The scent of a new season

What a winter. Those few sunny, berg wind wonders definitely keep the mind hopeful of better riding conditions! Especially if you braved the mud in Stellenbosch over the weekend. I hear someone has put a price on Meurants head. As if he could possibly have planned the deluge that made some of the course more like a monster truck rally mud pit. Ah well it seems that it's just human nature to want to pin the blame on somebody! Afterall somebody put a gun to your head and made you ride didn't they?

The one thing I always liked about mountain biking was that it was fairly unpredictable. Even well ridden trails can be a complete contrast when wet or even ridden the other way round. Take your regular route and ride it in reverse. Not sitting backwards of course (that would be something special) but riding in the other direction. That trail will be like a new adventure. Same distance, same trail, different rush. All of a sudden riding can be fresh and invigorating. That's a pretty important thing to consider when drumming up the motivation to tear yourself away from the arm chair you've occupied all winter! Afterall, thinking of riding your local route for the umpteenth time can be pretty depressing.

Heading off to new trails can always be a great way to get yourself into the riding mood. It may even require a bit of training to get you prepared, but with the thought of new dirt to buzz always helps get the legs moving. So get planning - there's a long weekend coming up and there are trails to be ridden!

I've got my eye on some myself!