Getting back to biking after injury

We have all been there. You have been having a great time riding your bike and the next thing you know you are face down in the dirt and you are literary eating mud. It is a hazard of our amazing fun sport. Accidents happen. It is easy to get disheartened when you have a big fall and get injured.

I have been biking for about 8 years and I have had my fair share of injuries from my favourite past time. To name a few I tore my ACL, I have had concussions, I even broke three ribs before my wedding day. I could spend this full post talking about my injuries But this is not what this is about. I want to talk about how to get back on the bike after an injury.

First You need to heal. You need to follow your doctor or physio advice. Rushing back on the bike before your body is really is not the best idea and will lead to more injuries. So listen to the medical professionals and follow their program until you are ready to return to biking.

Start your return to the trails slowly. You need to remember how to bike again. No one just jumps on their bike after injury and they are exactly where they left off. This is not going to happen. For a start, your fitness will have taken a hit in the recovery from your injury. So you need to build it back up.

Let's start slowly hit the blues at your local trail centre. Take it easy. This is a good time to work on your biking form and skills. It is also a good time to remember why you love biking. It is ok to feel nervous on the bike. It is ok to be a bit frustrated that you are not where you want to be when you return to the bike.

Let's talk about your mind. Our mind is a funny place when it comes to injury and getting back on your bike. You will have a lot of thoughts from excitement to nerves. Mountain biking is as much a mental game as it is a physical one. You need to give yourself time to remember that you do have the skill to return to mountain biking. you will get back to where you were when you had your accident. It is ok to not feel ok on a bike. Don't be afraid to express your feeling. You will overcome this feeling but you need to start slowly. There is no point in overthinking thing, like why you could no longer go off a drop you have done 100 times before. It will come with time. Right now it's about just getting back on the bike and having fun.

The recovery phase is all about building your confidence back up. You can look into getting some coaching if you are struggling to find your feet again there are so many amazing coaches out there.

As you start to feel more confident in your ability you can start to hit the harder tails that you love. Everyone one of us is different. It may take you longer to rebuild your confidence and that is ok. This is your recovery journey and no one else. An injury can take a bit toll on your body and mind and it can make you a better rider. You will learn things in the recovery stage that you didn't know about yourself.

If this is your first injury believe me you will get your confidence back and become a better rider. We learn a lot from our mistakes and this is just another learning curve. This is a perfect time to think about your biking routine. Do you struggle with flexibility on the bike? Get arm pump? This is a great time to form some new habits in your biking journey. Even just learning to stretch and foam roll can make a huge difference and help you to remain injury-free. Taking better care of our bodies will translate into better riding. Let face it these professionals do it for a reason. So lets not only get back on our bikes but let's form one new habit to help us stay injury-free.

Pit downhill or walk the talk trail, Ben Cathros new trail Pitlochry

We were on our way home from a week in the Tweed valley. I love the trails down there. We did so many trails we haven't done before But enough about that. You are here to hear about the Pit downhill or walk the talk trail or ben Cathros trail whatever name you know it by you are here to read about it.

I wanted to start this with the directions. I always find that finding the trail is half the battle. Here is how to find the parking in my photos but if this is full please use Ben Vrackie car park or if drive past that there is a very small and quiet car park. We may have camped in both of these locations in our van conversion. If you are a van camper. Do me a favour and take your rubbish home. I spent some time picking up broken glass. Let's respect the countryside ok. Side note both car parks have a bin. So no excuse. Really.

So there is only a very small parking place here and it says its national trust. Our national trust membership is paying for its self again!. 

Next, you ride along this little road until you see the golf course. 

This is the walker path going through the golf course. Please stick to the path when cycling up the trails. We don't want to annoy the golfers. 

Once you turn out of the gravel walkers path you will see this little path just follow it along to the end. 

You have reached the main climb here you follow the fire road all the way up to the mast. 

Pass the mast and you will see this little push up path.

This then is the push-up path which will take you to the start of the trail. It is well used and you will find the top with ease. There is a fork in the path you need to head to the right. I forgot to take a photo there sorry guys. It should be easy to find. Stop following the big vehicle track and head to the right. 

You are at the trail start and ready for the fun to unfold. 

Here is a video of the trail. This is my hubby doing the trail. Full discloser I had the start of sinusitis and was feeling a bit rubbish so I made him do the filming. Let's face it he is faster than me. He is on his Whyte hardtail. Full description in the youtube description. 

Trails review from me. 

For me, this is the trail of dreams. There are so many different elements which make this such a good ride. There are some gnarly features. I personally would not reccomend this for a beginner if I am completely honest. It was quite slippy the first day we were there and the second day it was wet and this is a different beast in the wet. 

