A couple of years ago, I set myself the goal of accomplishing a trail running ultra marathon before my 30th birthday thinking that I had enough time to attain such a feat and that, most importantly, it would allow me to prove to myself that I didn’t complete suck at running (something I always believed). I was never a great runner (and am still not!) but this seemed doable in a roughly 3 year time span. Sadly, with injuries and life getting in the way, my running career took a back seat along with my goal, and even the memory of setting it.
Last year February, I bought my first mountain bike and cycled for the first time since I was a young grasshopper. I think, from the moment my bum sat on the saddle of my rented bike, I subconsciously knew that the cogs had clicked into place and I had set a fundamental machine into motion. As my personality predicted, I jumped into the deep-end of this exciting, vast and adrenaline-filled swimming pool with open arms and very few swimming lessons under my belt.
4 months later, after buying my first bike I signed up for my first race – 30km with lots of climbing and a rude awakening – this shit is actually hard?! I may have gassed my way up the climbs and worked bloody hard to get to the finish line but little did I know that the bug had bitten and I had begun a new journey in life.
Having friends that mountain biked meant that I had a great introduction and a big helping hand into my new sport of choice and suddenly my spare time began to revolve more and more around my bicycle. A few months after my first race, I entered the Swazi Escape 2-day stage race in Swaziland with one of my closest friends, riding partners and cycling gurus - Dylan. After doubting my ability to achieve what was, at the time, a pretty big goal, I managed to finish the race strong with a seemingly ever-growing hunger for more. Not long after that I completed my first century and was positively thrilled by hitting this mile-stone – I mean, I moved my body 100 friggin’ kilometres with only the power of my little legs, how awesome!
My new-found “addiction” for increased mileage and challenges saw me entering into the Cullinan to Tonteldoos 24 hour ultra marathon. This is, as far as I have seen, the longest single-stage and single-day race in South Africa involving 262km of off-road cycling with a total ascent of over 3000m of climbing. I am convinced that I left my good-judgement hat at home, along with my sanity, on the day we entered this race and up until we actually set off from the starting line, I was sure I was completely bonkers. After all, the race was give-or-take a year after I first started cycling – how much more in the deep-end could I have thrown myself?
On our first official and “long” training ride for the race – the first 140km of the actual route which you start riding at 10pm at night and which we finished at 7am the next morning – I realised that endurance riding was like nothing physical I had ever done before. This type of movement becomes so much more than an exercise regime or a sporting discipline – it becomes a teacher and a guide – and you become a student of the Universe.
I have always been drawn to outdoor activities and have tried my hand at rock climbing, hiking, trekking, trail running and now mountain biking. Being in nature is soothing for the soul and reaffirms my belief that we are all inextricably interconnected to one another and the natural world around us. Both trail running and cycling have given me such a beautiful opportunity for mindful moving meditation as my overactive thinking-brain and endless cyclical thoughts fade into the background and I experience a sense of peace I struggle to find anywhere else. I find I am “forced” to be completely in the moment and have a level of mindfulness I can’t quite achieve in day-to-day life – it’s either I have laser focus or I potentially crash!
Please come back tomorrow for the second half of this post and thank you for reading! Your support is hugely appreciated.
Peace and love!
Plant-strong animal lover and activist
Earth child
Spiritual warrior
Mountain biking explorer
Lover of wisdom