Perspective

Over the last few weeks I've been taking a long look at mountain biking. I've evaluated what I wish to gain or get out of the sport, and what I am currently getting. Sadly, at the moment these are two different things. I currently ride mostly downhill and all mountain, good for technique but poor with regard to fitness and stamina. I have spent the majority of weekends over the last couple of years racing downhill also, going and practicing one line for a day, before 2 or 3 race runs, resulting in less than half an hours actual riding for the whole day. For me, those races were a laugh, the riding was top quality however there just wasn't enough of it!

As a direct result of this, I plan to still race downhill but to focus on enduro, as this is a way to encompass the competitive element into my riding, whilst still getting an entire day on the trail. For those less au fait with enduro racing, it essentially comprises of multiple (usually five) timed stages on flat or downhill trails roughly 5 minutes long. Much like a rally these stages are linked by longer, climbing stages which although not timed, do have a time limit. This means that you get multiple hours on the bike, rather than short minute long bursts! Compounding this is you can ride accompanied by other riders, giving a social element that just isn't present in downhill.

As you may have read (or seen on my Twitter feed) I have signed up to compete in the Megavalanche this year, in Alp d'Huez, which is one of the widest-recognised enduro races. It differs in format slightly to the UK enduros comprising of one long stage roughly an hour to an hour and a half and 30km in distance. This event is predominantly downhill however is interspersed with climbs to prevent it being one long downhill race. I am incredibly excited about this as the event gives a chance to ride incredible terrain, whilst rubbing shoulders with seasoned professionals such as Jerome Clementz and Dan Atherton. I expect this to be somewhat of a baptism of fire however ultimately rewarding (assuming I exit the race unscathed).

So, is downhill dead? Enduro the phoenix rising from the ashes? By no means, the UK downhill scene is flourishing more than ever with the recent crop of enduro events just adding to the vista of competitive mountain biking available in the country. Will I stop racing downhill in lieu of enduro? No, however I will be racing less of the former and just getting out and riding, to paraphrase a well known mountain biking publication.

Progress

Although this is only my second week at the gym, the combination of a regular work out and a healthier diet (cutting out the chocolate) seems to be working wonders! When I first started gym work I could do 10 reps of the 80kg leg press, with a goal of just being able to press the 124kg weight (twice my body weight) yet just one week on I accomplished my goal doing 10 reps with the 124, something I was not expecting!

It's not just weights I've been doing at the gym however and cardio work plays an important role as I'll need to be fighting fit for the Megavalanche! As such I've been hitting the treadmills, spin bikes and cross trainer! The cross trainer is a particularly miserable experience, as you sweat gallons of liquid onto the surrounding equipment, silently crying inside. Although not remotely enjoyable it is really good for cardio work outs and improving my general fitness, so the suffering is worth it!

All in all I'm a big fan of the gym, and plan to keep training right up until the Mega, hopefully peaking fitness just before then! Over and out for now.

Training

As some of the readers may know I've recently got tickets to ride the 2013 Megavalanche in Alp d'Huez, 30km of insanely difficult downhill trails interspersed with some short but steep climbs in case we find it too easy - fat chance!

As a result I've decided some serious training is in order to make sure I can enjoy the race and with that in mind I signed up to a gym yesterday and completed my first spin session there. A class basically consists of a group of sweating people hunched over exercise bikes whilst a piece of lycra carrying a woman screams abuse (read words of encouragement) loudly at you. The clear upside of this is that little of her words make it through to you over the overwhelming pounding of the music that although designed to motivate us to push harder, only succeeded in deafening all those involved.

Having said all this and shown an apparent dislike to the event my experience was in fact the polar opposite. I found the instructions of the leader to be handy, and more effective than just plodding along in the same gear, whilst the music did seem to help phase out the screams of agony from my legs! All in all I found I pushed far harder than I would have on a normal bike ride, sweating multiple gallons and was eager to do it again.

So what's next? Well I plan to spin twice a week and go to the gym at least once, maybe more dependent on cost/free time etc and hopefully will find my local Sunday rides to get easier, more fun and faster; ready for the Megavalanche in July - bring it on!