I had to leave early for a road ride over in Columbia with some roadie friends.  Phew!  I swear my palms had bruises from the death grip that I had on the bars.

Something called me back for the second week. I had to conquer my demons. Much better! Sure I bit it on a few tree roots and still freaked in places, but overall I felt much better.  I wanted to throw my arms up in victory everytime I made it over something that had  knocked me down in the past.   Lo called me out, like I had expected, to ride through the creek.  When I rode through the creek I felt as though I could have walked on  it’s water. My confidence was higher than it’s ever been. I felt like I was the sh*t.  Sure I bit it coming back out but I really didn’t care at that point . 

Mountain biking forces you to focus like never before and pulls to the surface every bit of bike handling that is buried somewhere inside you. Your brain and  nervous system are no different than your heart and muscles.   They have to be pushed to their limits in order to grow stronger. So if your weakness, like mine, is between your ears,  I highly recommend that you hit the trails on your mountain bike. It’ll have you as focused as the Karate Kid.

Warning:  It is so much fun that you may not want to hop  on you road bike again.

No. I did not say that.

BR