For Mark, mountain biking is much more than just something to do, or a cool hobby. It is his healing, his therapy. It is the challenge that drives him. Rather than focus on what he has been told he “can’t do,” Mark is pushing to find out what he can do every single day. Even a near-death experience and a surprise diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes last year has only solidified his resolve, and intensified his riding. Fitness is now literally a life-or-death game for him. It seems that there is no end to the major difficulties that come his way.
However, much like a good trail the obstacles we encounter in life can add character to the ride if you have the patience to learn the skills to navigate them, and the grit to take the knocks. On the trail, the constant mix of flow and features keeps you keenly focused on the moment, on the here and now. These skills spill over into “normal life” if we let them. Sure, we’ve all met those obstacles that have served to keep our pride in check (and the doctor paid), but it’s not about perfection, it’s about persistence and self-efficacy. Mountain biking gives us the chance to practice that active perseverance without the stress and weight of “real life”. Because we’re riding for enjoyment, and because we choose to be there, it also gives us the chance to unplug and just enjoy the moment. For Mark, and for many others, it is a form of meditation, and a great tool for healing. It’s a chance to unplug the brain and learn to go with the flow. Plus, it’s wicked fun.
But mostly, it’s just about being out there – whether alone or with a pack of buddies. Suffering, sweating, the stoke, the dirt, finding the flow in a section that previously made you question your decision to take off those training wheels so many years ago, the stories, all of it. For Mark, as it is for many of us who love to ride just for the sake of riding, it’s about enjoying it. Good, bad, difficult, easy; you have to take it all together. You just have to learn to roll with it.