You’ve crashed, you’re hurt, but look on the bright side 🙂

Being injured sucks. It hurts, it stops you riding, it stops you working and it stops you being you. And if you’re anything like me, and always turn to your bike to relieve the stresses of life, it also adds hugely to those stresses while eliminating your most efficient coping mechanism.

But you can take some positives from it.

If you can’t ride, now’s the time to do all the things you want or need to do, that you can’t do when you’re trying to maximise your time on the bike. So once you’ve devoured the first tub of comfort ice cream, and emptied that bottle of red, sit down with a pen and a piece a paper and start writing a list.

1. Recovery

This has to be your number one priority. You’ve got time on your hands, so make sure you dedicate as much of it as possible to getting better as quickly as possible. If relevant, see a physio or a specialist. Sure, these cost money. But if you snapped your frame rather than your wrist or collar bone, you’d be spending money repairing that. And this is your body… your engine…

Then write a rehab plan and stick to it. If you have to do 20 reps with theraband 4 times a day, do them. If 5 times a day will make it even better, do 5. If you need icepacks then use them.

And don’t forget the rest of your body. Ask your physio, or your local fitness instructor, or even a specialist mtb fitness instructor, to write you a program that will help keep the rest of your body as fit as possible without slowing your recovery. And then do it.

This will also help you avoid putting on weight.

2. Improve your credit rating

List all the things that you can think of that you really need to do in your everyday life that will at some stage in the future keep you off the bike. Can you do more of these now? Can you get some credit now for some extra bike miles when you’re up and running again? Work’s an obvious one, if you have a flexible job, but what about other stuff? Here’s a few for starters:

DIY

Family

Friends

Book keeping, accounts, tax return

Car maintenance

In-law visits (major on this one if necessary!)

Taxi duty

Dog walking

There will be many, many more…

3. Room for improvement

If you’re anything like me, there will be loads of things you could do, that you know would improve your riding or increase the amount of fun you have when you’re out on the bike, if only you had time. Well you do!

Start with

Yoga

Meditation

Reading

Studying sports psychology

Watching Danny Hart’s Champery run from 2011 (again!)

Watch coaching videos (Global Mountain Bike Network, Ryan Leech, Seth’s Bike Hacks)

First aid course

Mechanics course

Join a local advocacy group

4. Service your bikes (This could come in no. 2)

Yup, fine-tooth comb time. Grease/replace all those bearings, replace your cables, clean and lube the chain, service the pedals, send the shock/fork/seatpost for servicing. Do everything you can to make sure that when you are riding again, the bike isn’t going to keep you off the trails. You could also look at the odd upgrade to cheer yourself up (assuming you’re still working or getting sick pay)

5. Other stuff you never do

There must be other things you’d enjoy if you lived in a parallel universe and didn’t ride?

Theatre

Cinema

Big walks in the mountains

Play guitar

Kayaking

Sunning by the pool in the Bahamas 🙂

 

Once I start this list, I find it’s almost never-ending. In fact, I’m almost sad when I am fully recovered and back on the bike.

Almost.

Tom Hutton is a mountain bike guide, photographer and journalist. He has been the route researcher for mbr magazine for 17 years, provides classic route guides for Singletrack magazine and has written a number of guidebooks. 

For more info on Tom Hutton MTB Guiding, our holidays, weekends and guided rides, see our website

 

 

Drunk on dusty trails and intoxicating sunshine. How a simple Torridon ride grew into something more…

Day 3 in the Bealach an Sgairne

I often get asked ‘what made you take up guiding?’

To be honest, when I’m stuck on an exposed trail, 500m up a Scottish mountain, in driving sleet, helping someone mend their 3^rd puncture of the day, I’ve asked myself the same question!

Truth is, the answer is always the same: ‘I just love it!’

No matter how testing it can be at times, weather, clients or both, there’s still nothing I’d rather be doing.

But there is a story to the birth of MTB Guiding. So as we race headlong into the new season, I thought I’d tell it.

It was mid-June and it was scorching hot. We were exploring trails in Torridon and some were even dusty. If this wasn’t good enough to make us believe we’d died and gone to heaven, it was also pretty midge-free.

So in a moment of intoxicated madness, we found ourselves swapping our riding glasses for a kind of mtb equivalent of beer goggles, and started musing: ‘wouldn’t it be great if we could show our readers this in person?’

‘Imagine how good it would be if rather than just reading our routes in a magazine, and looking at our pictures, they could actually be here with us, experiencing it in the same way as we do.’

A seed was sown…

It was a typical route research trip: we dashed from east to west and north to south, exploring new trails and making sure we had a good spread from all corners to slot into the magazine over the months to come. It’s how we work – we never get to stay in one place and ride it out.

But it dawned on us that this wasn’t how other people did it. If they went to Aviemore, then they went to Aviemore. And if they went to Torridon they went to Torridon etc. etc. So what would our readers make of our fast-forward, flitting all over the place, trail-bagging expeditions?

Would they enjoy being in different areas every day? Being shown different trails every day? Would they get the same buzz from an endless stream of new vistas, new trails, new pubs and new hotels as we did?

Was it even possible to see the best of what Scotland had to offer in just one trip?

And if it was, could we possibly show it to them?

We came home, talked to friends and surveyed contacts. We looked at what other companies were offering in other parts of the world, and we decided to take a flyer. The Ultimate Scotland Road Trip was born.

The next 12 months were full of booking hotels, organising buses, checking rules and regulations, and of course swotting for and passing some mtb leadership awards.

