By James Durand
I was having a rough couple of days last week and hence, I was not in my happy place.
It’s a culmination of a weird start to the year with two car accidents, a basement flood, and just a bunch of less than perfect situations adding up to make me busier than I want to be, and definitely more stressed.
The result? I’m riding way less than normal, and that is bad news in my world.
With longer days and drier weather, I was looking forward to last Tuesday’s group ride. I had a couple of friends join in and we rode as fast as we could, picked some flowy trails, and all in the most amazing weather possible. The trail conditions were absolutely perfect.
This being the first daylight ride for me in two months, I was loving the extra ability some natural light provided. The pace was faster than normal, I felt like I could corner through anything, and by the end of the ride, despite all the bad news so far this year, I was smiling again.
It got me thinking, Does mountain biking offer so much fun because I’m good at it, or am I good at it because I’m having so much fun? Which came first, the smile, or the skill?
I’m pretty average at almost everything, sometimes well below average I’m sure, but when it comes to mountain biking, I do OK. I’m no pro, but I can hold my own for an old guy.
I’ve been doing this so long that I’m not sure how it started. I don’t ever remember not having fun, but I must have had some growing pains when I started. Maybe it was so much fun I was just determined to succeed. Who knows?
Maybe it’s as simple as this. We’re all better at things we love to do. You can see it when people are working, or playing, It’s obvious when they enjoy what they do. And it’s no different for little kids or full grown adults.
I know without question that I’m way more excited about having fun than I am about dealing with ICBC, mopping up flooded basements, or navigating through unnecessary politics. I’m not really interested enough to question the hows and whys any further, because I only have so much time and I need to focus.
So, in the interest of keeping a smile on my face, I’m going to stop worrying about all the minor misfortunes of this early 2024, and I’ll concentrate on the one thing I’m good at … Bikes.
I’m James Durand and I’m Goin’ Ridin’…