Hey all, looking for some sort of helping hand if that’s even possible on this topic.
2020 has been a very trying and exhausting year to say the least! As a professional mechanic who manages a Shimano Service Center and is the only shop in our area that is willing to do custom builds for all aspects of riding as well as keeping up with industry changes and continually adding to our e-bike service resume. I have gotten to the point of losing my motivation and interest in getting out of the shop and heading to the gym or to the house to hop on the bike for a mind numbing indoor session.
Currently I am not 100% sure if I want to continue training for racing since no one really knows if or when things are going to start back up and as a soon to be 37 year old 3/4 that only has the option of crit racing when it comes to road I’m really kind of on the fence about what direction to go.
If anyone has any words of wisdom for me I’m all ears!
It’s been suggested to me to go for TTs as an alternative to road racing for next year as the regulations governing them is not as rigid.
May not be your cup of tea but may help keep your chin up. bud. We’re all in this together so don’t despair. Who knows we may may be through all this by January
Hey Marshall,
I can only imagine the stress that has put you under. We have multiple bike shops near me and I know a lot of the mechanics and sales associates, many have expressed similar thoughts as you just did.
What I have found to work for me this off season is to bump down my on the bike training. I usually do the advanced plans (12-16 hours) and am now doing the intermediate (8-12 hours). With that extra few hours I am spending time doing things that I haven’t in other years (I am sure you have seen some of this since you follow my instagram).
One of those new activities being rock climbing. Bonus is that my club also has all the stuff to do our resistance training, so I throw that in while I am there. I have found a lot of motivation through this because I have began to notice my technical skills have improved more in the past 2 months than they have in 2 years! Moreover, I have been making an effort to ride with more of my friends that are faster than me. Instead of thinking of winning races in the next year, I have focused more on just being able to stick their wheel… which inevitably will make me a stronger racer.
P.S. Age is just a number… We are all kids when we get out on our bikes
