It's the small victories on the trail that really matter

While a frustrated me was riding the Walker Ranch trail last weekend, my husband brought me back to reality after telling me that I could not be too hard on myself – it is a very difficult trail. The start of the trail – going clockwise – is the most difficult technically, and I kept having to walk my bike over obstacles. I felt more like I was hiking with my bike, and not actually biking.


As the trail went on, I continued to have difficulty, but I found that small victories – getting over a tricky rocky area without putting my foot down – kept me going. This may seem silly, but the last time I did Walker a couple of years ago I flipped over my handlebars coming off of one of the bridges. It's not a big drop, but no matter the size of the obstacle or how fast (or slow) you are going, if you hit your front brake as you're going over it, you are sure to land on your face. The two times I've gone over my handlebars, I was barely moving.

This time, I just flew right over that bridge, and no brake was pressed. That's a small victory, and shows how far I've come.

The concept of looking at the small victories applies also in golf – a much less intensive but no less frustrating sport. Playing with my husband and father-in-law the other day, I certainly had some horrible shots, and did not come close to par most of the time. But I shot straight a handful of times – a victory in and of itself – and on one hole I even scored a bogey – one over par. And that was done fair and square. It was a small victory I held onto for the rest of the game.

When you're learning a new sport as an adult – like mountain biking and golf – you can't focus on how good everyone else is doing, or how out-of-shape you feel (especially in Boulder County). You have to look at where you are improving, and hold onto those small victories.

Back to mountain biking, a sport filled to the brim with opportunity for small victories. Every rock you didn't make it over gives you the opportunity to make it over next time. And that downhill you pressed the brakes on way too much (not that I would ever do that - ha!), see if you can't let go for just a little bit next time.

Today I went and rode Wapiti Trail at Heil Valley Ranch between Boulder and Lyons. I had a few small victories today. I rode up (literally) the entire 2.5 miles to the fork where the Ponderosa Loop starts. I had only planned to go about half that, as I feel so out-of-shape. But I couldn't let the older man that passed me on one of my breaks show me up!

Another victory? Despite my tiredness, I made it up a difficult rocky area. This picture only kind of does it justice. I made it through this 20-yard (or so) area on willpower alone. It felt good.

I have a long way to go, but it does make it more fun when I think of my newly adopted sports in pieces. And maybe one day, all those little pieces will fit together for a better performance overall!