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Put a bit of five-year-old into your attitude

It’s tough to put fun a head of life when you’re an adult. You already know that though don’t you?
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It’s tough to put fun a head of life when you’re an adult. You already know that though don’t you?

I want to ride my bike every day, and during those rides, I want to hit the best trails, ride some steep gnarly DH, and maybe hit some jumps to see if I still can.

It’s all about fun. On solo rides, with my buddies, and on the Swicked group rides, which are officially work … fun, fun, fun.

But life often gets in the way. Bike shop life gets busy right when the best riding conditions kick in, as my kids get older they take more time, and now with Covid, it seems everything just takes away from the fun factor. Now rather than escape life for a few hours to ride, I try to incorporate it all into one. If a rep is coming up for a meeting, they better bring a bike. If my kids want to have some outside time, I push hard for riding, and date night in my house is usually a mountain bike rip on the local trails.

It still stresses me out a bit though since I am not pushing my limits anymore, and advancements seem few and far between, then the more I think about it, the less fun I have.

I took Regan into the trails behind our hood last week and we hit some DH trails. Nothing too steep or technical since he’s only five, but still a good challenge for him and fun for me.

Not once did he complain about the climbing, worry about anything he had to walk through, or ever really even stop smiling. We got to one obstacle that was clearly too big for his little bike to clear and just as I was about to talk him through it so he wouldn’t feel discouraged, (like I have felt lately) he let the brakes off, pedalled a few times, and hit it so fast that there was no stopping him.

He bounced left, steered right, just missed a big rock and somehow came out the other end at full speed. “Hey dad, did you see that?”

Yeah I know, he’s five and still made of rubber, but it opened my eyes again to the fun you can have if you just let it roll.

Regan expects nothing from a ride except fun. He’s not worried about who is riding with him, what trail he rides, or how quickly he advances, and with all that, he is advancing faster than I ever imagined he would.

Maybe it’s time to stop being so matured and so calculated, and just let my inner five-year-old have some fun on the bike.

I’m James Durand and I’m Goin’ Ridin’…