It could be said that I get obsessive about things.
I go through waves. This is no more evident than in my music listening choices. Many of you will remember that a few months back all I listened to was this,
And those of you who remember that have also probably realized that I now listen almost exclusively to this,
Obsessive? Absolutely, but when I find something I like I listen to it until I know every word, every drum pattern, every chord progression. I know there are many of you within the Alliance that can name a song, the artist and the album by the intro. So I know that I am not alone.
This boils over into many things in my life, including my hobbies. Just a few months ago the only riding I did was on the singlespeed going as fast as I could for as long as possible. Why? Because it seemed like riding TrueGrit would be fun and it was a challenge. Before that it was the Enduro on the Goose, didn’t touch the hardtail for months at a time. And going back even further….
I think you get the point.
I’ve been accused of not riding any more. Truth is, I haven’t. I’ve been pulling my way up rock faces and just thinking about getting back out to do it again brings a smile to my face. Many of the things I love about riding are amplified when I climb. I love bombing down a rock garden as fast as I can because my mind shuts down and my body reacts, complete concentration. The same thing happens as I go up a wall, my mind shuts off and my body goes to town.
I’ve often said that trails are like puzzles, you gotta figure ’em out. I love finding a section of trail and sessioning it until I figure out how to get through it, one move at a time. Well, you guessed it, climbing is the same. It’s just one big puzzle that makes my brain move in different ways to figure out how to get my body to do what I want it to.
I haven’t been riding, big deal. I will be riding today if anyone wants to join me…
P. L. and R.