Flash forward two years from my first ride, and I am currently setting new records for how many times I can slide out from my bike or am on the ground. It's actually kind of frustrating because it's more fun to have a clean run then to have to lose minutes on your strava segment because you fell off your bike again. So, why am I crashing so much right now? I understand body position and my bike handling skills are pretty awesome (I feel confident saying this now that I can operate my bike on the trails with a splint covering two of my fingers). so what's up? I'm going faster. I'm working on skills that I couldn't even imagine doing a year ago. Of course I am going to be crashing some (I also make dumb mistakes so there's that).
War wounds from a wet and slick race at Hamilton Creek
I'm not endorsing wrecking. I'm bad at knowing my limits all the time. If I can see it in mind, I'm going to try it and do it. And part of that thinking has gotten me to where I am as a rider in just two years. But it also makes me ride with a cocky confidence. A cockiness that lands me with a broken pinky midway through my race season. We don't always stand up and just have a couple scratches or bruises. It's a bummer to not be able to ride to your fullest ability or at all. But when you decided to call yourself a mountain biker, you were signing an agreement that your body was going to get beaten and kicked on. Don't forget to give it some TLC.
Instead of being embarrassed or hard on ourselves, we need to keep encouraging each other and breaking out of our comfort zones and working on bettering ourselves and each other. Don't let can't be in your vocabulary.
