According to my habit tracker app, I hadn’t ridden my trials bike in almost a month due to health issues. This week I’m finally back on my bike. Whatever was plaguing me (it wasn’t COVID-19, thankfully), it kicked my ass. I didn’t even dare trying to ride since I felt absolutely drained of energy, with the added bonus of ‘rubbery’ legs – not helpful for trials biking. But now I’m back at it with a vengeance, having ridden 4 out of the past 6 days. And I finally got to use my new Ride Concepts – Vice biking shoes that have sitting in my bedroom unused for several weeks!

Habit tracker app showing gaps in my trials riding due to health issues and injuries in 2020
I use a habit tracker app to track various habits, including trials biking. The lighter colored days show when performed the habit – trials riding in this case. The dark gaps are due to health issues and injuries that kept me from riding. (Loop Habit Tracker app by Alinson S Xavier)

Back On My Bike, But Taking It Easy

I decided to start out taking it easy to start off since I was still feeling a bit fatigued. I focused on basics and simple moves – no complex lines or anything that required a significant amount of strength. Just spending a few minutes trying to get a photo balanced on my rear wheel in front of the Christmas tree literally wiped me out on Christmas Day. I was able to do some easy riding in the driveway the day after Christmas, but I was still pretty weak. On the second day back, I essentially focused on balance on a ‘skinny’ beam for about 1.5 – 2 hours (video below) – nothing too strenuous.

Classic trials biking move - balancing on the rear wheel (in front of the Christmas tree in the living room)
Gotta get that Instagram shot!

For the third day back on my bike, I finally rode somewhere other than my own driveway and had a pretty decent ride with a few good lines… though I was a dumbass and didn’t take any video, despite having my GoPro with me. Yesterday, on my fourth ride, I was finally able to do another group ride. That was a lot more challenging – I think I actually rode pretty well, but still don’t have my stamina back. But I was able to do some rear wheel static hops and balancing on rocks that were improvements over previous rides, which felt pretty good.


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