I recently revisited a mountain biking trail I had not ridden in some time. You see, I had actually been off the bike for nearly a year. Cycling had once been the most important aspect of my life and took up a great deal of my time outside of work. The problem was that as my life changed, I lost the drive to ride as frequently as before. I had begun to make excuses about how I outgrew my mountain bike or how my road bike needed to be serviced. Truth be told I was just disillusioned.
On my recent ride, I took to the trail with all the intensity a year away could build. I flew through the corners until my quads began to burn. I pumped and pushed every bump of the trail to squeeze out the most possible speed. I rolled through every section picking the fastest, easiest and smoothest line. Wait a second, did I just say easiest?
I did. I pounded my feet and stamped my pedals and avoided every obstacle the trail had to offer. I slid through the braids, I used the ride-arounds and went to great lengths to miss each technical aspect that was presented. Hell, I barely even popped over roots! The absolute best part of the ride you may ask? You didn’t roll over any logs? You skipped all the rock gardens? You even rode around roots? Indeed I did. How can that be fun?
Here’s the truth. It’s not about easy! The hour and a half I spent cruising a short ten miles was one of the most fun days of recent memory. I had an absolute blast! Sometimes we get so caught up in our own minds that we forget to have fun. I was alone in the woods. I was listening to Cold Play and The Killers on Pandora and I was loving it.
Take a day and consider the reasons that we seek the ability to ride technical trails. For some of us it is to impress our friends. “I’ll bet I can ride that (insert the most ridiculous obstacle you can think of) and you can’t.” Or perhaps it is simply that I can ride it better. For others it may be the adrenaline rush. The feeling of accomplishment or the satisfaction of defeating something that has beaten us so many times before. But it’s not about easy.
So here are the two ends. For those novice riders out there who wish to better their skills, continue. Ride the smoothest and fastest trails you can find. Look for the technical sections and begin to build your confidence. For those of you who are more experienced, evaluate. Consider the reasons that you started riding, look back at your roots and think about your first trails. Perhaps you should even take a few minutes and speed through some sections of super fast and super smooth trail without any technical features at all. No matter what you do, remember why we all ride……..because it is truly fun.