Hannah proposes a new system of measurement, putting quality over quantity.
Miles covered and feet gained seem to me an inadequate measure of mountain biking. Kilometres and metres likewise. Hours and minutes are useful, to a point – but what takes you an hour might take me two. Or three. As your buddies share their ‘year in sport’ stats, does it adjust for the number of nursery bugs caught or weeks spent in Tenerife? I feel that would be an improvement. But we could switch it up altogether. I am in a local ‘Lend a Hand’ group, where you can loan or give away items. The standard unit of measurement used is a banana – you post a picture of what you’re offering, with a banana for scale.
Now you could measure bike rides in bananas, but their texture makes me gip and they have a tendency to turn to mush in a backpack. You could measure in water bottles, but I ride like a camel – I drink before my ride and at the end, but rarely in between. For a really big scale, I could go with sandwiches: a one or two sandwich day out. But for the smaller scale, I’m not packing sandwiches – I need an alternative measure.
We could measure in obstacles: two hills, four gates, and a tricky stile; many dog walkers and a swamp. Or kit: a waterproof jacket; sun cream and ice cream money. Or perhaps sights: two trig points and a field of lambs; a woodpecker’s nest and a waterfall. Now these are the kinds of measures I could get on board with. These are the things that get me out there, or that make me look back and think ‘That was great’.
Think about this… ‘Rode 33 miles and climbed 2,000ft’ or ‘Two new trails, a bakery with cinnamon toast, a level crossing, a tunnel, and a big view’. Which sounds better to you? They’re both the same ride.
And as you look back on your year in sport, how would you rather be congratulated? ‘You managed two Everests!’, or ‘You enjoyed 10 bakeries, 112 new trails, 5 curlews, 22 herons, and 1 wheel-swallowing bog!’. For those who are motivated by goals, we could flip this to a sort of Pokémon Go of mountain biking. Collect ’em all: trig points, fords, bridges, bogs. Dog poo, immovable cows, impassable tussocks. ‘I’ve still not seen an eagle, let’s go to Scotland!’ ‘I still need to ride on the beach, let’s head to Devon!’ This is the kind of year in sport I could get behind actually planning. The urge to tick the ‘Be the first to crunch through the ice on a puddle’ is the motivation I need to get out of bed before everyone else.
It might not be smartwatch-friendly, or easily integrated into your nutrition plan, but perhaps there’s something to be said for keeping such things out of your rides. Add a sprinkle of fun, a pinch of awe, and a teaspoon of sweat. Keep your riding in perspective, with the magic of being out there firmly in focus. What does your year ahead hold?
