It’s a topic that’s headlining wherever you look in the mountain bike industry at the moment: women mountain bikers are absolutely killing it and pushing the boundaries like they’ve never been pushed before, across all disciplines. New events are popping up all over the world specifically for women, and women free riders can actually make a living doing the sport they love, with the support of the industry and their male counterparts behind them. Finally, the world is beginning to recognise what the women of mountain biking can do — and boy, is it impressive! Women are finally getting the respect they deserve, after all these years of resistance from the industry.

But what exactly is progression? The dictionary defines it as: the process of developing or moving gradually towards a more advanced state.

This can be a good or a bad thing, right? Good in terms of career advancement and development; bad when it comes to the medical definition, where something is spreading through the body and becoming progressively worse. Progression has a different meaning to everyone — thank goodness. It should be whatever you want it to be, not what you think it should be.

With all the progression happening around us, and the growing awareness around what women mountain bikers are capable of — via our social media feeds and channels — you feel inspired and motivated. But there is also a side to this progression that can end up making people feel worthless about their biking skills and abilities, and their own personal level of progression. Sadly, social media can have the effect of making you feel kind of shitty about the stuff that you aren’t doing — or cannot do — especially when it seems like everyone else and their mothers can, and are. You end up scrolling and scrolling and feeling worse about yourself and your own abilities, to the point of it effecting your mental state, which can lead to depression and self-doubt.

Of course, it’s not all negative, it is very inspiring too. But, sometimes, it can almost be too inspiring. This can lead to situations where someone doesn’t quite have the skills or capabilities just yet, but they don’t care — instead, they just close their eyes and send it for their latest IG reel! Just YOLO-ing like this can often lead to a disastrous outcome and some nasty injuries. This sort of progression can end up discouraging other women from even entering the sport. They don’t want to give mountain biking a try, because they deem it too extreme, too gnarly, too masculine. We have to be careful to not just portray only this side of our sport – as it’s really a very small percentage of women pushing the limits to the max like that. We should be portraying other sides of our sport, too, and encouraging more women to just get out on a bike and give it a go.

If I can wheelie, I’ll get so many followers who think I’m cool. If I land this backflip, people will love and respect me more, my followers will skyrocket and sponsors will value me! My life will change and I’ll be popular! This sort of thinking ultimately leads to additional pressure, self-doubt, fear of failure, and fear of what people might think of you — to the point where you can no longer just enjoy the simple act of riding your bicycle. My point is, that in today’s society where you’re constantly progressing and everything has to be bigger, better, faster, further, it’s ok if you choose not to do that. It’s ok if you just like to head out the door and go for a pedal in nature to get some fresh air, to notice the changes in seasons, to stop and watch how the light catches the water, to listen to the birds, to stop at the top of the climb, lie on your back and feel the wind sweeping over your sweaty body while watching the long grasses dance in the breeze. This is also a form of progression. This is the kind of progression we need in our busy lives, where the focus is always on achievement of some sort. We need this to find balance, to slow down and recharge our sympathetic nervous system, to calm our minds and find some peace amongst all the everyday chaos. Once we can achieve this, progression will follow — if that is your end goal. They go hand in hand and work together. Homeostasis. Yin and Yang. You cannot have one without the other.

A lot of athletes across all disciplines are facing burnout this season. They’re mentally struggling with their careers or having performance anxiety; not performing as they would like to or how people think they should be. There is this fear of not being able to progress and, because of social media, they feel like they are letting people down. The truth is that, for the most part, people don’t really care, it is only you that thinks everyone cares, or notices or will judge you for not winning races anymore. We tend to create these scenarios in our heads, but at the end of the day it is only you that matters and how you feel about your riding or your progression or your social media fans. It has become such an issue, that athletes lose their love for biking, the fire and passion no longer there because they’ve been pushing and pushing and pushing – possibly without seeing the end results they were hoping for.

Once that happens, disappointment hits and spirals out of control into burnout and depression and, not knowing what to do with all of these emotions, they withdraw to figure out the next steps. Usually, this is when you have to go back to the very basics of riding a bike, like a kid. You have to just get back out there and start making circles with your legs. It’s that simple. Leave the devices at home, switch off the Garmin, leave the music, just get outside into nature and feel the wind in your face, listen to the sounds of the forest, feel the sense of freedom only a bike can instill, look around and be thankful that this is what it is all about. It doesn’t have to get more complicated than that. We make things complicated for ourselves. We push, we want constant progression and achievement, but it can also just be this simple act of exploring your backyard on a bicycle, without any pressure to perform or achieve.

I’ve reached a stage in my life where I can appreciate the unbelievable progression of women’s mountain biking. I admire those pushing the limits of the sport; the new generation of fearless girls and women are so amazing to see and I am their biggest cheerleader. But, I don’t want to do backflips, I can’t wheelie and I have no desire to hit massive jumps. Maybe, a few years ago, this would have bothered me but, for now, I’m happy to get outside and ride my bikes — all my bikes: mountain, road, gravel — because that is what makes me feel alive and happy. My riding is better than it has ever been so, to me, this is progression. I don’t have a crazy number of followers, because I’m not pushing the boundaries, I’m not making cool reels or doing sponsored posts or breaking any records. Instead, I’m outside riding my bike, appreciating the beauty of nature, exploring big mountains, finding solitude amongst the craziness of this world, and appreciating the amazing life and experiences bicycles have given me over the years. Does this mean I have no more value to my sponsors? I would hope not. I would hope that it would inspire other women to get out on their bikes and go on some adventures — explore their backyards, meet some interesting folks along the way, stop for coffee and cake, and find the pure happiness that riding a bike brings. Life is too short to focus only on progression, we have to enjoy the process and progression will follow in a natural way. So, get out there! Stop comparing yourself to what others are doing on social media and find your own progression. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll experience along the way.

Peace out,
Anka
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Words: Anka Martin
Photography: Sven Martin