The Art of "Getting There"

A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking because her trust is not on the branch but on her own wings. Always believe in yourself. 

Hello friends! Once again it has been a while, I have been very busy the past couple of months! High school is OFFICIALLY over for me, I am currently enrolling in my university classes at McMaster, and figuring out how to race Elite! These past few months have been jam-packed with various stresses from all aspects of my life, but when I look back and think about where I am now, I realize that I've set myself up on a path that makes me excited for the future. I simply call this stage in my life, the point where I'm "getting there" so to speak, or transitioning from where I was simply a couple months ago to my next stage in life in a couple months, in University. What I'd like to share through this blog post is how important it is so go through times like this where you might feel like nothing specifically grand is happening but really, you're simply practicing the art of "getting there".


When I decided to take a victory lap of high-school I knew that I wanted to remain in classes. I signed up for Physics, Advanced Functions, Chemistry, and Calculus all online courses that would be split into two semesters. Physics and Advanced functions in the fall and chemistry/calculus in the spring. I highly recommend going online if you plan on travelling a lot for sports however BE AWARE OF THE INCREASED COURSE LOAD! I knew that my marks would likely drop slightly in online courses because of the difficulty factor however I didn't realize how much stress would accompany the course itself. I found that it was really easy to fall behind in classes since you had the freedom to decide whenever you wanted to work. I could go away on a race project and not do any work and there would be no consequences... until the next test. In the end, everything turned out ok however I have learned from the past year that just like biking, you do well in school when you commit to working at it daily, but I also learned the more fun you have with it, the more inclined you are to commit.

This year was also my first year of self-funding my cycling career. At first the idea of not being able to rely on my parents for projects and what not scared me, but I wanted to do it.  I think it's a little scary, no matter how ready we think we are, to go from being reliant, to actually being independent. Needless to say, it worked out, I got a job, work a couple times a week, and make cycling work.

After finding a job, and collecting enough money to go to some races, I realized, holy crap, it's Elite time. My first race was actually a road race, the Good Friday Ontario Cup. I won't go on about how I did in various races but I am going to talk about two breakthrough moments that I have experienced that I believe are important and transferable to readers. During the Good Friday Race, memories came flooding back of my first Ontario Cup road race, first year Junior. Starting with all of the fast roadies who knew what they were doing was entirely intimidating and humbling. The race itself was long, and difficult however I had a teammate there for moral support. I finished the race glad that I had survived and just happy that I could stay in the group. This year, I started the race feeling confident and anxious to see how my legs would perform. Already a better start. During the race, I found myself feeling very comfortable, enough so that when I came around the last corner I positioned myself perfectly so that I could win the first lap preme. Some might write this off as not a big deal, but for me that was the moment I realized how much more confidence I have gained over the past couple of years. Thanks to all the work that my coach Rob Holmgren and I have put in together, I felt powerful and confident. Words that I haven't used to describe myself in years.

When I started racing MTB Canada Cups, I maintained this feeling however, with some caution since I felt as if I needed to "test the water". 5 laps of mountain biking is QUITE different than 3 laps. That being said, at the Horseshoe Canada Cup, I felt ready to push the (as Jenn Jackson has said), send-o-meter up a couple notches. As I, not so clearly, mentioned in the last paragraph, I have always dealt with confidence issues, especially over the past couple years that have manipulated my performances more than I'd like to admit. At the Horseshoe Canada Cup, I was really able to overcome any anxiety I had and just ride my bike, hard, and it felt like the deadly racer inside me was released. Definitely not a career best performance but I'm "getting there". And that's enough to make me feel proud of myself.

I want you to take something away from these stories. I don't really want this blog to be all about how I'm doing in cycling because that's not all that I am. I believe that my struggles aren't paticularily special, not to say that they aren't important, but that everyone experiences struggle at some point in their life. Sometimes you might feel as though times are too hard or what's the point of slugging through these online courses, or stressing about being able to make enough money, or even performing well in a cycling

race. I don't have the answer for you particularly, but I've found that getting through struggles, being able to come out of something and knowing that I've made it, is enough to motivate me to continue pushing. That someday, all of these little accomplishments will add up to something that will make me feel like I've made it.

On a side note, after writing my last exam, Chemistry, I found myself standing outside my high school smiling like an idiot because I. Conquered. High-school. This big scary building that used to frighten the 14 year old Erica had become merely just a building. The teachers (some) are now my friends and all of the projects and exams that tortured me for years are all done, I made it.

So yea, nothing particularly extraordinary has happened over the past few months, but I feel like I've done enough and gotten through enough that has set me up for the next chapter of my life. University, racing some of the fastest women in the world, and being a boring old adult.

By the way! I'm heading out to MTB Nationals this July with Team Ontario! The trip is going to be pricy this year so I've set up a GoFundMe account in hopes of raising money! Any donation is extremely helpful and appreciated!

https://www.gofundme.com/ericaleonardmtb