It never gets easier, you just go faster – Greg LeMond
When you watch a rider who is that little bit faster than you, it seems like magic. Some sort of effortless, inevitable power is driving them on. Meanwhile, every pedal stroke of yours is dredged up from your guts. It’s tempting to think how lucky they are to be so strong. But the truth is that behind every such performance, many miles have been put in. And there are so many strata of riders that this supreme athlete in front of you will know someone who makes them feel the same way you just did.
Strava is a many faceted beast, but there are two things that it very definitely reveals:
- The fast riders ride a lot. They get that way because they love riding and they do it often.
- That singletrack of “yours” that you rule and the race whippet brigade wouldn’t stand a chance on? They just stole your KOM.
No one gets a fast for free. And if you don’t keep moving, you pretty soon get slow.
I’m currently digging myself out of that fitness hole. A few weeks ago, most of riding wasn’t fun. The weather was awful and every time I went out, I had hand cramps, a sore back, and empty legs. I’m turning a corner now (and the weather is turning with me so far). I can start to enjoy it more again.
One of the main motivations of being able to ride fast is the sheer enjoyment of wielding those skills and that fitness that you’ve been honing. Getting into that perfect flow: where you barely touch the trail, you supply a surge of power when you need to, you let it run without brakes.
It’s a hard road back to that state. A road paved with rides so hard that you want to crash just to have a lie down. A road where you ought not to measure absolutes, but only to concentrate on improvements and enjoyments. Sometimes it has to be lonely on this road, but I’ve been lucky enough to have plenty of company this Easter weekend. So the only trial has been feeding myself enough each evening. The trails and laughs have taken care of themselves.
Ready or not, I start The Highland Trail on May 25. I start canoeing the Great Glen on May 28. And I guide a 200 mile-in-a-day road ride on June 1.
It’s time to start earning those trips…
