I finally got to take my new bike out for a proper ride today, we covered 17 km – and it kinda sucked! I really can’t remember that last time I was so bad at something.
While my new baby is like riding the magic carpet in comparison to my shitty $80 Kmart bike, mountain biking it still a really hard thing to do. Ignoring that voice in your head saying “This is dangerous, don’t do it” is challenge enough, all while you negotiate your way down a path full of rocks, tree roots, and ditches, AND trying to quickly choose the safest path AND find the right gear all at the same time. This is going to be my biggest challenge in GeoQuest. I can’t believe I have to do a minimum of 60km riding. I’m going to die.
Rose was super patient with me through the whole course, and she assures me that most of the scouts struggled as much as I did the week prior on the same course. One even broke her shoulder, so in comparison I was off to a great start.
I started super cautious as I found my feet and then slowly re-gained my confidence as we progressed. I got super frustrated, I huffed and puffed, I re-adjusted my seat, I took breaks, but I did it. By the end I was still challenged, but I was overcome by a comforting realisation: This is the worst I will ever be at this. Suddenly I remembered how uncomfortable canyoning was when I first tried it, and how I can now run twice the distance than what I used to. Its not often you get to learn a new skill that shows such obvious improvements so quickly. My attitude completely changed after this.
Everyone starts somewhere, and this is my start.
