Ahoy!

For some reason, I’ve decided to start a blog. Apparently, it’s what all the cool kids are doing nowadays. The main focus of this blog will be to document my mountain biking progress.

Basically, physical exercise and myself…well, we’ve never been the best of friends. I was never particularly sporty as a child. I never enjoyed any of the typical school sports -although I’ll confess to a passing fondness for the obstacle courses, bean bag, sack, and egg and spoon races which are sadly abandoned once you reach High School. Once I hit High School, PE was something to be endured, not enjoyed. When I knackered my knees at the age of 14, it was a blessed relief. OK, I waddled like a duck, but Yay! No PE!

I finally found an activity I enjoyed at the age of 17 – Tae Kwon Do. I’d always wanted to take up a martial art, but my mother wouldn’t let me. I wasn’t great at it, but I loved it and hit blue belt before the dodgy knees struck again. I tried taking it up again (along with aikido) after two operations, but sadly, iffy knees and high impact sports don’t mix.

Then I met Mr Toast. Mr Toast has a fondness for (and one might say ‘obsession with’) mountain biking. The more he enthused about it, the more I thought, ‘Why not? I like nature, and the doctors recommended biking to strengthen my knees (although I don’t think they had mountain biking in mind…), so why not combine the two?

So I took it up at the end of last summer. Make no mistake, I’m RUBBISH at it, but I actually enjoy it, and anything you can enjoy whilst being rubbish at it has got to be worthwhile! But I want to get good, I want to get fit, and I want to be able to confidently throw myself down hills, and to climb up them without dying. So, this blog is meant as a record to inspire myself to do that. Enjoy!