Many a time I've been sat the top of a steep trail looking down into oblivion, asking myself that very question, wondering what on earth possessed me to take up mountain biking in my late forties!
And once I've given myself a little telling off for being so negative, I remind myself I took it up to get fit and loose weight and I do it because it's FUN!
It's challenging and bloody scary sometimes, and it hurts sometimes (yes I have crashed several times!), and I want to cry sometimes when I get frustrated at my cowardice and then I get to the bottom whooping with delight all the way and then laugh because actually it wasn't anywhere near as scary as my silly little brain told me!
So that's what I'm doing here, having fun, scaring the shit out of myself, trying to push myself way out of my comfort zone, falling off, getting back on and learning new things.
I follow a number of lady mountain bikers on Instagram and blogs, I'm in a couple of women's mountain bike groups on Facebook and I really admire the other ladies who are around the same age as me or older and are out there being Badass and Gnarly!
Some of them write blogs, and I do love a good blog! It's a bit like being a nosey neighbour and getting a little insight into what goes on behind closed curtains at the weekend! I love reading about how they were scared and unsure at the start of an enduro race or 12/24 hour endurance race but by the end of the blog, it's quite apparent they had heaps of fun, there were lots of lovely people at these events helping them, cheering them on, and in fact pretty much everyone was there having fun too.
I'm still a newbie having only been riding a year, I've lost weight and I'm way fitter than I was 12 months ago. I'm quite confident on the trails and willing to try new things and push myself and I decided that now is the time to up my game a little bit and have a go at some of these events as well.
So last week I booked myself into my first enduro event, the Hopetech Women Enduro at Gisburn Forest in October.
The race is intended to be a grassroots enduro for women only, with emphasis most definitely on fun. Racing for the first, second, third or twentieth time can be a nerve-wracking thought. The idea behind this event is create a fun route, which can be ridden solo or as part of a group – where some of the more down-hill sections of the route are timed. You can cruise down the trail at your own pace, test yourself and push a little harder or really take it seriously and see how you fare against other ladies. The choice is yours, there is no pressure.
We, (Hope Technology) have heavily subsidised the event so the PMBA can pass those savings onto you. The event will run if we have 30 or 300 entries, and part of the “Hopetech Women” 2017 event program.
A shortish lap with 3 stages will give plenty of time to chat to the other women on the day. 3 stages – suitable for novices but fun for the experienced racer too. Morning practice Afternoon race lap."
There's 88 women entered but I'm hoping more will enter nearer the time as word spreads! Quite a few of the gals from MTBChix have entered and I'm relieved that quite a lot of them are veterans as well, so I won't be the only old codger out on the course!
So now I'm entered into that I decided I needed to do something else as well, not content with a day punishing myself on the Gisburn Forest trails, I've just entered into Gorrick 12:12 'TORQ in your sleep' endurance race, in the solo women's class!
There's actually 2 races; the 12 hour and the 6 hour and as a novice I decided it's probably best to not throw myself in at the deep end, so I've entered the 6 hour race, I've got to be sensible about this, even if I am bonkers for entering. After all I'm no spring chicken, and rather annoyingly there's no women's veteran class this year so I'll be 'racing' against 18+ not that they'll have anything to worry about with me bimbling round!
So there you have it, my first post, my first 2 races entered... maybe my last? Hopefully not! I've got to focus on 'training' now and getting as fit as I can, so I don't make a complete tit of myself.
