This was long! Fifty miles long! Fortunately, it was also fruitful. Chalk up another good win.
The longer the race, the more draining it is mentally. Especially a mountain bike race where you have to concentrate the whole time or you’ll end up over the handlebars.
Mountain biking is a proverbial double-edged sword. It’s a fantastic sport and in a race like the Whiskey 50 there is something new around every corner and over every climb, so no seemingly endless, familiar miles on roads like in an a 70.3.
But on the flip side there is no zoning out like on the road, where you can just get settle down and become immersed in your steady breathing and your cycling rhythms. Sure, you can settle into a rhythm mountain biking, but you can never zone out! The margin for error is way less off-road. In mountain biking you have to stay focused or you’ll come off the bike, so it is more mentally taxing.
But it can also be way more fun!
