I’ve never been a hill climber, simple as that, I don’t have the right physic or the mindset to climb hills quickly. Having been told I'm slow at hills ,more than once, eventually makes you believe it. I’ve always known it’s a weakness and similarly always wanted to be better, but no matter how hard I train my body, if I don’t believe that I can climb fast… I won’t. Time I change that.
Turns out to get better at climbing you have to actually climb some hills … who’d have thought ay? This month I unintentionally climbed quite the range of hills and mountains, and have felt the improvements. Not necessarily physically but mentally, I don’t feel as intimidated or I guess scared by the idea of climbing because I know I’ve pushed my body through worse climbs, I’ll get into that later. At the start of July I did two races, the first being Guildford Town center crit. A sick race, high speeds, gnarly corners, cobbles and crowds… yes crowds!!! Unfortunately, a few chain drops meant I didn’t finish as high up as I knew I could but it felt incredible to get back to intense crit racing and check in on my form. The second event was the MTB XC Marathon where I competed in the pairs event with Montezuma’s teammate Abbie Manley. We did a total of 4 laps of a 18km circuit taking it in turns to each do a lap (about 1hrs 10min per lap), another epic race day and we even took away 1st in the woman’s pairs event :))) I then spent the next week out training in Mallorca with some mates, a very last minute plan but we couldn’t say no to dreamy roads, scenes and the heat! I feel lucky enough to have ridden in incredible places throughout my life so far but nothing tops the riding in Mallorca, It's the first time that I remember actually enjoying road climbs and after a few of my biggest ever days on the bike still wanting to go out and explore more of the mountains. On day 2 we ticked off Sa Colobra; I remember not knowing where we were, descending this incredible descent for a good 15 mins, and looking at the people riding up it thinking “what idiot would choose to climb this, it goes on forever!?”. After reaching the bottom, the guys informed me that we were now in Sa Calobra village and the only way out is back up 😐 A good 45+ mins later I was back at the top feeling sweaty, knackered but with an overwhelming sense of pride. Proof to myself that I can actually climb, no matter how fast or slow. Finally to finish off a hard month's training and climbing, this past week I have spent on holiday in Salcombe, Devon, with my family. I never realised it was quite so lumpy around here until I had to train on the roads. Safe to say it's not quite Mallorca! The hills are short but sharp and descents are potholed, twisty and wide enough for one car only, meaning descending fast wasn’t an option. My average speed: destroyed, KMs ridden: destroyed, Avg Power and HR: increased, whilst meters climbed increased every pedal stroke. A tough week on the legs but very rewarding :) Time to get back to some flatter surfaces for a while before CX training commences. Thanks to Pedal Potential for the continued support in my racing. Thanks for reading Amy :) x
1 Comment
3/17/2023 08:24:09 pm
Why a 29er mountain bike are one of the most important pieces of equipment for mountain biking, as they offer superior traction and control that can help you navigate rugged terrain.
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