Turning 30, its all uphill from here!

Taking part in the Fred Whitton and the first of the thetford summer series on the same week that I turn 30 has taught me two main things, a)I love riding road bikes,
b)I love riding mountain bikes. The week has also made me realize just how different the two diciplines really are.
The Fred Whitton was an awe inspiring ride, the landscape was beautiful, the weather was unpredictable and the hills were killer. I loved it no matter how hard it was for me I had a fantastic ride, pushing myself mentally in a way I have not had to do before. The difference is that with a mountain bike race or ride things are happening so fast you dont get much chance to think hard about how much you hurt or how far you have to go until you stop. With an event like the Whitton however, you get a long good look at how your be spending the next 10-20 minutes, because you can see much more of the road ahead. You have to spend much longer telling yourself "just a little further, and then you can rest a little". 7 Hours hard riding on the road gives you a massive amount time to analyse every inch of your ride, and that can be tough to deal with.
What an event like that has taught me is that no matter how hard a XC race might be, at least it ends quickly, and you dont have to think about it too hard!