I've not written a blog since September. After a big crash in the Marmotte earlier that month, where I broke my jaw, the season ended on an unsure note. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my cycling in 2021, so I decided to take a break from training over winter, just heading out on the bike as and when I fancied.
It turned out – perhaps unsurprisingly – that this was quite often. I enjoyed the unstructured riding, exploring some of the off-road trails in the Peak District. 'Snoading' was fun too; we had snow here for most of January and riding the cross bike in that put my limited bike handling expertise to the test!
I dabbled in a bit of Zwift racing, which certainly serves to get the heart rate up. However, as the weather has improved, it's still a poor alternative to getting outside, in my opinion.
Since then, though, Liam and I have agreed to reintroduce some structure to my riding. While I never lack the motivation to get out on the bike (especially with such great roads on my doorstep), I find it more rewarding to work towards an objective. The training gives my life structure and riding a purpose.
Liam and I have worked closely to set some objectives, which not all are performance-based. It's been refreshing to build some planning and goals into my riding. Working towards a goal and achieving something that I've set out to do is hugely rewarding. It's nice to take back some control when much has been taken away during the pandemic.
The short to mid-term goals are; to target some prestigious Strava segments and Hill Climbs. The plan is for the Hill Climbs (HCs) to start during May, COVID permitting. Despite my love for climbing, I've only ever done a couple of HCs, so this will be a bit of a new competitive adventure.
Given the nature of an HC event, this does mean Liam will be setting some pretty unpleasant short intervals. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all?!
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