It Happens to the Best of Us

You know I love to ride, and for the most part do not get to get out on my bike as much as I would like, so when I do get out on the trails I like to savour every moment of it. I really don't care if it is a ride with the guys pushing my limits or just going out with a family member or new rider ... I just love riding. But once in a while I just feel off ... you know - slow, clumsy and low confidence and this affects the whole ride.

I really have no idea what brings this about, is it nutritional, emotional, physiological, I really have no idea. But it just happens, from the first pedal stroke to the last you just feel off, the ride is usually still enjoyable (I mean ... even rides where I injure myself can be fun ... heck you are riding your bike!) but you shied away from steeps that you usually hit or just didn't have the juice in the legs to climb that little grunt of a climb that you usually clean.

I asked the place that we all go to for the most accurate possible answers ... the Internet! Here is a breakdown of what people had to say. First off lets see what the twitters thinks is the issue:

I started by asking:

Scott and Theresa played along:

I clarified:

So did they!

Okay, we are making some progress here, and no surprise they are saying the same things I was thinking. It could be anything from your head not being in the game to getting sick or just being plain tired. So let's move on...what does Reddit think? I popped into /r/mtb/ and asked the same basic question.

And the answers started pouring in, I am not going to post them all, but if you want to check out the thread for yourself click here.

These guys have a little more insight, everything from relationships issues to hypoglycaemia ... with a little viagra thrown in just because it's reddit ... hah. As I said there are lots of other replies on reddit, I just am too lazy to screenshot them all and put it here when clicking the link above is just so easy. 

Okay one last resource, I asked on Google+ to see what the 200 people in my MTB circle thought:

Well...if I could play the sound of crickets here I would, no one chimed in...come on google+ people, get with it!

Everyone has the same basic idea on what causes these issues, it really seems to come down to Mental, Nutrition, and Physical issues, I thought it was interesting that not one seemed to come out on top, it was a pretty even mix of opinions.

In writing this post it really got me to thinking about what causes this dreaded feeling for me. I can mostly count out nutrition because I really try to feed my body well before riding - sometimes a little too well ha ha (insert fat joke here.) I think for me it comes down to mental and physical issues, if I am feeling sick, or healing that can really take a toll on my body, but I find the mental aspect of this sport the most interesting. 

I think we could write a whole paper on how this is a mental sport. I may write more of my thoughts about this later, but as it pertains to this topic I really think this is where it lies. Some days I just feel off and if I head out riding anyway, well this is when I should have probably stayed home instead of risking injury. But I also know myself pretty well, so on these days I take it really easy and just try my best to enjoy this awesome sport, my great friends and the beautiful forest.

What do you think about this, what of the three main issues do you think affects you the most, and if you found a way to avoid it or work around it please share with the rest of us.