End of year thoughts- 2006

I’ve learnt a hell of a lot since I started some 6 months ago, and I’ve still got a hell of a lot to learn!
What competitors have to race through at times is just beyond me (bogs, rivers, rocks, trees, steep tortuous climbs and downhills, appalling weather, etc) but everyone seems to like the challenge, after all, you wouldn’t enter otherwise would you? I certainly enjoy it, man and machine against the terrain and the elements.

When I decided to take it up, I had no knowledge of enduros at all and no knowledge of how to work on the bike, I’m getting there on the basic maintenance side of things, but mechanically I’ve got a very long way to go.
In a way I’m glad I’ve picked up some injuries, no pain, no gain, so they say.
My fitness has improved over the months, but I feel like any other kind of sport, you have to compete to get ‘match’ or ‘race’ fit. You can train as much as you like, but at the end of the day, the more you compete, the fitter you get.
The more times you come off the bike, the heavier it seems to get, especially when it’s caked in mud and gloop, so being a fairly decent standard should mean that you don’t pick the thing up so much. Only thing is, you then go faster, so you’ll probably have a bigger ‘off’, which I expect most of the top guys have experienced at some point or other.

The camaraderie between competitors is great, and most seem a friendly bunch (I say most!), quite a few times I’ve seen riders help each other out, on the track and in the pits as well, good stuff.

Roll on next year!!!