Then in April 2015, myself, guest guide Jay Mulvey, driver Graham Draper, and 8 pioneering clients motored our way up to Aviemore to put the whole thing to the test.

Did it work? Over to them…

“Had spectacular week in Scotland riding the best spots! By far the most beautiful place I have been mountain biking. Really good organised and superb guiding. Thanks a lot for this awesome week!” Jeroen Hook, Nederlands

“A fantastic week of riding, some brilliant and totally unforgettable memories. Thanks to the company, the scenery and most importantly, the organiser. Congratulations Tom, you have a genuine winning combination on your hands. All in all…stunning” Nik Wadge, Gloucestershire

“As the name suggests ‘The Ultimate Scotland Road Trip’ had a lot of expectation to live up to, but Tom Hutton of MTB Guiding managed to ensure that the trip did not disappoint. The biking destinations were classic tick list rides including Lairig Ghru, Glen Tilt, Torridon and Skye. The logistics and organisation re food and accommodation were excellent, and bike security and client safety were paramount. It was an awesome week, with stunning scenery, challenging technical riding and lots of laughs and fun. An epic trip, can’t wait for the next one :)” Anne Strafford, Birmingham

“What an absolutely brilliant week. Some of the best trails on Earth, good weather, great company, excellent support. It doesn’t get much better than this.” Jon Sparks, Lancaster

“A brilliant week away with MTB Guiding, the only thing you have to do is get up every day and ride your bike. It doesn’t get much better than that, especially when it’s in the Highlands of Scotland. What’s not to like when all the routes, accommodation and meals are sorted for you. Riding with a group of like-minded people was such fun and new friends have been made. I would recommend it without hesitation, if you’re thinking about it -do it.” Fiona Vaughan, Bromsgrove

Tom Hutton is a mountain bike guide, photographer and journalist. He has been the route researcher for mbr magazine for 17 years, provides classic route guides for Singletrack magazine and has written a number of guidebooks. 

For more info on Tom Hutton MTB Guiding, our holidays, weekends and guided rides, see our website. For more details or to join our April 2017 Ultimate Scotland Road Trip, click here!

You’ve crashed, you’re hurt, but look on the bright side 🙂

Being injured sucks. It hurts, it stops you riding, it stops you working and it stops you being you. And if you’re anything like me, and always turn to your bike to relieve the stresses of life, it also adds hugely to those stresses while eliminating your most efficient coping mechanism.

But you can take some positives from it.

If you can’t ride, now’s the time to do all the things you want or need to do, that you can’t do when you’re trying to maximise your time on the bike. So once you’ve devoured the first tub of comfort ice cream, and emptied that bottle of red, sit down with a pen and a piece a paper and start writing a list.

1. Recovery

This has to be your number one priority. You’ve got time on your hands, so make sure you dedicate as much of it as possible to getting better as quickly as possible. If relevant, see a physio or a specialist. Sure, these cost money. But if you snapped your frame rather than your wrist or collar bone, you’d be spending money repairing that. And this is your body… your engine…

Then write a rehab plan and stick to it. If you have to do 20 reps with theraband 4 times a day, do them. If 5 times a day will make it even better, do 5. If you need icepacks then use them.

And don’t forget the rest of your body. Ask your physio, or your local fitness instructor, or even a specialist mtb fitness instructor, to write you a program that will help keep the rest of your body as fit as possible without slowing your recovery. And then do it.

This will also help you avoid putting on weight.

2. Improve your credit rating

List all the things that you can think of that you really need to do in your everyday life that will at some stage in the future keep you off the bike. Can you do more of these now? Can you get some credit now for some extra bike miles when you’re up and running again? Work’s an obvious one, if you have a flexible job, but what about other stuff? Here’s a few for starters:

DIY

Family

Friends

Book keeping, accounts, tax return

Car maintenance

In-law visits (major on this one if necessary!)

Taxi duty

Dog walking

There will be many, many more…

3. Room for improvement

If you’re anything like me, there will be loads of things you could do, that you know would improve your riding or increase the amount of fun you have when you’re out on the bike, if only you had time. Well you do!

Start with

Yoga

Meditation

Reading

Studying sports psychology

Watching Danny Hart’s Champery run from 2011 (again!)

Watch coaching videos (Global Mountain Bike Network, Ryan Leech, Seth’s Bike Hacks)

First aid course

Mechanics course

Join a local advocacy group

4. Service your bikes (This could come in no. 2)

Yup, fine-tooth comb time. Grease/replace all those bearings, replace your cables, clean and lube the chain, service the pedals, send the shock/fork/seatpost for servicing. Do everything you can to make sure that when you are riding again, the bike isn’t going to keep you off the trails. You could also look at the odd upgrade to cheer yourself up (assuming you’re still working or getting sick pay)

5. Other stuff you never do

There must be other things you’d enjoy if you lived in a parallel universe and didn’t ride?

Theatre

Cinema

Big walks in the mountains

Play guitar

Kayaking

Sunning by the pool in the Bahamas 🙂

 

Once I start this list, I find it’s almost never-ending. In fact, I’m almost sad when I am fully recovered and back on the bike.

Almost.

Tom Hutton is a mountain bike guide, photographer and journalist. He has been the route researcher for mbr magazine for 17 years, provides classic route guides for Singletrack magazine and has written a number of guidebooks. 

For more info on Tom Hutton MTB Guiding, our holidays, weekends and guided rides, see our website