When I started riding about 3 years ago I loved it and couldn't get enough of it. I read about it in magazines, and the internet and watched videos and visited bike shops. I was made up to find something I loved. Then even better I found other people that loved it too and there was the biking 'community'. I started off riding with my husband and his two dirty ratty sidekicks Jim and Si. They had crappy old bike and threw themselves off anything and I loved it, we all wore jeans and hoodies and no one expected us to be any good even though the boys were rad and not many women rode so soon I felt pretty good about being faster than boys we saw.we started to meet more people and our riding circle increased which was fine at first But then it all got complicated like the good things always do and riding became more than me and my band of boys, we'd joined the riding community.
Lately I haven't blogged much because quite frankly I'd had enough of the world of mountain biking. being bombarded by the pinkbike experts who always know best and meeting people all day who had the 'best' bike and knew everything about the latest equipment. And girls downhill in the southwest is having it's moment with the 661 mini downhill so facebook is bombarded with which girls shorts should we buy, and what bikes can girls ride, where can all the girls be next and we should all read women's Wednesday. YUCK! just cos were girls we are no different, stop separating us!
I'd had enough I went into hermit mode, my life of riding bikes with the boys had been slowly invaded over years and at first I welcomed it but now all I ever seem to think is shut up and ride, how did it become this?
Giving myself some distance from riding in general, my avoidance of all things social media and running I can now ride my bike again with the boys and love it :D I still get annoyed with the same things but I choose to ignore them and block it out. So I miss racing and that but isn't it really all just about you and your bike?
