09/20/2026
The upsides and downsides of mountain biking when you work out of town for weeks at a time.
The good part? Working away means I can afford the trips, the bikes, the gear, the maintenance, the lift tickets and everything that comes with being way too obsessed with mountain biking 😂
When I’m home, I’m HOME. I can focus on riding, progressing, and making up for the time I missed.
But there’s a downside nobody really talks about.
Being gone 2–3 weeks at a time can feel like one step forward and two steps back.
You spend your days off building confidence, getting comfortable and progressing… then suddenly you’re away from the bike for weeks.
When you finally get home, sometimes it feels like you’re right back at square one.
I know my skill level. I know what I can ride. But some days that first ride back feels like my first year on a bike all over again.
And mountain biking is already such a mental game. Confidence, repetition and consistency matter so much. Working away makes that even harder.
It’s frustrating to spend your days off building yourself up, only to have to rebuild that confidence every time you come home.
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe other people working rotations can relate.
Either way… it kinda sucks. 😂
