TEAM Whathefuck….A Team?….Not Really!
Mountain
biking is not really a team sport. Mountain biking is one of
those outdoor sports that challenge an individual
mentally and physically. Our “TEAM” consists of individual
athletes that thrive on individual sports. We are also avid
participants in other solo sports such as surfing, windsurfing,
adventure racing, golfing, rock climbing, backpacking, fishing, off
road racing, skiing, snowboarding, and motocross.
Mountain biking is a mental and physical confrontation between you and
yourself. But it's nice to have others to share the pain and
accomplishment of a good hard ride with….therefore the “Team” concept.
Sharing the experience is really why you even bother to ride with
anyone else.
but....
After
good ride of pushing yourself to your mental and physical limits of
endurance there is also the unspoken pleasure in the “bragging rights" of
finishing a ride in a respectable place in the pecking order. Did I
mention veranderizing after a ride as another motivational factor?
We are not a team; we are a bunch of enthusiastic mountain bikers who
meet a few times a week to enjoy the challenge of the ride and the
camaraderie.
Did I mention the veranderizing?
"What is
Veranderizing?" you may be asking yourself...well there is a entire
webpage on our site dedicated to the art of Veranderizing.
Related writings....
There and Back Again
Over
the years since I first threw a leg over that magical mountain bike
I’ve gone on to ride in some very special places, with some incredible
people. I’ve learned to suffer the climb with stoic resolve and have
found that there is beauty still in solitude. My bike is like a balm
for my soul – more necessary than ever during this brutish age in which
we live. It helps me keep the child inside alive and well and gives me
the strength to live life fully – without artifice or hollow props. And
it brings me closer again to the things that really matter – stripping
the false veneer from this modern life allowing the vibrant colors and
smells and textures of nature to flood my senses and rekindle my spirit.
Every ride is unique – I’ve
learned that even though I may have ridden a trail many times, there’s
always something different to be found. Whether within or without, a
new experience is waiting to happen – the trick is to remember to open
my mind. Capturing meaningful moments in time is a gift, and I look
forward to many more. Every memory is a placeholder in time and they
mark my progress as both a rider and a person.
“When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.” H.G. Wells
Those of us who enjoy riding don't often recognize the
physical labor that goes into building a new trail. As we push our
pedals over fresh cut singletrack, rarely do we take a moment to notice
the amount of work that is involved in its creation. Nailing in a
pallet or preparing a side hill can take hours...these hours can
transform themselves into days, or even months, of hard work.
There is an art to building mountain bike trails. It takes
creativity to link together pieces of the natural world. Rocks, roots
and ridgelines all must come together in a masterpiece of flowing
singletrack. This task becomes meditation. The simple reward
for this effort will come in the rolling of knobby tires over fresh
dirt plus a smile of satisfaction when you hear the hoots and
hollers of your buddies riding your trail for the first time.
Dan working on the "Dan Juan Trail", Weedpatch, CA.
