Mountain Biking, Zen, and the New World?

Well the last 6 days have seen me on the trails thrice (that means three times), on the trainer twice (two times), and hockey once (once times).  The trainer was because I fubarred the shock on my trail bike...so into the shop it went for a couple of days.  So for those days I trained Sufferlandrian style.  (Not Gangnam style...that would be stupid.)

See what I mean?

I have now also drunk the Kool Aid (shoulda made it Captain Morgan Silver...that stuff is candy!!), and am tracking my activity on Strava...under the pseudonym ‘Michael Tourond’.  See the summary on the gadget on the sidebar here.  Oh yeah, I am high tech.

Anyways, if you don’t remember, a couple of posts back I mentioned that someone once questioned why I bother to race mountain bikes at my age, and at the risk of getting on my soap box I will address that.  You might think it was a young kid asking, but no, it wasn’t.  Well I don’t think this portly pontificator ever saw more than the couch view of any sporting event so I didn’t really bother to get into it, cuz I knew he wouldn’t get it.  But I know both of you reading this will understand. 

We all make our own definition of what getting old means...the problem is too many of us let the shite our culture spews at us make those definitions for us...cut your hair; wear a suit; it’s OK to get fat; you should be slowing down, pissin your pants, not working out and certainly not racing mountain bikes!!  Anyways, I mountain bike race for a whole host of reasons, mostly because I can, and I am not afraid to try.  It is our culture based on instigating fear and profiting from it that leads to the thinking that generated this question in the first place.  Now this soap box is quickly getting high enough...I’m getting queasy.  This whole culture/fear thing is a deep passion of mine, I could go on forever, and if you get me going on it this soap box will get so high you will be reading this post like this...

 

Then on a soap box that high I will need to trade in my bike helmet for one of those tall pope hats.  But they are heavy, and will end up riding like this...

Actually I have never seen a pope in a bike helmet but I have seen one with helmet head...

 

Anyways, I am wandering off topic again.  So I hope that answered the question...and I hope you are not as confused as me.  I apologize for the soapbox thing...this is a MTB blog, not a life lesson blog (RiotOnReality???).

Speaking of confused, I often get Lois to preview my blog posts for me...and for some reason she wanted me to throw this pic in...Not sure why...

 

Actually that is a pic of EnglishJim before he started mountain biking...this is Jim now...

 

Definite improvement.  Actually in that MTB getup Jim kinda looks like the Knights that say Ni...doesn’t he??

 

You be the judge.

Actually, EnglishJim messaged me this week that registration is open for the Summer Solstice 24 Hour Mountain Bike Race (which will sell out fast), so hopefully NewfieSteve, who wants to be Captain, will get us registered soon!!  The team is ready and waiting!!

                                                       

So, I better get training already!!  Up, up and away...

Until next time...stay posted.