It's an Adventure!
/With a resurgence of COVID-19 cases and continued restrictions keeping us home, it’s tough to stay positive. A lucky few are getting to race but the majority of us have realized that there’s not going to be any racing for the rest of the year. It’s a blow to the morale. However, it also provides a great opportunity to get out and rediscover (or further cement) why cycling is so great.
A lot of us have been training hard with the hope that racing would happen this Fall. That means fitness is high, yet with the cancellation of races, there’s no need to keep the legs race-ready. It’s a perfect recipe for getting in some fun adventure rides.
An adventure ride can mean different things to different folks and there’s no one single definition of an adventure ride. Rather, the essence of an adventure ride requires dropping the thought of the bike as a training tool and replacing it with the thought of the bike being a tool for adventure. Think back to the adventures you had on your bike as a kid and you’ll get the idea.
Need some ideas? I’m here to help…
Get out a map or get on Google and find a random destination to ride to. I heard about a creepy teepee in the woods and had to go investigate it (though I’m only brave enough to do it during daylight hours…). Also, apparently not too far from me is the world’s largest ball of paint. Not sure what that means but still sounds like a fun adventure. Search for some random attractions near you and check it out!
Plan a big, big ride that’ll test your limits. The current well-publicized example is Everesting in which you accumulate 29,029 feet of elevation gain in a single ride. Back in the day, Nate and I did a ride from Boulder to Mt Evans. While we both cracked and passed our limit well before the end of the ride, we still look back on how much fun that day was. So, try planning out a ride that involves a lot of climbing, a long distance, or a bit of both.
One way a lot of athletes are staying motivated right now is through cross training and a bike can help to make this a greater adventure. One of my favorite things to do is ride my bike to a hiking trailhead or instead of doing a run from home, I’ll ride to a park and run from there. These rides aren’t hard and are more about just exploring while trying to spot some wildlife that you wouldn’t normally see if you drove.
The COVID lockdown has also reintroduced me to the joys of just riding a bike around the neighborhood. Explore your community, have fun with the family, hop some curbs, ride by that haunted mansion…
With a lot of negativity happening right now, it’s important to remember to have a bit of fun. And really, the main takeaway from this is that racing doesn’t have to be your sole source of enjoyment on the bike. Use that great fitness you’ve got to have some fun on the bike and you’ll find that your motivation to keep training and stay fit will remain as strong as ever. Thanks for reading!
