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Here I am with ski boots on waiting for this front to come through to usher in some cold air. So it's time to think about skiing and today I took my last MTB ride. Turned out to be a great season for me and I rode a lot more than I thought I would. I revisited MTBing in May after about a 10 year hiatus. The initial goal was to do something to help me build by wind and help pass the time during the off (ski) season. After my 3rd or 4th ride, I was hooked, and tried to ride as often as I could. I was getting out 3 times a week at one point when we had light until close to 9 pm.
It turned out that MTBing became somewhat of an addiction. I progressed much faster than I thought I would and found myself riding with fellow AZers quite often. Just hooking up with skiing buddies during the summer provided something that I was missing after the lifts stopped turning. In fact, there was a several month period there where I hardly thought about skiing at all, and that is definitely not the norm for me. I am also fortunate that I discovered a huge trail network that is only 25 minutes away and has just about every type of riding. I spent a lot of time exploring the place and now have a decent handle on how to navigate about 80% of it.
I just finished cleaning my hydration bladders and the bike got one final scrub down this afternoon so it's official over. I'm a little sad about that. I really ended up enjoying my time on the bike. Luckily lift serviced skiing for me is 6 days away so I won't be bummin' for long. That's the great thing about finding an activity to get addicted to in the summer. I'm sure that once spring approaches, I'll be looking forward to getting back out on the MTB.
Anyway, I ended up riding 305 miles this season. I hope to double that next year. I'm looking forward to seeing how all that activity translates on skis. I've never "worked out" or trained in the summer in preparation for skiing. I feel my cardio is really pretty good and I've built up a lot of leg stretch. We'll see how it goes on Friday, I guess. So for now, farewell MTBing season, and let's bring on the skiing!
It turned out that MTBing became somewhat of an addiction. I progressed much faster than I thought I would and found myself riding with fellow AZers quite often. Just hooking up with skiing buddies during the summer provided something that I was missing after the lifts stopped turning. In fact, there was a several month period there where I hardly thought about skiing at all, and that is definitely not the norm for me. I am also fortunate that I discovered a huge trail network that is only 25 minutes away and has just about every type of riding. I spent a lot of time exploring the place and now have a decent handle on how to navigate about 80% of it.
I just finished cleaning my hydration bladders and the bike got one final scrub down this afternoon so it's official over. I'm a little sad about that. I really ended up enjoying my time on the bike. Luckily lift serviced skiing for me is 6 days away so I won't be bummin' for long. That's the great thing about finding an activity to get addicted to in the summer. I'm sure that once spring approaches, I'll be looking forward to getting back out on the MTB.
Anyway, I ended up riding 305 miles this season. I hope to double that next year. I'm looking forward to seeing how all that activity translates on skis. I've never "worked out" or trained in the summer in preparation for skiing. I feel my cardio is really pretty good and I've built up a lot of leg stretch. We'll see how it goes on Friday, I guess. So for now, farewell MTBing season, and let's bring on the skiing!
