Road to Romaniacs - Episode 2 : The Why
With warmer days in the forecast, we can’t believe the 2024 season is already here. We heard your input and are super stoked about partnering with some amazing folks to deliver more this season, because it’s not just about training for Romaniacs. Although, the training has not slowed down. In fact, it’s just about to ramp up.
We invited everyone to the Heavy Enduro garage last winter, and had so much fun we’re doing it again with 3 sessions ranging from trailside hacks (when BDR’s go wrong) to motocooking. We’ll have a bonfire going with s’mores and learn all about how to cook while motocamping. Check our calendar for all of our garage sessions and trainings.
Walking through our training curriculum and especially as we put together the next level classes like ADV 2.0 or our garage sessions, I couldn’t help but get a bit nervous. It’s the same feeling I get when I haven’t ridden for a couple of weeks. I start wondering if I even remember how to ride. It’s this odd space between imposter syndrome and just sheer nervousness. But, the more people I talk to, the more common I find it to be, and that in itself is a bit reassuring. The thing about riding and racing offroad is that, it’s a new adventure every time. Even when you’re revisiting a trail you’ve ridden dozens of times, nature throws something new in your way. I’ve learned to calm my nerves by finding joy in that unknown and overcoming those obstacles instead of letting the nervousness compound. And, ultimately, that’s what we teach. Once you get the basics down, the next biggest hurdle is yourself. If you’ve never ridden through the woods, your brain will be occupied by every rock, root and curve in that dirt path. It’s overwhelming because you don’t know what to ignore and what needs your attention. But, then, you keep riding and, maybe it takes a dozen repetitions or (if you’re like me) a hundred repetitions, but your brain realizes that fist-sized rocks are nothing for a 21” wheel. Your brain learns to tune out all that noise and focus on bigger and bigger obstacles. There may be a parallel for life off the bike in there somewhere also. So much of what we teach is getting back to basics so that you can build in that muscle memory, but more importantly, your brain can process the fact that you’re taking on increasingly challenging obstacles safely. What you’re seeing on our Road to Romaniacs is not some unattainable feat, but just a later part of the same journey.
