October – offseason!

October is officially the off season – time to stop hard training and take a break, let the legs recover and catch up on non cycling activities. Initially I enjoyed a rest and some time off the bike, it was great to escape the commitment and structure of training. To get rid of excess energy I dug out my football boots for the first time in 6 years and joined the lads for Sunday soccer, tried to teach my legs to run again (ached from head to toe for a week afterwards the first time!), and of course caught up on some nights out dancing (good to remind myself that biking with a hangover is horrible and not worth it!).

Staying off the bike for a month was never really going to happen, sunny autumn weather and dry trails couldn’t be missed so it seemed better to reduce riding to more ‘normal’ levels, and enjoy some fun mountain biking. Seriously, mountain biking is the best thing ever! loving it at the moment, especially since I can save all my energy for concentrating on going fast downhills rather than doing painful training.New lights courtesy of WXC’s sponsor Aye-up have been put to good use for after work spins as the darkness closes in. Night-riding is so much fun and its unbelievable how many people you meet up in the Dublin hills in the pitch black, not just bikers but runners, dog walkers, horses and loads of deer!. Chasing fast guys on freeride bikes down hills at high speed in the dark has been a great way to sharpen up the technical skills.

Ok and I couldn’t resist a couple of road spins, I have a super fast new bike that needed testing! This was a 150km ride in the sun on the bank holiday weekend – easing back into it!

On Saturday mornings I’ve been leading some beginner spins for Think Bike shop, great to see people so enthusiastic about mountain biking and improving loads each week. Anyone interested in seeing what the fuss is about give me a shout…

Now it’s time to get back into training to be ready for next season. Race plans are coming together and things are looking very exciting so I have all the motivation I need to brave the cold, wet, windy weather that is surely going to hit us sometime soon. The last week parcels have been arriving in the post everyday in preparation for the year ahead. The latest was a cyclocross bike (good job I have tolerant housemates, bikes are taking over the place at the moment!). It’s finally time to give cross a proper try and I can’t wait to shock my system back into action with some super intense racing – reports will be coming soon.

But before all that I’ve a Halloween costume to come up with, its not quite November yet…

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