It’s just a mountain bike, you say.
Just a frame of some type of metal, some rubber tires, a chain, some gears, a bunch of moving parts.
Wrong.
A mountain bike is magic. It takes you from a bad day to wherever you need to be. Maybe that’s the top of a mountain, racing down fast trails with adrenaline coursing through your veins. Or maybe, you need the depths of a rainforest, with winding singletrack and nothing but the songs of ravens and crickets to keep you company, while the sun beats down on you. Or maybe, a pump track…or a jump park.
There’s a rhythm to riding on a trail that doesn’t exist on a road. The pumping of the legs to move the bike up and over obstacles, to flow…the body becomes a shock absorber for the terrain as you ride over rollers, logs, and jumps, and whatever else you find in your path. Ironically, the more relaxed you are, the better you can adjust. This doesn’t meant you are passive… it means you need to be alert, but constantly adjusting. And as you ride, the tension and stress melt away as you are forced to relax to adjust to whatever the ride throws in front of you. It’s an incredible thing to experience. The bike is what makes this all happen.
A bike is confidence. It’s a reminder that no matter what is going on, you ARE in fact a badass motherf@cker that can ride up that rock face, or down that steep double black diamond trail. And therefore, hell YASSSSS you CAN in fact deal with whatever mess you are facing in life. A bike takes you to where you can yell/scream/cry/rage at whatever is going on. You can find a place where no one else is. And there is peace. Guaranteed, a raven or a squirrel or maybe an eagle will show up at some point and make it perfect for you. Or if you’re really lucky, maybe a bear or some other wildlife.
A bike is crushing fear. It forces you to be better than the time you dumped your bike over the side of the rock face and broke yourself. That really sucked…and it hurt. But the bike is also determination. Cuz if you gave up, you’d still be lying there in the dirt. So you swore loudly at your stupid bike for throwing you off. Picked it up through your tears as you hobbled and limped back up the side of the hill, hauling the bike up with you. A check of your map showed there was no easy bailout point. You had no choice but to get yourself out, unless you wanted to wait an hour for help. So you sat on a rock, took a deep breath, and made a conscious choice to trust your bike. Yep. A bike is trust. It’s a partner. He will let you down…will drop you sometimes when you wish he wouldn’t…but in hindsight, it will likely be a result of a communication problem. The way out is usually to trust. It’s not easy. Sometimes it requires getting back on when you’d rather toss him off the cliff….but then you’re really stuck. So… you take a deep breath. Refocus. And try again.
A bike is adventure. Explore. It will take you to places you have never been before. The experiences are incredible. Will you find a new trail? Perhaps an amazing viewpoint…or a killer new singletrack with rolling hills along the way. Maybe you’ll find mushrooms… or cross a creek…or fly down a wicked hill with berms and jumps. Or maybe you’ll discover an abandoned cabin in the forest. Delicate flowers and ferns as tall as you are. Towering sentinels. Or see the perfect sunset.
The soul of a bike runs deep. It infects you with its strength, its power, and its adventure. It gets inside of you, and tantalizes you. It makes you stronger, more resilient. You crushed it. You didn’t die. Maybe you landed in a tree, or down the side of a hill…or possibly in a puddle- but you survived. Get up. Let’s go. You should tackle this next big thing. If you could crush that trail, clean that obstacle, there’s NO good reason you can’t do This Next Thing….so what are you really waiting for?
Bikes are fun. Everyone needs fun in their life….it keeps us young, and keeps us alive. There’s a reason everyone has days off. It’s called playtime and research shows it’s SO GOOD for us.
Fitness…bikes are fitness. And nature. And mental health. And ALIVE. Adrenaline. Peace, and health. Joy, and strength. Bikes are happiness and YAY. They are mud and dirt and high fives and blood and sweat and tears, and everything good about a hot, sweaty, muggy, summer day…or even in the rain.
While we’re at it, bikes are transportation…good for the environment, and good for you, and cheaper than cars….well, maybe not cheaper than cars lol. But seriously, do we always need to rely on cars? At least with a bike, you don’t need to keep refilling with costly fuel that pollutes. Consider it.
You can take away my car. Take away my computer. Take away just about anything else….but don’t take away my mountain bike. Bikes are life. If you haven’t tried it, what are you waiting for? The trails are calling…
Living Free 