Day 2 22nd March

We were all a little slow getting moving this morning and it was quite cool as well, there was low cloud around but it was supposed to clear to a lovely sunny day. Breakfast was supplied for us so pots of tea were made and all manner of cereals and toast were devoured. The plan today was to meet Jess Douglas at her shop ‘The Corner Store’ for a coffee and some freshly made banana bread (all included in the price as were our lunches and snacks) and talk about plans for the day.The shop is a cafe and sells some bike gear and there is always a bike on a stand being worked on. Very cool place!!

Group shot outside The Corner Store.

The crazy woman in the front of this photo is Cathy, she is a bike mechanic, instructor and a barista not to mention being a grandmother as well!!.

The plan for today was to ride as a group in the morning and split into our skill level groups after lunch, which worked really well for a while as the trails we started on were sweet and flowy with not many obstacles and just plain fun. However we then started on a black diamond track which I found quite difficult and just plain tricky and my confidence level was dropping quickly. I have been having great trouble cornering on my new bike as it’s a 29er and steers like a bus so by lunch time I was thinking to myself I really should have bought the 27.5 and not rushed into the 29er!

We arrived back to the shop for a yummy lunch of roasted veg foccacia and a coffee but my mood was still down. I tend to be very hard on myself and once I start thinking I can’t do something I get in a very negative head space. I voiced some of my concerns to Su who suggested we do something easier after lunch, which our little group was glad to hear. We needed some confidence boosting riding.

We headed up 7kms of fire road to the start of Red Carpet downhill trail. I was quite happy riding the fire road it was a good grade of up, the kind that I can climb forever (sick I know) and went through some gorgeous scenery. All too soon we were at the top and started down Red Carpet which surprisingly went up to start with and caught us all in the wrong gear. It was quite tricky in places and I was still in the wrong head space so bailed at one point and went down the road and met back up with the group a bit further on, from then the track was great and I was trying to practice my cornering, at the bottom we agreed to call it a day we were all just plain tired at this point and headed back for coffee and cake.

That night tea was at the Forrest Guest house which was a little classier then the pub and after a fantastic meal we headed back to the retreat as Jess was going to talk to us about her career and outlook on life. I got a lot out of her talk and swore she was in my head at one stage. Her philosophy on riding is based on her 1% theory, each time you ride concentrate on just 1 thing to improve, and if you think you can’t do something on the trail such as jump or get over an obstacle just move on and don’t bash yourself up over it, have a go next time. I can’t remember everything she said now but we were all spellbound! I was actually starting to look forward to riding again the next day and not feeling inadequate about not being able to keep up with the other group.

http://www.jessicadouglas.com/