There’s no business like snow business…
If I were the director/writer of a west end show with the above title I would be laughing all the way to the bank after the past weeks performances… A better plot couldn’t have been written by mother nature herself.
After 5 years of living in the French Alps it does make me laugh how we deal with the snow here…
|
Like I have said before though it’s never bad weather, just the wrong kit. A statement that couldn't be more true last week when I set off on my bike through the snow with 6 layers on starting with my Onyx Thermal Bibs and Mesh Base Layer which I ended up wearing all week for riding and work… it was COLD!
All the snow got me so excited for riding each day… I am not sure if you’re aware but mountain biking in the snow is SO AWESOME! It makes the easiest trail totally crazy and a lot of fun.
The best ride of the week was Friday night, strapping on the lights and hitting the fresh pow at night is a whole new experience… it was like we had the world to ourselves, there wasn't a soul insight and the trails were amazing. Here’s a GoPro video from the evenings ride, definitely how a Friday night should be spent.
All this snow excitement got me thinking back to living in the alps and a video I made out there years ago, I thought I would share it with you as it is a great example of how fun riding is in any conditions.
Riding is all about adapting to the conditions and making the most of them… Being a rider in the UK you get pretty good at this as conditions change so much from season to season even daily as I found out a few weeks back when the temperatures first dropped.
I was on my usual morning ride, dropped into an awesome new little track that I have built recently that is super soft… Or so I thought… the ground was frozen solid and the usual forgiving mud ruts in the corners were like tarmac, I was committed and couldn't slow down enough, I just had to adapt and ride through it. It’s these scenarios that make us better riders…
This is why you should change it up and keep things fresh regularly. I adapt my gym training sessions every 2 weeks otherwise your body and brain get used to it and find it easy. The same applies on the bike, I try and ride new trails or different lines as fast as I can the first time I ride them… I find it really helps me in a race situation when you are racing a trail you don't know but are going at 110%. Keeping the reactions sharp and your eye way down the trail seems to be the trick for me, everyone is different though… so get out, go find a new trail, ride it as fast as you can and scare yourself… It makes you feel alive….