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  • Inspiration for the New Year

    Sometimes it is hard to get inspired. It happens to everyone at some point.

    For most Northern Hemisphere people, any paid-entry-type races are several months away and that makes it easy to worry about fitness later. For others, there is a complete lack of desire to enter a race or event. That is certainly hard on motivation and fitness.

    In both cases, race enthusiast or not, an un-event event can help you. An un-event can be done solo – but it is MUCH better if you include friends or your community. I’ll give you an example.

    Several years ago two guys, Jordan Radin and Adam Miller, decided it would be fun to have an un-event that occurs four times per year. They select four days nearest each solstice and equinox for the un-event to occur. This un-event is a mountain bike course in a local open space called Horsetooth Mountain Park. Everyone rides the course anytime they please over the four designated days.  The course is the same each time and there is a Strava segment set-up so elapsed ride times can be easily gathered and verified. The un-event is appropriately named The Four Seasons of Horsetooth.

    Because Colorado weather can be really challenging to get four course events completed each season, the results page ranks riders by the total time for the best three rides. If you happen to complete four rides, 10 minutes is taken off your best three-ride total. The time bonus is incentive for the determined rider to aim for four rides.

    Jordan and Adam have made it super fun by making a bedazzled leader’s vest, hand-made horsey trophies for the leaders and horsey-themed announcements. You can view their creativity on the Facebook page here.

    The un-event is inspiration to just get out there and ride. But…in order to just ride, all of us need a certain amount of fitness or it becomes a longer ride for sure. It doesn’t matter if you’re the fastest or not, what matters is you are out there getting it done. When the weather warms up you will thank un-event organizers and yourself.

    If you aren’t lucky enough to have an un-event near you, it’s time to create one. Borrowing the four seasons quarterly goals from Jordan and Adam might be your best 2022 inspiration.

     

     

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