There is everything from huge slabs you can jump or roll,  gap jumps over logs to jumps and rooty rolls. Then there are fast and flowy sections. You will see on the video the full trails. If I am completely honest and you know I will always be I was a bit scared of the goat section. This is an easier section but I have a weird fear of falling and of small heights so the edge of this was a bit hardcore for me. But of course, I did it fine it is all in my head. Yes, I know weird fear for a girl who loves to mountain bike. 

Info about Pitlochry. 

If like us you are a van camper or just passing thought here are a few bit of information you might like.

Best cake - Hands down Hetties teas. I somehow follow them on Instagram and I have been desperate to try their cakes I have to say it lived up the hype and more. Two massive takeaway cake slices £4.50. You will not be disappointed in this place for cake. 

Pitlochry has a Gregg - Hubby was happy. 

The best place to eat  Cafe Biba Pitlochry We had two pizza's and two beers for £25 and the pizza were delicious and massive. I wish I had time to try the pancakes here It is now on the to-do list. 

Public toilets are open 9am-9pm and are 50p 

Shop There is a massive Coop Which is open 7am to 10pm daily. 

Oakley O-Frame® 2.0 MTB Goggles review

Today we have a bit of a kit review post. When I am looking for mountain biking kit to buy I am always surprised by the lack of real reviews. So I thought I would start doing review posts on this site. Today I have Oakleys O-Frame 2.0 MTB goggles. I bought my Oakley O-frame 2.0's from Oakley direct. Which if I am completely honesty was a bit weird. The first thing I noticed is it is actually quite hard to find the MTB goggles on their site? Why is this? I have no idea. you seem to have to search MTB in their search bar. 

 Anyways I was looking for a new set of goggles to go with my New Troy lee designs helmet. If you would like a review of that to let me know. 

I really wanted a pink pair to match my helmet but this was an impossible task after numerous hours searching the internet and emails to different companies it looks like a pink matching google to this helmet was not going to happen. I have never known anyone who has Oakley O-frames 2.0 Mtb goggles so this kinda made me decide to buy them. Oakley sponsors some of the worlds best riders so surely they would have the best googles so I thought I would give them a try. 

As you can see I went for the Oakley O-Frame® 2.0 MTB Goggles in Black Gunmetal /Dark Grey. There are four colour combos to choose from.  I have popped in lots of photos on this review as I really want to show you these goggles. These are currently £40.80 with free postage and packing direct from Oakley. 

I had a few reservations about these goggles but, to be honest, I have them about all goggles. I have a really small head and face. I am an extra small in helmets and I am a firm member of the pea head club But these looked like this would match my helmet and I love My Oakley Cycling glasses I have so thought why not. 

What Oakley says about the Googles 

As an evolution of the legendary O Frame® goggle, the O Frame® 2.0 PRO family has Oakley DNA pumping through every vein. The O Frame® 2.0 PRO MTB extends the O Frame® 2.0 PRO style and performance to a mid-sized fit, but there is nothing medium about it. The large lens with streamlined frame geometry expands peripheral view in every direction. 

 High Definition Optics®Oakley’s patented High Definition Optics® (HDO®) eliminates distortion to give you clearer, sharper, and more accurate vision.

First thing I noticed when they arrived was the extra lense. This is a huge bonus as I was going to order another one. Let's face it is biker go through lenses pretty quick. Well, I do up here in highlands. There is a lot of bad weather in Nevis range and this, in turn, makes me wear my goggles in all conditions and they get scratched a lot. Huge bonus there. I have normally ridden with 100% youth googles. 

The quality of The Oakley O-Frame® 2.0 MTB Goggles really is amazing. Everything just feels Lux. The fleece lining of the goggle is so nice to wear and it really is super comfortable. The design is really nice it envelopes your face and feels super secure without making you feel squashed. If you have worn goggles you will know what I mean here. The straps have rubber gripper meaning no more having to adjust your goggles once the Oakley O-Frame® 2.0 MTB Goggles are on they are on and not going anywhere. I have rattled down Fort William downhill and these do not move. 

 Vents 

We need to take a minute for the vents on Oakley O-Frame® 2.0 MTB Goggles. They are incredible. I mostly ride Fort William we get Rain in very direction. I have struggled in the past with lens fogging. I mean it is to be expected with what I do and the conditions I ride right? Well, I am happy to say I am yet to have these fog up on me during a run. The ventilation on Oakley O-Frame® 2.0 MTB Goggles are designed to perfection. The air appears to be able to keep the lens fog-free no matter what the conditions. This for me is the best part of the googles. 

I have no hesitation in recommending these goggles to you. They really are worth the £40 price tag. To be honest I would be happy if they were double the price. They are the best goggles I have ever had and will be buying them again. 

I have popped in a few more photos for you to have a good look at these goggles for yourself. 

Dont forget you can ask me any question you may have I am always happy to help.