rolling commitments, cycles of confidence

and battle with fight trail

Most days riding are great.

Well.

The last year, rides have been misery. I’ve been miserable. Depressed. Unmotivated.

Yay.

This is a shit state for your confidence.

On every ride, I’d given up before even going.

On more challenging sections of trail, my default was to save energy and give up. I’d op to push my bike and walk rather than expend the extra energy challenging myself and having fun.

On top of my confidence being weakened, my skills were rustier than a robot’s tears. Out for a ride with Zeke, I was doing all that I could to keep up. We were engaged in a battle royale with Fight Trail.

While Zeke rolled along happily, the trail was pounding me into submission.

With rusty skills and lacking confidence, my ride was tight and timid. I took every ‘bail out line’ there was. In some places I even walked down the roll-ins.

The highly technical riding was demanding. It demanded skills and confidence. Most of all though, it required commitment. And commitment required confidence.

Lacking …