For those of you who don't know me, I'm Sarah. And to sum it up, I'm the youngest of 8 kids, spent the last 12 years of my life playing volleyball.. proud to say I finished up my career at Long Beach State (go Beach!)... met and got engaged to Ryan Weeger (my best friend, best coach/riding buddy, and lots more bests that I will spare you of.. for now anyway!), and these days, I'm just trying to figure out how the heck I can stay in as good of shape as I was when I played volleyball. Uh, I'm also a fan of run-on sentences and tangents sometimes. But about the whole getting back in the shape I used to be in... It's not about "reliving the glory days" or anything like that. Volleyball was great but now since it's done, it's about learning how to be completely responsible for my health and work ethic; Over the past year, it's been the first time in my life I haven't been playing a team sport with coaches, assistant coaches, nutritionists, and/or trainers telling me what to do and what not to do. And if I'm gonna be honest, it's been a lot tougher for me than I expected it would be to just make the transition from such a team-oriented lifestyle to more of an individualistic one when it comes to working out. With Ryan's help and inspiring ways though, I've picked up on triathlons and mountain biking. And it's been awesome.
That's where the title of this blog comes in. Yeah, it's punny... I'm always on the lookout for a good pun, so if you don't have that sense of humor, well then that sucks for you and you probably won't like my blog later on as the puns get worse... But that's only part of why I picked it for the title. For me, mountain biking is new, something I've decided to throw myself into since Ryan got me started. More than that, I see it as literally a crash course- for everyone who rides with expectations of getting better. And it should be! If you're a beginner and you want to stick with the sport, you're gonna crash because, well, you're a freakin beginner! And then if you're a pro, you're bound to crash if you plan on constantly pushing your limits by taking on new challenges, just as a respected pro should. I always see professionals as the ones who are always having a hard time. Not because they're getting picked on or are too weak, but because they're constantly and always challenging themselves by trying to master a more advanced skill than one they've already learned. And I don't think you can be a pro MTBer, or even just a better rider without doing this and without crashing once in a while.
So anyway, the plan for this blog is to just use it as a way to get things down that I've learned from riding and also, like most MTB blogs out there, to track progress. so I can start to dominate races. :)
I've got 1 race down in the books so far, the Santa Barbara Bike Fest. But I'm not gonna write too much about it since Ryan, Beth and James all beat me to the punch already (names linked to their race reports), and because... well I just flat-out lag and it's old news now. But it was a great weekend with all of us there and pretty sweet since we all made the podium!! So I will add a couple things I want to hang onto until my next race:
*BEAT THIS GIRL NEXT TIME. uhhhhhhhggggggh cannot believe I finished after she did.
who wears a freakin bikini around for hours after a race when it's OVERCAST and cold? ew. sweet picture though, James. haha. But yeah, she's going down next time, for sure...
*Racing with a buddy is a lot of fun, especially when you both make the podium! WOOT!!
*Break more before turns instead of during them, get faster as you go
*Not only is it fun to start out in front, but I seriously think it helps a LOT in the long run because your chances of getting stuck behind a pack go way down. Also, I think it's just harder for most people to let themselves get passed by someone behind them than it is to pass someone in front. Yeahhhhh, shouldn't really matter because you should go as fast as you can and not depend on the pace of others, but if I'm gonna be honest, that's how I see it- easier to pass someone than get passed.
*Crashing happens. It doesn't matter how hard you do, but it matters how fast you can get over being timid and just freakin' ride the way you know how to.
*Similarly, thinking it's ok to go slower because you "just don't want to fall again" is just a waste of time and makes matters worse. (Thanks James, Ryan and Beth for talking me into doing that 2nd lap for pre-ride!) The sooner you can translate "don't fall, don't fall, don't fall..." into "go harder, go harder, go harder..." the better.
*Eating shit for the first time before a race is a GREAT thing for several reasons:
1) It's a blessing in disguise especially if done a day or so before the race; You'll likely feel tight from all the bruises and things during your actual race, so you will likely get a crappier time than expected before you crashed, which means your second race will be TEN TIMES better than your first!
2) Eating shit helps you realize what NOT to say to someone else who goes down. Fortunately, I learned right away how ridiculous and idiotic it sounds to ask someone who just crashed, "Duuuuuuude, are you okayyyyy? That looked pretty baaaaad," like 2 d-bags asked me. So the first and next time I see someone go down, not sure what I'll say but it definitely won't be that phrase...
3) You get your first crash experience done and over with. 'nuff said.
4) Your bruises are a great conversation-starter during post-race events!
5) You'll have another reason to drink a beer or 3 because you "earned it"
*Ryan is awesome and getting better every day he rides. and I really love watching him race and have fun....
*Lastly, the 4 of us are rad!
yeah! I love this blog and the photo of us on the top, even though my jersey is all hiked up like erkel. you are the best mountain biker for sure, im your biggest flan
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